Hotel Pestana Cascais Portugal

Sue,

Well, you did it again! Found us a lovely hotel, in a wonderful setting.

The Pestana Hotel is a little out of the centre of Cascais in a residential area. There is a small but well stocked supermarket right opposite, with an ATM. The rooms are very comfortable, with two rings and some cooking utensils and a fridge. We didn't cook, but it was useful for making lunch and keeping drinks cold. I would recommend people to pay the extra for the sea view, and you would need to be on the 4th floor or higher (top 6th) to get this. The other rooms on that side of the hotel would view the pool and gardens, which are lovely as well.

The pool and surrounding area are very good and the gardens offer plenty of shade. The pool is indoors/outdoors. The outdoor pool runs into the inside, under perspex pool, which for obvious reasons is much warmer. The jacuzzi is there too. There is a snack bar for lunch. Plenty of sunbeds and pool towels are free from reception.

We only had one meal in the evening in the hotel on our first night. It was good, with plenty of choice, but rather expensive especially when you add on hotel drinks. The breakfast buffet is quite fine too.

When we were there, the hotel was pretty full - many people from Ireland and Holland. I think we were the only English there. Not that it is a problem, all the staff speak good English and are very helpful.

Cascais is still a lovely village/town. The small square in the centre is the main area of activity and where everyone congregates. If you head north off the square, up a small side street, we found a charming local patisserie/restaurant, where a daily changing menu offered excellent meals, with a main dish costing Euro 4.95! At the top of the town, by McDonalds, we also found another lovely local restaurant. We dined on quail a couple of times and couldn't send £20 on a meal for two with local wine. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from, however, whatever your price range and taste. Even a couple of Indians and a Thai.

The hotel runs a complimentary bus service into town during the day, from the hotel to the railway station at the top of the town, and does a couple of runs to a nearby beach during high season. In the evenings, till 10pm weekdays and midnight weekends, a local bus "Buscas" (pronounced "Bushcash") runs every 10 minutes. It costs Euro 0.65 per trip and you can jump on or off at any of the stops on the circular route. Its stops (different going to coming back) are a short walk (3 minutes) from the Pestana.

We took the train into Lisbon for the day. A very easy journey even for us oldies; an enjoyable ride along the coast and Lisbon itself is an interesting city to see. We also took a day trip to the summer palace at Sintra. Well worth doing.

Can't think of anything else important to share. All in all, a great place, only 2hrs 10mins flying from London.

Well done and thanks again for another lovely holiday,
Sally & Dave Rogers


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