Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Now a luxury hotel, it was built in 1907 as a royal summer retreat on the site of a 17th-
century Carmelite monastery. This wedding cake of a building is over-the-top in every
way: outside, its conglomeration of turrets and spires is surrounded by rose gardens and
swirling box hedges in geometrical patterns; inside (nonguests are more or less prohibited
entry) are neo-Manueline carving, suits of armour on the grand staircases and
azulejos
(tiles) illustrating scenes from Os Lusiados (The Lusiads), in which Portuguese armies
win glorious battles at sea amid the dismayed looks of their stupefied opponents.
Tucked away behind the hotel,
Santa Cruz do Bussaco
(
www.fmb.pt
;
adult/child €2/1; 10am-1pm &
2-5pm Oct-Mar, to 6pm Apr-Sep)
is what remains of a convent where the Duke of Wellington-to-
be rested after the Battle of Bussaco in 1810. The atmospheric interior has decaying reli-
gious paintings, an unusual passageway right around the chapel, some guns from the
battle, and the much-venerated image of Nossa Senhora do Leite (Our Lady of Milk), with
ex-voto offerings.
By road the Portas das Ameias, the nearest gate into the forest, is 900m from the centre.
The hotel is 2.1km from the Portas das Ameias.
Maloclinic Spa
(
www.maloclinicspa.com
;
Rua Álvaro Castelões; 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat & Sun, extended hours sum-
mer)
Just the ticket after a long walk in the forest, the Termas de Luso welcomes drop-in
visitors for therapies ranging from full-body massages (€45) and steam baths (€15) to
body wraps. People come from far and wide to fill their bottles for free at the adjacent nat-
ural spring.
SPA
Sleeping
Rua Emídio Navarro, Luso's main street, is lined with several
pensões
and
residenciais
.
Astória
( 231 939 182; pensaoastorialuso@sapo.pt; Rua Emídio Navarro 144, Luso; s/d €30/40; )
Beside the
tur-
ismo,
this rambling, homely place features clean, comfortable rooms with wood floors,
slightly tired-looking beds and frilly decor. The restaurant downstairs serves traditional
Portuguese standards.
GUESTHOUSE
€
Alegre Hotel
( 231 930 256;
www.alegrehotels.com
; Rua Emídio Navarro 2, Luso; s €45-55, d €60-86; )
This
grand, atmospheric, pinkish-coloured 19th-century town house wears its age much better
BOUTIQUE HOTEL
€€
