Pousada Flor da Rosa

Crato

The region of Alentejo is one of the largest in Portugal, running from Lisbon, the capital, to the superb beaches and the burning sun of the Algarve. It’s a particularly pleasant region to visit, with its plains and hills filled with sheep and its immense wheat fields. Several traditional villages are well worth visiting in order to understand the secrets of this region whose past has left a number of traces.

Portalegre for example, is a small city known for its tapestries, and to learn more about this tradition, there’s a tapestry museum located in a former lord’s manor. The tomb of Bishop Jorge de Melo is one of the most beautiful in the country.

Not far from Portalegre, in Alter de Chao, there’s a very handsome 14^th century castle with a magnificent view of the surroundings from its tower. It’s also in this village that Lusitanian horses are raised. These thoroughbreds are known for their beautiful manes and their natural aptitude for dressage.

Finally, Crato and Flor da Rosa are known for the celebrated monastery which once received the Knights Hospitaller of Saint John of Jerusalem.

Staying in a palace steeped in history

In the middle of the Alentejo plains, a few kilometers from Crato, the curved lines of the superb Pousada Flor da Rosa appear. This unparalleled charm hotel receives its guests in the heart of a 14^th century monastery, a Gothic castle and a palace. From the outside, these buildings look more like an impenetrable fortress than a religious site, and after going through the door, one expects to see the knights of the Order of Malta who once occupied these walls. However, guests are in for a surprise, since the atmosphere inside is totally different, thanks to the work of Portuguese architect, João Luis Carrilho da Graça, who integrated into these historical and mystical sites, a certain modernity, which although very slight, is enough to respond to the requirements of the most demanding clients.

Twenty four rooms, of which three are luxurious suites located in the monastery tower, welcome guests into an atmosphere which is both monastic and modern in design. In each room, the superb stone walls blend in perfectly with contemporary furniture and high tech equipment which assure guests of total comfort. The common rooms combine the same elements of old and new, and their atmosphere is equally peaceful, so that guests can relax in total tranquility.

The hotel’s restaurant proposes international and local cuisine with meat and fish dishes, including the famous local fish, the bacalaho, and seasonal vegetables. In the medieval garden which has retained its original form, we find, in the midst of olive trees, a superb azure blue swimming pool, on a terrace where guests can enjoy wonderfully relaxing moments under the eternal sunshine of this magnificent region. For the more adventurous, horseback riding, hiking and fishing activities are available in order to learn more about the secrets of Alentejo.

In the middle of the 14^th century, Friar Alvaro Gonçalves Pereira ordered the construction of the monastery and its annexes which he intended to occupy as Crato’s first Prior. The castle and the palace were built later on, but with the end of religious orders in the country in 1834, the monastery was abandoned, and a terrible storm at the end of the 19^th century left it in ruins. It wasn’t until 1995 that Pousada Flor do Rosa opened its doors.