Had a wonderful stay at the Convento de Arraiolos, even if a slightly eventful. Arriving late at night, we found the reception empty and had to wander though the hotel grounds - which are not small - searching for someone to talk to. Eventually we found the restaurant and a member of staff sent word to the receptionist. I couldn't help but wonder if we weren't interrupting the young lady's dinnertime... She was very apologetic for the absence, and even told us to use the internal pool and sauna, even though it was already well beyond operating hours. Both pools are excellent, and the sauna soothing after a very long day. The bed was super comfortable and breakfast quite good - don't miss the local cheeses and bread!
Even though the hotel seemed to be running quite short staffed - which may account for the fact we found uncollected trash in the bathroom bin - the staff were impeccable and highly professional. Moreover, the tennis court is in a state of disarray, the pavement sure looks in need of a makeover.
All in all definitely recommended for a wonderful stay and relaxation, just some management decisions seem baffling, at a place run by a brand of such reputation as the Pestana group.
The hotel and location are nice. The service at the restaurant is terrible: very slow, very amateur, always needing to ask for the same things 2 or 3 times; the service takes forever, almost two hours dinner, with waiting periods over 45 minutes between courses. Very bad. Room was very clean and cozy.