Hotel Convento do Espinheiro, Évora, Portugal

This seductive hotel, close to the city of Évora, fuses history with luxury. With heart-melting views of the Alentejo countryside, the Convento do Espinheiro radiates tranquillity. It is the sort of place you dream about escaping to.

Its origins date back to an early 15^th century legend of an apparition of the Virgin Mary to a shepherd above a burning thorn bush (in Portuguese, espinheiro). Twelve years later, in 1412, an oratory was erected in honour of “Our Lady”. Due to its claim to fame, a church and a monastery were built on the site in 1458.    

Over the next couple of centuries, this “convento” as the Portuguese call it, was visited by the country’s kings who bestowed plenty of valuable gifts on the Virgin. 

Today it has been reinvented as a swanky hotel and spa complex with a myriad of facilities. You certainly get a sense of place as it manages to fuse 15^th century influences with designs inspired from the 1950s with 21^st century mod cons including a bathroom complete with a toilet that spouts water from every feasible angle and complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the hotel.

Convento do Espinheiro 

Its origins date back to an early 15^th century legend of an apparition of the Virgin Mary to a shepherd above a burning thorn bush (in Portuguese, espinheiro). Twelve years later, in 1412, an oratory was erected in honour of “Our Lady”. Due to its claim to fame, a church and a monastery were built on the site in 1458.    

Over the next couple of centuries, this “convento” as the Portuguese call it, was visited by the country’s kings who bestowed plenty of valuable gifts on the Virgin. 

Today it has been reinvented as a swanky hotel and spa complex with a myriad of facilities. You certainly get a sense of place as it manages to fuse 15^th century influences with designs inspired from the 1950s with 21^st century mod cons including a bathroom complete with a toilet that spouts water from every feasible angle and complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the hotel.

Outdoor pool

Nestled in stunning gardens, it is the perfect retreat for five-star R&R and a little bit of rustic romantic and authentic flavour. From a children’s playground to large indoor and outdoor pools, a great spa offering a variety of treatments and a tennis court, it has something for everybody including the awesome azulejo-bedecked chapel.

The Divinus Restaurant was once an old wine cellar, the old monastery kitchen is now a piano bar and the medieval cistern is now a wine-tasting area. 

It is certainly worth attending a session if you are in the hotel as you will learn about wines from the Alentejo, which is fast developing a reputation for its high quality tipples as well as its gastronomy. 

You can also cook your own lunch with a chef to guide you through the steps. My contribution was pouring the rice into the pan and then stirring it – my kind of cooking!

What the chef produced was amazing. Something that I had never tried before was hare stew. Pork is widely eaten in the Alentejo. Here are a couple of recipes from the hotel to whet your appetite.

Hare stew

Ingredients

200g hare, 60g cooked chick peas, 50g turnips, 50g black pork bacon, 40g black pork smoked sausage, 50g onions,16g garlic, 3 dl  (approx a generous cup) of white wine, 40g carrots, 5g cumin, 5g mint herbs, 5g salt; 3g white pepper

Method

In a pan, fry in olive oil, the chopped garlic, onion and  the bacon cut into fine pieces Add the smoked sausage, sliced and the hare, cut into small pieces along with the cumin and white wine. Season with salt and pepper and leave to cook for 15 minutes. 

Then add the cubes of carrots and turnip and cook for another 15 minutes in low heat.

  

Another dish which is popular in the Alentejo is pork filet 

Ingredients

120g bread, 5g paprika, 14g garlic, 2.5g lard, 80g lemon, 50g tomato, 20g coriander, 1g ground white pepper, 3g salt, 60g fresh clams, 160g black pork filet

Method

Season the pork with paprika and reserve. Slice the bread thinly and reserve. Sauté the tomato. Fry the pork, remove from the heat, add the bread and some warm water. Add the tomato and stir until it no longer sticks to the pan.

Heat some olive oil in a pan with one or two crushed garlic cloves add the clams, the coriander and lemon juice. Ready to serve.

By Daralyn Danns

Getting there

TAP Portugal (flytap.com) flies frequently from Manchester, London Heathrow and Gatwick to Lisbon. For more information and best fares visit the website

Hotel Convento do Espinheiro, Bairro dos Canaviais,7002-502 Évora

 

For more info on this Starwood Luxury Collection Hotel, visit conventodoespinheiro.com

First published in All About Hair (All About Hair UK), the travel and lifestyle blog with a luxury twist