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.
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| Convento do Espinheiro |
Its origins date back to an early 15th 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 15th century
influences with designs inspired from the 1950s with 21st century
mod cons including a bathroom complete with a toilet that spouts water from
every feasible angle and complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the hotel.
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| 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 (0845 601 0932, www.flytap.com) flies from
Manchester, London Heathrow and Gatwick to Lisbon up to 9 times a day. Return
fares start at £116 including all taxes and surcharges
Hotel Convento do
Espinheiro, Bairro dos Canaviais,7002-502 Évora.Tel:+351
266 788 200, Fax:+351 266 788
229, Double rooms including
breakfast from €250
For more info on
this Starwood Luxury Collection Hotel, visit www.conventodoespinheiro.com/en
