Monte Velho - Portugal

Liz (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Gorgeous venue and beautiful part of the world... with even more beautiful horses! | It was an absolutely beautiful venue with well cared for horses and excellent facilities. I was well looked after (particularly in terms of food) and the level of instruction was great. Anyone, whether a dressage rider or not could leave there and know they have solid things to work but also know they have achieved something in their riding. I specifically chose to focus on lessons but other riders commented on the beautiful trail rides.

Do you have any comments about the accommodation and food?

I had very specific dietary requirements and they were excellently met. The whole team from riding pros to chefs were lovely.

How could we improve the quality of pre-holiday information that we send?

I thought the holiday pack sent before was a very nice touch. I was kept fully up to date with Covid requirements and even delays at passport control were well communicated to the Mote Velho team and transfers arranged!

How could we improve the way we handled your booking and payment?

The only thing I would say is that sometimes the arena felt full when the pros were also using it. It's great to be sharing the school with riders of such calibre but sometimes you really had to be really aware of how everyone was moving and shift out the way quite quickly! That said, it wasn't intimidating and it isn't every day you share with Olympians.

Do you have any other feedback for us?

As a solo traveller, I found the resort and other guests to be fully open-minded and very welcoming. It's a beautiful part of the world and it is great to meet so many other like minded people in one, stunning place.