Valverde Sintra Palácio de Seteais
Sintra, Portugal
★ Verified by our editors · September 2026
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The verdict
The only palace in Sintra that you can sleep in: built in 1787 for the Dutch consul Daniel Gildemeester, doubled by the 5th Marquis of Marialva, who joined the two wings with a triumphal arch, and opened as a hotel on 29 September 1955 after a restoration by Raul Lino. The salons keep Jean Pillement's painted walls, and the gardens run down towards the forest and the sea. Valverde has run it since 1 January 2024 and is restoring it in phases, with the hotel open. It is in the MICHELIN Guide, without a Key.
A night or two in Sintra, to see the palaces before and after the day visitors, with afternoon tea in a painted salon.
You want a finished, modern hotel: works continue in phases, and the rooms are period in style rather than new.
Stay the night rather than coming for the day: walk up to Pena or the Moorish Castle at opening time, and be back in the garden when the coaches leave.
The rooms
Thirty rooms and suites, according to the Guide, with painted headboards, antique furniture and floor-to-ceiling drapes; the royal suite occupies the original owners' quarters.
The setting
On the road from Sintra's centre to Monserrate, inside the UNESCO cultural landscape of Sintra, with a lawn before the arch and formal gardens behind. The pool looks over the forest towards the sea, and the spa is in the estate's former dovecote.
The food
Marialva is the hotel's restaurant, in the palace's formal rooms, and afternoon tea is served on fine china in the salons. Sintra's cafés and pastry shops are a pleasant walk away.
Getting there
About 40 minutes by car from Lisbon airport. Trains from Lisbon's Rossio station reach Sintra in about 40 minutes; from the station, the hotel is a short taxi ride.
Good to know
Valverde holds a 30-year concession and has announced €22 million of works on the building and gardens, carried out in stages. Ask what is under way when you book.
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