Monte Velho
8 June 2023
The Riding
The Accommodation
Do you have any comments about the accommodation and food?
The buffet selection for breakfast, lunch and dinner is simply excellent. It's traditional continental style, quality and quantity is great . Biggest challenge (as a non rider) is watching the calorie intake! Yum. The rooms are large and airy, everything works, beds are huge , showers strong . Everything you'd hope for in a home from home. The honesty self-serve kitchen/bar ( if you're still peckish between meals, but mostly dipping in the well stocked fridge for cold drinks) seems to work well. The pool is freezing, um, very refreshing and the jacuzzi with views over the valley to the lake and fields with the mares and foals is just idyllic . Stunning.
Before Your Holiday
Did you have all of the information you needed to:
How could we improve the quality of pre-holiday information that we send?
Not sure that you can. But as we're repeat visitors it's difficult to remember if there were things that we just know now so don't need prompting. Your booklet pack is very comprehensive.
How could we improve the way we handled your booking and payment?
Reservation process seems to work well. Preference of bank transfer payment is understood, so all good.
Do you have any other feedback for us?
If there was one thing I could change, it would be a teleport to get from Lisbon to Monte Velho instead of the 1.5 hour transfer. 🙂 But we hire a decent car, the drive is OK, roads are good and quiet generally, and the destination is definitely worth the trip!
We've already rebooked for next year, there just doesn't seem to be a dressage based holiday experience anywhere else in Europe that ticks all our boxes enough to make us want to try elsewhere. So Monte Velho is it.
[Abbie from In The Saddle replies: Many thanks for your comprehensive feedback. We're so pleased that you enjoyed your fourth visit to the wonderful Monte Velho and have already booked to go back again. It is always a pleasure to arrange your holidays].
Jim who has been on 7 In The Saddle rides. 4th visit, best ever (so far) | My wife Bev does the riding, I watch, video and learn too. She has a German warmblood at home competing at Advanced Medium level but even though he's now 21 everyone is saying there is PSG in there soon. Although Lusitanos are different, the opportunity to ride horses who can do the higher level moves is just amazing, to really get a riding feel and bring home to pass on. All the trainers at Monte Velho have been amazing, they know their horses and are very adept at matching horse with rider capabilities and aspirations. The 2 riders per trainer hour lessons work well, balancing time to learn with walk breaks to catch breath and let the instructions sink in. So lots of perspiration but loads more inspiration!