Convento do Espinheiro, Historic Hotel & Spa

The Convento do Espinheiro was founded in the 15th century and became a place the Portuguese royal family used whenever the court came to Évora, which in that period it often did. It is a classified national monument, and the original church still stands within the hotel, which is a strange and rather good thing to walk past on the way to breakfast.

The conversion took three years and produced something more resort-like than the building's history suggests. There are 92 rooms across 23 acres of gardens, courtyards, hedges and lawns, with pools, terraces and long views over the countryside.

Rooms come in two registers. The traditional ones go hard at it: red and gold, ornately carved headboards, heavy drapes. The contemporary ones are equally lavish but take their cues from modern design, with Philippe Starck lighting in place of chandeliers. Either way the bathrooms are substantial slabs of marble and most rooms have a terrace with the green hills beyond.

The Gothic cellar is where the wine tastings happen, guided by a sommelier working through Alentejo producers, and it is the best room in the building. There is a spa, a gym and a guided tour of the convent's history for guests.

Two things to weigh. This is a Marriott Luxury Collection property operating at 92 rooms, so it has the systems and the polish of a large hotel rather than the informality of a small one. And it sits outside the city walls at Canaviais, about ten minutes from central Évora and its Roman temple, cathedral and bone chapel, which suits drivers and less so anyone hoping to walk into town after dinner.