Imani Country House

This place is magical. It feels like a drink of cool water on a hot dusty day. The rutted track leading to the house prepares you to slow down and very consciously arrive. Terraced orange groves surround the gated estate, higher up than neighbouring farms which affords a wide view across cork trees, grass and flower meadows. The only sounds are birds, the distant bells of grazing cattle and tinkling fountains. There is so much nature to enjoy- birdsong, foxes lounging in the sun, tawny owls at night. We had planned to visit Evora but instead spent our entire time on the estate or going for dawn walks before the heat rose. We were taken care of so well but also only when we needed something, we loved the balance between hospitality and being given space. We are already planning our return visit, we will always hold the magic of this special place in our memories. Our room and bathroom were well appointed, stylish and we slept soundly. We ate all our meals outside in the garden watching the birds and dragonflies with the fox trotting by-Vera and her colleagues were always friendly and helpful. Thank you for creating and maintaining this magical place

One of the loveliest places I’ve been. Small and private. You arrive in an orange orchard that smells amazing. The food was great, the staff even better. There are small pools, an outdoor bar and eclectic decor everywhere. We were there during the country-wide blackout and they were great in responding to our needs and making sure we were kept up to date and comfortable. I’d live there!!

We choose to stay here after receiving a recommendation, we were advised that the welcome is very warm with a welcome drink. Reception was indeed very friendly, no welcome drink was offered. The room is large and decorated in a special design way, and so is the bathroom, which is very unpractical. A stand alone sink with no area to put down your toothbrush or hairdryer. The shower is very large, but you have to put shampoo bottles and soap on the floor, no rack anywhere. And in a hotel pretending to be luxurious, the bathroom carpet was Ikea. If you wish to have dinner, choice must be made before 6.00 PM, which I can appreciate in a hotel with only 7 rooms. But, upon arrival, you must also decide what you want to eat for breakfast. One of the items we selected was local cheese, and then at breakfast it was not there because they were out of local cheese ! On our first day, the restroom in the restaurant had paper on the floor, and 3 days later the same paper was still on the floor. I also purposely left a candy wrapper on the floor in my room, and sure enough, it was never removed. We had a bottle of wine on our terrace and left the wine cooler on our (accessible) terrace table, and it was not removed. When booking the room on the website, it mentions Hermès amenities. The amenities in the room were Clarins, not Hermès. Nothing wrong with Clarins, but why lie on the website ? The only access to the hotel is via a 2 mile long dirt road. It was very difficult with our sports car. This should be mentioned on the hotel's website. Upon check in, we were asked to pay the room. They refused to take American Express. Upon check out when paying the extras, another person at the reception desk took American Express without a problem. This hotel is not at all what it pretends to be. No class at all, despite its potential. The owner of this hotel should not be in the hospitality business, he has no idea how to run a hotel and make guests feel at home. It is very obvious for hotel guests that there is not enough staff and they all have too many jobs to do at the same time. Having said this, the hotel staff are all, without exception, very friendly and welcome.