L'And Vineyards - Relais & Châteaux

El hotel y las instalaciones espectaculares. Las habitaciones grandes y preciosas, aunque habría que cuidar un pelin más la limpieza, ya que como las paredes y suelo son de pizarra negra, no se ven bien las telarañas. El desayuno riquísimo y todo lo que ponen en la cafetería del lago también. Repetiremos sin duda.

Espectacular hotel en lugar idílico. Instalaciones fantásticas, super spa, piscina interior, restaurante de algo standing….tiene todo. Mi único pero es que a pesar de estar muy enfocado en el disfrute al aire libre si te pilla un día con lluvia vendría bien tener un gimnasio para estirar las piernas.

Currently here on a two-night stay with a friend. Lovely room, friendly employees, peaceful surroundings (maybe extra peaceful as it's the off-season), and good food - eggs benedict for breakfast was a nice surprise. It's been the perfect little getaway.

L'AND looks like a fantastic property based on their website, but the reality is far different. Let me start with the positive - the food and wine. The restaurant staff at both Mapa (the formal restaurant) and Café da Viagem (the casual wine bar) were exceptional and the food was delicious. We had the Caminhos tasting menu at Mapa, and it was a true delight. Major props to the sommelier, who was masterful in his pairings. This part of our stay at L'AND was unforgettable. The accommodations, however, are in significant need of maintenance and upkeep and do not live up to what I've come to expect from Relais & Chateaux member properties. We stayed in Lake Sky 9, one of the sky view suites along the man-made lake on the property. Like most of the suites here, the front is one large window and has a blackout curtain for privacy. When we first arrived and pulled on the privacy curtain to close it, it fell off of the ceiling track. When I first used the sink in the bathroom, the handle came off in my hand without much effort. Likewise, the outer door handle to the WC (thankfully not the inside handle). The drain in the shower was clogged and resulted in a significant accumulation of water during even the shortest of showers. At one point during our stay, the electricity ceased to function in half of our suite, impacting the bathroom, thermostat, and most of the lighting in the main living area. I understand that Portugal is having an unusually wet season, but that doesn't excuse the poor upkeep on the pathways - most of which are dirt. The numerous and significantly large holes made it difficult to walk the property after dark. We had to use our cell phone flashlights to avoid twisting an ankle or soaking our shoes in a large puddle. Finally, I have to speak to the service, which was lacking. When we first arrived, we requested an iron and ironing board (which the website says are available upon request) so that we could freshen up our clothes before our dinner reservations at Mapa at 8 PM. We requested this at around 4 PM. At 6 PM, no iron had arrived, so I texted the front desk on WhatsApp with a gentle reminder and asking for it by 7 PM so we could have time before our reservation. At 7:45, still no iron, so we tried calling the front desk without answer and texted the staff again. Finally, we made due with what we had and went to dinner. At about 8:15, I got a reply text asking if the iron had arrived and replied that it had not. When we returned to our suite at about 10 PM, after a wonderful dinner, the iron and ironing board had arrived, but had been left outside in the rain rather than being placed in our room. In all, this property did not live up to our expectations.

Stayed here for 3 nights in February 2025 in one of the Sky View Suites (Chardonnay 9 specifically). While the rooms look divine on their website, the suite was in dire need of upkeep and maintenance. I selected L'AND as it was listed on the Michelin Guide. It is now obvious that whoever puts hotels on their site have not actually stayed there. I have never written a review for a hotel I have stayed at until now... Let's start with the bathroom first: The fixture that holds the shower wand was broken; one of the bathroom faucets was loose, the rain showerhead looked like it had never been cleaned as it had hard water stains all over it. The bathroom smelled moldy and mildewy, but what do you expect when the shower door and floor are made of wood?! Bathroom lighting was abysmally dark. The enormous soaker tub in the bathroom; while it was clean, trying to fill it with water took forever so we gave up. Now on to the plunge pool: The plunge pool was absolutely disgusting! It is outside and there is no roof or cover for this patio area so dirt and everything gets into it. The thing was dirty. We tried filling it with water and after running for almost an hour and only filling it 1/8 of the way, we gave up on this too. Basically, paid extra money for this feature that we thought would be wonderful and we couldn't even use it. General: Outdoor patio area does not have any roof or cover so the cushions on the chairs were dirty and water-soaked (it had rained the day we arrived)...they never dried out. The outdoor fireplace/fire pit is real wood, so unless you want to smell like smoke, don't bother asking them to come light it (which they have to do). The fireplace inside the suite is not a gas one, it is wood too! So, they have to come light it for you. Pain. The door to our coffee area and mini bar would not shut and the mini bar fridge light flashed like a strobe light. The outside of the building was stained with green "mold" and is in desperate need of painting/repair. The bedroom rugs looked like they had seen better days and I made sure to wear slippers all the time. The only plus: Staff were helpful (albeit a bit "stuffy") and responded promptly to requests. We had breakfast in our suite and the food was quite good along with large portions. The bed was very comfortable and the grounds were quiet and peaceful. A small bottle of wine was waiting when we arrived as a welcome gift. The wine was okay...nothing to rave about, however. We didn't eat in their restaurant. Overall, the concept for L'AND is great, but the execution is very poor. They need to spend some serious money to repair and maintain the suites. We will not stay here again as the "value" was not worth the price. I really should have taken photos of everything to document how awful it was.

Perfect for romontic couples . We were lucky the weather . We experienced the « Make your own wine » tasting . We loved the restaurant and our sky suite . We watched the stars at night . Service was perfect Attentive but not intrusive. We will come back