I turned 37 on October 29, 2023 and I celebrated with some of the people I love most in this life – my brother, my husband and my two children – in a hotel that I had wanted to visit since we arrived in Portugal. This hotel is in the region of Montargil, right in front of the lake of the same name, and as it was raining all the time, we took the opportunity to go and see the Mora River, which is very close by.

The desired hotel

When we moved to Portugal in January 2019, I joined Facebook groups about traveling with children around the country to better understand which places were and weren’t worth visiting with the family. Many posts were about the Algarve, which we had already been visiting since 2016 – read more here – but there would always be a report from another region and I would become even more interested, because I love to visit new places. One of these posts was about the five-star hotel Lake Montargil & Villas and the person who wrote it only had good things to say about it. Favorite hotel on Booking then!

When I looked up prices for our summer vacation, I was immediately put off by the fact that it was really expensive! I set a reminder to visit during the low season, and when I found out that my brother was coming for my birthday, I booked two rooms for us. It wasn’t as cheap as I would have liked (160 euros per night with breakfast included), but since it had an indoor pool, a restaurant – convenient for those with children – and stunning photos, I thought it would be worth it.

Our review of the hotel

Now that I've seen it, I can say that it's not all that I imagined. I thought the place was beautiful, but I have to admit that after a while, the dark walls everywhere made me feel anxious and even messed with my mood. The room was comfortable, but we had problems with the check-in when they said it wasn't possible to have two children aged 2 and 5 in the same room. Of course it was possible and I was glad I put my foot down and asked the maids to include a bed and keep the crib as well.

The hotel is huge and doesn't have any playrooms or indoor playgrounds. It seems like they don't want kids there, I don't know. The spa area, which has a heated indoor pool that kids can use with their parents, doesn't have any shallow areas for them. There's also no pool just for kids. We spent the whole time with the two of them glued to us, even though Paddy can swim a bit, and we didn't even think the water temperature was warm enough for the little ones.

Also, the outdoor playground is a disgrace. They shouldn't even say they have a playground. It had 4 swings – swings here in Portugal – and a slide that was good for children up to 3 years old. It was a disappointment when we saw it, but at least the two of them enjoyed the swings and the little one finally learned to swing by himself. Yay!

The buffet breakfast had some fruits, juices, cold cuts, breads and hot dishes, but no cake. I have never seen that in a five-star hotel. For someone who loves breakfast like me and who doesn't make cake at home because she has no control over it, eating cake at a hotel or at a birthday party is a much-awaited moment. It was extremely frustrating not being able to do that on “my” weekend.

To top it all off, the hotel looks like a big maze with many floors and elevators, with carpeting in most of the hallways – yuck! – and worst of all: access to the spa has to be from outside the hotel. In other words, if you go there during the cold months, you will have to leave the hotel to enjoy the comfort of a spa. Does it make any sense to you?

I think the hotel could be interesting for the warmer months, as we saw several pools in the outdoor area, but certainly for families with small children in rainy and cold months, I can't say that I recommend it.

Our days

Saturday – 10/28/2023

We drove for 2 hours from Cascais to the Lake Montargil & Villas close to lunchtime. The kids slept in the car and we were able to enjoy the journey without traffic. I love that here in Portugal: we never get stuck in traffic when we travel. 🙂

We arrived at the hotel and went straight to lunch at the restaurant/bar that was open and ordered some delicious burgers to satisfy our hunger. The kids were super interested in a couple playing pool next door and we were able to chat in the comfort of the chairs.

We left our bags in the rooms and got ready for the indoor pool. It was so wonderful to see the puppies playing and swimming with their beloved uncle Marcelo! I felt fulfilled. We stayed there for a while and then went back to the room to get ready to go out for dinner.

We found a restaurant well recommended on TripAdvisor, Café Restaurant O Alves, and we called to make a reservation. When we got there, the shock on Uncle Marcelo's face, who is used to more upscale places, was great!!! The place is super simple, but we liked the food and the service. We went back to the hotel and went to bed!

Sunday – 10/29/2023

My day!! <3

I woke up with lots of affection from my loved ones and we went to have breakfast as soon as possible. We ate bread, cold cuts, eggs, yogurt, pancakes, jams, juices and fruits. The only thing missing was my much-desired morning muffin…lol.

We wanted to walk to Lake Montargil, right in front of the hotel, but since it was cloudy, we thought it would be better to go by car. Thank goodness! In addition to being a steep hill down to the water, it started to rain. We weren't very impressed with what we saw, but I imagine it would be much more interesting in the summer.

Getting to know the Mora River

We took advantage of the rain and drove for 20 minutes to the Mora River, which, as stated on the website, is a public aquarium dedicated to freshwater ecosystems, focusing on the knowledge of their diversity, importance and relationship with humanity. We paid 25.50 euros for the 5 of us – Ju didn’t have to pay – and went to see the fish, otters, snakes, turtles and frogs. The children loved it and we found the space very pleasant and organized. At the end of the visit, we made some drawings in the little room and when I thought the children would want to leave their drawings on the board, they asked to take them home… lol

We went to have lunch at a restaurant nearby, Alentejo, and we liked the atmosphere, the food, the service. It was definitely better than the previous restaurant.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Montargil Dam and we threw stones into the lake to Paddy's delight.

We went back to the hotel and I had some time without children in jacuzzi, which was wonderful, and then we gathered in the heated pool for a few more hours of leisure.

We went back to the room and got ready for dinner at the hotel restaurant. The atmosphere was more upscale, the food was expensive, but fortunately it was very tasty. I even got a dessert to sing happy birthday and end the day happily with my loved ones.

Monday – 10/30/2023

We woke up calmly, had breakfast, went to the playground and then went to play pool with the little one. He spent the whole weekend asking for it…lol. It was cool to see his uncle teaching his nephew 🙂

On the way back to Cascais, we stopped for lunch at the restaurant Full stop, already in Almada, with a view of Lisbon. We had to walk for a while with the kids in a place that was not very picturesque, right next to the river, and when we got there, we had to wait for about an hour to be seated. Awesome place! The food and service were good, but what really made it worth it was the view. It's a shame it was cloudy and with kids we never enjoy 100% peacefully, right...especially with the risk of falling into the river, since there is no protection.

We arrived home after 1 hour, fulfilled with this mini trip full of good memories. I want more!