Quinta de la Rosa review - one of the top Douro Valley wine hotels
An honest review and personal feedback based on our 2 night stay at Quinta de la Rosa in the heart of Portugal’s Douro Valley
Enjoying breakfast at Quinta de la Rosa, overlooking the River Douro
Where to stay in the Douro Valley - why Quinta de la Rosa?
If you’re planning to visit Portugal’s most famous wine region, the stunning Douro Valley - one of the top global wine tourism destinations and a UNESCO World Heritage Site - finding the right place to base yourself is key. There are lots of hotels in the Douro Valley for sure, but to fully immerse yourself in the heart and soul of the Douro, to fully experience the best of Portugal’s world-renowned hospitality, charm and culinary delights and to fully appreciate the Douro’s breathtaking landscapes and scenery, please consider the fabulous Quinta de la Rosa.
Read below all about our recent hotel experience at this idyllic location on the banks of the breathtaking River Douro. Our commentary includes factual information about Quinta de la Rosa as well as our personal and honest feedback based on our actual experience.
What prompted us to stay at Quinta de la Rosa?
Early morning view from our room at Quinta de la Rosa
So we had just spent 3 whirlwind days, joined by other fellow wine travel writers and bloggers, totally immersed in discovering the Douro Valley, as part of a familiarisation tour, arranged by Soul Wines/Eno Taste Tours. We’d had the most amazing time (read all about our experiences here), but were shattered and in need of a couple of days of ‘chill time’ to fully absorb the most incredible things we had seen, tasted and experienced! Quinta de la Rosa was on our radar of possible places to stay in the Douro Valley, to relax and continue our Douro discovery, but when one of our tour group, a fellow wine enthusiast and very knowledgeable wine writer, also suggested and enthusiastically recommended it, we decided to book ourselves in!
Our fellow tour companion Cindy had actually conducted an interview with the current owner of Quinta de la Rosa, Sophia Bergqvist. Reading this interview spiked our interest and made us want to experience for ourselves the hotel and its unique location on the banks of the Douro, its vineyards, its wines, its hospitality and its special place in the Douro’s history. Read Cindy’s interview here.
Where is Quinta de la Rosa and when should you visit?
Quinta de la Rosa is situated on the banks of the River Douro in the Douro Valley’s heartland known as the Cima Corgo, where all of the best vineyards are located and where all of the best and most famous Port brands are represented.
View along the Douro from Quinta de la Rosa to Pinhão
The wine estate - or ‘quinta’ is really accessible for wine tourists. It’s within easy reach of Porto and its international airport, by road, train or boat and lies just 2 km from the beautiful railway station in the town of Pinhāo.
This makes Quinta de la Rosa an ideal place to base yourself for a Douro valley wine tour, especially as you can also fully experience some of the best Douro vineyards and a working Douro winery.
We visited in September, which is ideal for experiencing and participating in all stages of the wine harvest and wine production - from picking to treading the grapes! Autumn is perfect, but Spring would also be a lovely time to visit. Just a word of caution about July and August - it gets very hot here. The vineyards aren’t called ‘Valley of Hell’ for nothing!!
Quinta de la Rosa, its vines and that view!
Quinta de la Rosa - some history and background
Quinta de la Rosa has been family owned and managed since 1906. Claire Feueheerd (married name Bergqvist), an English descendant of port shipper Dietrich Feuerheerd (originally from Hamburg, but moved to Portugal), was gifted the estate and vineyard for her baptism in 1906 and lived in the house for much of her life. She was known throughout the Douro for her hospitality and generosity and her passion for the Douro, which she passed on to her children and grandchildren, one of whom, Sophia Bergqvist, is the estate owner and manager today. Sophia’s home is in Oxford, England, however the family spend a lot of their time on the estate and still live in the old part of the house there.
Quinta de la Rosa wines - the legacy
Claire’s father, Albert was one of the first to make a ‘single Quinta’ Port with grapes from the estate and he also extended the vineyards to incorporate the ‘Vale do Inferno’ (Valley of Hell) vineyards, climbing high above the Douro on imposing stone walls, some of the highest today in the Douro.
Vale do Inferno vineyards on the banks of the Douro
After years of decline and selling their grapes to Croft and Sandeman for their famous Port wines, in 1988 Sophia and her father Tim relaunched Quinta de la Rosa and started to make Port wines under their own label again. As well as producing various styles of Port wine, they were pioneers in the production of high quality table wines.
In 1996 they were awarded ‘Fortified Winemaker’ of the year at the International Wine Show in London and their wines are now listed in prestigious restaurants in over 30 countries worldwide. Also, a Quinta de la Rosa Port was selected by Harrods for their first ever hamper.
Their success has been aided by the arrival of winemaker Jorge Moreira in 2002, who soon after his arrival, was awarded the title ‘Best Winemaker in Portugal’.
Today some 55 hectares of vineyards form the Quinta de la Rosa estate. The family also co-own, along with winemaker Jorge another wine venture called Passagem Wines, a further 35 hectares of vineyards at Quinta das Bandeiras, in the Upper Douro region, the Douro Superior. This much hotter and drier region produces a very different style of wines from Quinta de la Rosa, with less mineral and stronger fruit flavours.
Quinta de la Rosa - a wine hotel and wine tourism destination
In the 1980s the family began renting out some of their rooms to guests and developing their offer as a premium wine tourism destination in the Douro and Portugal. In 2011/12 they extended this focus by building new wine tourism facilities and a brand new winery in the centre of the estate.
Today, the Douro is known of course for its wines, in particular its Portuguese Port wines, but it is also known for its exceptional olives and olive oil. The visitor can experience both of these at Quinta de la Rosa, where beer and Port wine vinegar are also produced!
Quinta de la Rosa has a special place in the history of the Douro and has earned its reputation for representing some of the best of its wines, but it is also busy planning and laying foundations for the future and carving out its place in today’s world of wine tourism.
The Quinta de la Rosa estate and services
When you walk into the reception at Quinta de la Rosa - wow! What a first impression!
The check-in process was sleek and professional but I just couldn’t shift my gaze away from the 2 massive floor to ceiling windows which dominate, giving you the most incredible views of the River Douro below!
The reception area doubles as a shop, with the famous Quinta de la Rosa wines on show around the room and is also the place for booking wine tastings, wine tours and vineyard tours.
To get to the rooms and accommodation you have to walk right through the centre of the winery, leaving you in no doubt that this is a working winery, but this all adds to the special, authentic Douro experience you can enjoy at Quinta de la Rosa. We were there in the midst of the harvest and were lucky enough to witness the grapes coming in and being pressed and the tanks and barrels being filled with that special nectar! The smells and aromas were really intoxicating!
Today, the Quinta de la Rosa estate comprises a total of 23 rooms, scattered across the hillside, nearly all of them facing and offering that breathtaking view of the beautiful River Douro. The clean, white-washed, low-lying buildings create an atmosphere of peace and calm tranquility, but you never escape that feeling of history and tradition either.
The main restaurant - Cozinha de Clara - occupies a central location, close to the reception building and shop, but you cannot see it at ground level as it’s been ingeniously built into the cliff side below the property, optimising the famous views.
Nestled amongst the hotel rooms on the hillside is a small, but lovely outdoor pool, where we enjoyed a couple of hours in the sun. There isn’t a lot of room to sit around the pool, maybe just for 3-4 small groups but the location is beautiful, surrounded by fragrant bushes and flowers and my favourite, lots of olive trees. You can’t exactly do lots of swimming in the pool as it’s only small, but again, it’s the view that makes it so very special! The water could have been a bit warmer though - it was fairly chilly!
Walk past the rooms and the pool and you are immediately in the vineyards, where you can explore and marvel at how the vines can not just survive, but flourish, clinging to the hillsides in the direct gaze of the harsh sun. On our first morning, we enjoyed a lovely walk up to the famous Vale do Inferno vineyards (Valley of Hell) and were certainly ready for a dip in the pool afterwards!
The accommodation and rooms at Quinta de la Rosa
Most of the rooms are located around the main property at La Rosa and the others a little further along the hillside at Amarela, which has its own private pool and is just 5 minutes walk away from the main services. See information about the rooms here.
Some of the rooms are more modern in design and style, but sit really comfortably with the older, more traditional rooms and houses.
The rooms on the main ‘La Rosa’ site:
The rooms offered here comprise 3 suites which are set over 2 floors, with a double bedroom, 4 superior doubles and 4 superior twins.
All of the rooms are beautifully decorated, bright, airy and modern and all have (of course) a river view! What we really loved is that each room is named after one of Grandmother Claire’s ancestors (we stayed in ‘Candida’). This made our stay even more personal somehow. It really draws you into the sense of history, provenance and beauty here.
You can also stay in one of the rooms in the old family house. These are more traditionally decorated, but offer superb, stunning features like a private terrace or balcony and are furnished with beautiful English and Portuguese antique furniture, including some belonging to original owner Grandmother Claire. There is a suite, 2 traditional superior twin rooms and a traditional superior double room.
Rooms at Quinta Amarela:
A stone’s throw from La Rosa (about 400m walk to the reception), nestled in amongst the peace and tranquillity of the vines at Vinha Grande, is the charming Quinta Amarela, where there are a number of beautifully appointed, modern rooms, but with charming original features. Not all of these have river views.
Our ‘room’ experience at Quinta de la Rosa:
We stayed in a superior double room for 2 nights and paid 200 euros per night inclusive of breakfast.
The room was spacious, with a separated area by the door for the wardrobe and fridge. Perhaps the first thing to note is that none of the rooms at Quinta de la Rosa have a TV - shock, horror!!! After a moment of panic I realised that this is intended to help guests to relax and to enjoy the beauty around them rather than via a screen on the wall. Believe us - it works! We didn’t miss the TV and if anyone desperately needs to access one there is a designated ‘common’ room equipped with one, also offering unlimited hot drinks and cold water, which we found really useful.
The double bed was large and extremely comfortable and the curtains and drapes were good at blocking the light. This is important, not just for blocking light, but to protect privacy, as many of the rooms are located right on a pathway which runs through the estate.
We could easily control the room temperature, with really effective air conditioning - vital in the hotter months!
The bathroom was roomy, with a large shower. There were no plastic bottles in the room - instead a large glass water bottle which could be refilled in the common room - excellent!
A comprehensive room manual provided lots of useful information and ideas for things to see and do, places to eat etc, including information on various walks through the vineyards as well as a fascinating history of Quinta de la Rosa, which we enjoyed reading.
Overall we loved our room - not only was it equipped with everything we needed and beautifully furnished, we had 2 very restful nights and slept incredibly well. We really enjoyed opening the bi-fold door in the morning and sitting on the chairs outside of our room to appreciate and soak up the amazing view!
Quinta de la Rosa’s restaurant and food options
The main restaurant at Quinta de la Rosa was opened in 2017 and is already a gastronomic landmark in the Douro! ‘Cozinha de Clara’ (Claire’s kitchen), is dedicated to and in honour of Sophia’s grandmother Claire, who was passionate about food and authentic Portuguese cuisine. If you were searching for any other reason to visit and stay at Quinta de la Rosa, to dine at Cozinha de Clara is surely it! Under chef Pedro Cardoso, who trained in many of the top restaurants in Portugal and formerly worked at the prestigious Six Senses Douro Hotel and Spa in Régua, the restaurant offers traditional Portuguese food, fused with flavours reflecting the family’s mixed heritage. Dishes are prepared using produce grown in Quinta de la Rosa’s own garden, called ‘Paradise’ and of course feature the estate’s own olives, olive oil, vinegars and wine.
As mentioned earlier Cozinha de Clara is built into the hillside and features a stunning full length outdoor balcony, offering sublime views of the Douro - this really is a spectacular setting! You can access the restaurant via steps or a lift.
Our dining experience at Quinta de la Rosa
We found the service excellent and the food and wines simply delicious. Without hesitation this was the real deal - we enjoyed one of the best meals we have ever had, we couldn’t fault it.
We started with a fabulous glass of white wine on the balcony and then moved inside to enjoy a 3 course dinner with different wines and ports! The whole evening cost us 120 euros and we thought it was worth every euro!
We were offered a plate of wonderful appetisers, with beautiful estate olives, fresh bread and olive oil for dipping. This was followed by slices of the freshest tuna carpaccio, with salad, we have ever tasted and a main course of iberian black pork with truffle mash potato, vegetables and local mushrooms. We finished our meal with some delicious estate made ice cream and a selection of cheeses and homemade jams, paired of course, with a couple of glasses of divine Quinta de la Rosa Port wine.
Not forgetting the breakfasts
Another memorable experience, Quinta de la Rosa breakfast. Again we took the opportunity to sit outside on the amazing Cozinha de Clara balcony, gazing over the Douro - what a breakfast spot! An immaculate buffet area offered small, individual pots of homemade muesli with yoghurt and cold meats and local cheeses, along with the most delicious, fresh juice. Egg-based dishes were served at the table and we enjoyed a delicious bread basket full of different types of breads and croissants. Again, faultless and very special.
In addition to Cozinha de Clara, there is a more casual restaurant called ‘Tim’s Terrace’, named after Sophia’s father.
Learning more about Quinta de la Rosa wines
Obviously one of the main reasons to visit and/or stay here is to experience one of the best wineries in the Douro valley and to discover Quinta de la Rosa wines.
Quinta de la Rosa produces about 300k litres/year of wine today, 70% of which is dry wine and 30% fortified sweet wine - or - Port wine.
They produce a range of different wines, made possible through growing 20-30 different grape varieties on different vineyards at different altitudes. The oldest vineyards date back 60-70 years and it is these which produce the grapes for the famous Port wines. Sustainable agriculture is practiced and everything is processed and controlled by Quinta de la Rosa.
The Quinta de la Rosa house style is quite dry, influenced by the very hot, mostly slate vineyards (remember ‘Vale de inferno’!)
Our tour of the Quinta de la Rosa winery and wine tasting
We chose to do a one hour wine tour where we got to visit the winery and the traditional port cellar, where we learned all about the family estate’s history, the vineyards, and how Port and the table wines are made. After the tour we enjoyed a tasting of 2 wines - a white and a red, followed by 2 Ports - a tawny and a ruby. Honestly, the wines were all delicious and we learned a lot more about Douro wines and Douro Port wines. Our guide was excellent and she allowed us to taste a couple of other Ports on the side, which guided our choices for our dinner later on and we ended up purchasing a bottle of 10 year old tawny Port!
The tour was worth every bit of the 20 euros per person cost - with one tour offered as a compliment for hotel guests.
Being harvest time, it was very busy in the winery, so it was great to be able to witness all of the activity. During harvest time grape picking can last from 5am-8pm. The grapes are then trodden by foot for a total of 3 hours - always at night, starting at 8pm when it’s cooler, but also when estate workers are available to complete this traditional task! After the grapes are macerated for 12 hours, the juice is taken from the huge granite troughs or ‘lagars’ and put into stainless steel and oak barrels to ferment and age.
What else to do in the area around Quinta de la Rosa
As mentioned before, staying at Quinta de la Rosa provides a fantastic base for exploring the Douro heartland. This is where all of the best vineyards are located, the scenery is amazing and being near the town of Pinhão offers great transport links.
See our blog for lots of inspiration for things to do, places to go and eat in Portugal’s beautiful Douro Valley.
Also see our web page on the Douro with our recommended Douro Valley wineries to visit and information about Douro Valley wines.
Not far from Quinta de la Rosa is one of the Douro’s greatest vineyards and wineries - Quinta do Bomfim. This is also worth a visit - they were awarded ‘Best of Global Wine Tourism award’ in 2017.
Note that you always need to book Douro Valley wine tours and wine tastings in advance to avoid disappointment.
Conclusion - our personal highlights
We would highly recommend staying at this fabulous Douro Valley wine hotel and estate - or at least visiting for a wine tour or wine tasting.
The location and setting is simply stunning, the service was excellent and the staff really helpful and friendly - nothing was too much trouble. There are a few steps to navigate, but the hotel staff will ensure you have the best room to accommodate any needs you have.
200 euros per night is a lot of money to pay - but this was in peak season - and if you are looking for tranquility and amazing scenery and wish to experience the best that the Douro - and Portugal - has to offer in terms of food, wine and hospitality, this is it. Staying at Quinta de la Rosa, you also get an authentic Douro wine estate and winery experience.
A book was provided in the room, called ‘Portugal - Wine & Lifestyle, an idea by Rita Soares’, detailing over 20 amazing wine & lifestyle hotel experiences in Portugal - and Quinta de la Rosa was one of them. We loved reading the book and in fact purchased a copy from reception. It inspired us to stay in one of the other listed hotels in Portugal and plan now to work our way through all of them! Look out for the reviews soon!
