Wonderful guesthouse at the top of Coimbra, in the old part of the city with the university and…read moreother sites you will want to visit. It is in an old house--narrow stair makes its way from courtyard at the bottom up to the different floors. The rooms are small--old house!--but ours had two beds, sink, desk, closet. Big lovely shared both. All spotless. We had a gorgeous view of the city from our room and shared a lovely balcony with an even more stunning view. The owner is so helpful! We arrived early, she took the time to make a map with places to see, mae a reservation for a fado concert for us. And the breakfast is just great--fresh orange juice, fruits, boiled eggs, ham, cheese--everything! I loved this place! Just the house gives you a feel for the city!

Estação Coimbra Velha (the old train station and also known as Coimbra-A)…read more Sadly, Comboios do Portugal is letting it decline thru lack of maintenance. The ticket office functioned well for me. All trains go from here to Coimbra-B (the new station) and the cost between them is zero.

This winter this place has rooms for only 20 euros. My room had bathroom with shower, TV, wireless…read moreinternet, a heater, and two beds, all for that price. One does have to climb three flights of stairs, but climbing is the name of the game in Coimbra. Its quiet and peaceful, and only a few euros more than the noisy crowded hostel.

Coimbra Portugal - HoteL Quinta das Lagrimas is a spectacular if not a bit out of the norm. This…read moreis someplace that needs to be experienced to understand. My arrival @ Hotel Quinta das Lagrimas was entering through a set of iron gates that had to be opened on the inside to allow us to enter the estate. After entering we drove down a drive towards the hotel/estate where a gentleman in a suit waited for us & greeted us as we pulled up to the the Hotel/Estate. He greeted us and brought all our luggage up the stairs into the entry foyer where 2 people sat checked us in gave us a brief history of the estate before it became the hotel. It was at the Quinta that in the XIVth-century Prince Pedro and Inês de Castro lived their forbidden love affair. Legend says that it was here that Inês cried for the last time, while being pierced by the daggers of the killers sent by King Afonso, Pedro's father. Ines was the of Portuguese decent & the lady in waiting & the mistress of Prince Pedro (heir to the throne). Pedro & Ines had 3 children together before she was killed by assassin's sent by the king who didn't approve of their relationship. The Hotel is beautiful but somewhat tragic history as Ines was killed here. It's a beautiful estate but a bit isolated from the town of Coimbra but within walking distance. It was cool to experience this estate but a little a sad history.

What are the first two things you require of any hotel? A quality bed and a good shower. The shower…read morewas fine, but the bed was the lumpiest piece of crap I've ever experienced. I used to play a video game called Moon Patrol when I was a kid, and this bed reminded me of that landscape. Turns out it was some sort of extra feather thing that was added to the mattress. We were so tired by the time we went to bed, we didn't really explore this until the morning and the place looked full, so we did not call to the front desk at 11 at night to try to sort it out. Not to mention, we had already opened up the suitcases, etc. Our room was supposedly one of the nicer ones, so this was particularly disconcerting. When I brought it to the attention of the staff in the morning as we were checking out, they looked at me like I was crazy and basically said "oh. ok. we'll tell housekeeping." WTF? I showed them the picture on my phone, and still nothing. It was a really astonishing reaction in what is supposed to be a five star hotel. The interior of our room was also tired, and in need of a refresh. Yes, the building exterior and gardens are lovely, but again, the first rule of hotel club is friggin comfortable beds! I'm cool with quirks like no elevator (pack or select your suitcase accordingly, due to stairs), but get the basics right! And if you don't, at least offer something to compensate--even if it was a discount at the attached spa--which would have been helpful after sleeping on that crappy bed. The most outstanding thing was breakfast--which we were pleasantly surprised about after reading someone's review slamming the breakfast here. We loved the breakfast: all kinds of juices, fruits, meats, cheeses, breads, sweets--and all in a lovely setting. We really couldn't have asked for more. Also, this was the one hotel that had a mini bottle of port and two pastels de nata waiting for us in the room, which was nice. There was also ample parking, though not lit at night, even though there were light posts. ??? Wouldn't likely stay there again, but rather at a place on the other side of the river we found while exploring Coimbra: Sapeintia Hotel. That looked updated, fresh and lovely from walking by their back patio and front of the hotel.