Colégio Charm House
Tavira, Portugal
★ Verified by our editors · September 2026
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The verdict
An 18th-century palacete in Tavira, on land King João V gave to his royal cook, later a boys' school and then empty for some thirty years, restored and opened in 2021 as a hotel of about twenty rooms and suites, with a pool in the courtyard, a rooftop over the town's hipped roofs and a restaurant. It holds a MICHELIN Key and is the best way to stay in the prettiest town of the eastern Algarve.
Couples and families who want Tavira on foot — the river, the churches, the boat to the island beach — with a pool and a rooftop to come back to.
You want a resort or the sea from your bed: this is a town house, and the beach is on Ilha de Tavira, across the lagoon.
Ask for the Suite Real or a Pátio da Vila suite, which have their own plunge pools, or one of the rooms in the old chapel, where an 18th-century altar survives.
The rooms
About twenty rooms and suites, each decorated differently with ethnic crafts, antiques and contemporary pieces: mezzanine suites looking over the river Gilão, a family suite with its own jacuzzi, rooms in the former chapel and rooms around a patio of orange trees with a shared pool.
The setting
On Rua Chefe António Afonso in the centre of Tavira, within walking distance of the river Gilão and its old bridge, the churches and the market. The beaches are on Ilha de Tavira, a sandbar island reached by boat.
The food
The restaurant is open all day and cooks the Algarve's fish and produce, with a four-course surprise dinner on several evenings (never on Sundays). Breakfast brings regional bread, honey and fresh cheese; the bar pours regional wines and a cocktail of the month.
Getting there
About 30 minutes by car from Faro airport, and the hotel arranges transfers. Tavira has a train station on the line along the coast; parking at the hotel is free.
Good to know
Children are welcome, with family suites and babysitting on request. Yoga classes are held on the roof twice a week and massages can be booked. It is run by the same family as Conversas de Alpendre, fifteen minutes away.
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Colégio Charm House
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