Pousada Serra da Estrela - Portugal's Abandoned Tuberculosis Hospital Is Now a Hotel

High in Portugal's Serra da Estrela, an orange-hued fortress sprawls across the mountainside like something out of a Wes Anderson film. This is no ordinary hotel. For decades, tuberculosis patients took the air on its curative balconies. Then it sat abandoned for 40 years, briefly housing refugees from Portugal's colonial wars. Now, architect Eduardo Souto Moura has transformed the 160-meter facade into a hotel that refuses to forget what it was – hospital-white bathrooms and all.

You can still sunbathe where patients once did, sip Beira wine on the third-floor balconies, or ski down mainland Portugal's highest peaks. Manager Teresa Silveira is quick to remind visitors that this isn't just a winter destination. "Serra da Estrela is also beautiful in warmer weather," she says, though families hauling children up the mountain for snow seem unconvinced.

Location

The hotel sits at 1,200 meters above sea level inside Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela, eight kilometers from Covilhã's railway station. Look up from the town and you'll spot it immediately, an architectural statement wedged into the rocks. In 2024, Serra da Estrela earned the World Famous Tourism Mountain label in the Nature category – though the real draw is the altitude. At 1,993 meters, these are continental Portugal's highest mountains.

A shuttle runs throughout the day from Covilhã, stopping at the hotel and other mountain attractions like the Torre. On clear days, you can see Spanish mountains from the Alto dos Livros viewpoint.

From Sanatorium to Hotel

Architect Cottinelli Telmo designed the original building between 1928 and 1936 as a tuberculosis sanatorium. The mountain air was considered therapeutic, and the sprawling structure was built to accommodate patients seeking cure through fresh air and sunlight.

After closing, it stood empty from the late 1960s until 2011, reopening only occasionally for the Covilhã National Mountaineering Club's traditional snow carnivals and once to house 700 people returning from former Portuguese colonies during the post-revolution period in April 1974.

When the Pestana Group began restoration in 2011, they handed the project to Eduardo Souto Moura, the Porto architect who had to dig through old photographs to understand what the building had been. He chose minimalism: white, gray, and blue throughout. Some of his decisions seem deliberately uncomfortable – the bathroom decor deliberately echoes hospital wards – but preservation trumped conventional luxury. Two original iron lifts survived the renovation, as did that impressive facade and the curative balconies where patients once sunbathed.

Those third-floor balconies remain functional. You can sprawl on sun loungers there now, wine in hand, wooden tables nearby. "There has to be a balance between the place's history and the comfort of a hotel," Silveira explains.

The hotel opened in 2014 with 92 rooms, each containing a brief overview of the sanatorium's history.

The Restaurant

The restaurant occupies a spacious, light-filled room with vaulted windows framing mountain views. The menu leans heavily on regional dishes: roast kid, juniper rice, and pastel de molho, a century-old recipe where stewed meat gets wrapped in puff pastry. The dish has humble origins, born from mountain necessity.

Start with the regional cheese and sausage selection if you want to understand the mountains through food. Rice black pudding with goat, sardine cutlet with frade beans and roasted peppers, border soup, and pea cream all appear on the menu. The alheira ball stuffed with Serra cheese and veal carpaccio with capers, arugula, and cured cheese offer more refined takes on regional flavors. Traditional curd helps you recover after mountain activities.

The bar, set next to the main hall, serves Fundão Cherry Gin with views over the Cova da Beira landscape. In winter, hot chocolate by the fire. The Wine Corner pairs with regional cheese and cold cuts.

The Rooms: Turrets and Minimalism

The Junior Suites measure 3 square meters and offer panoramic or garden views. You get a double bed or two singles, a bathroom with shower or bath, air conditioning, and free Wi-Fi. The rooms include a telephone, safe, and hairdryer – standard hotel amenities dressed up in Souto Moura's deliberately austere aesthetic.

The Upper Turrets are what you came for, even if you don't know it yet. These 34-square-meter rooms occupy the semi-circular turrets that punctuate the building's facade. The balconies curve outward, offering panoramic mountain views that make the extra effort worthwhile.

Step onto that balcony and the mountains spread before you – snow-capped in winter, green in summer, always dramatic. The turret rooms fit two adults and one child, with air conditioning, free Wi-Fi, coffee and tea facilities, and a sofa bed. The bathroom comes fully equipped, maintaining that hospital-clean aesthetic Souto Moura insisted on.

The heated indoor pool operates year-round from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., offering a place to decompress after mountain hiking or skiing. The pool sits alongside a sauna and Turkish bath, both available during the same hours. You'll need to wear a cap, and if you're under 16, bring an adult.

The massage room operates from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., staffed by experienced professionals offering various treatments. The spa area rounds out the ground-floor wellness facilities, all designed for post-mountain recovery.

The outdoor pool, surrounded by gardens, opens during warmer months with those same mountain views stretching beyond the water. It's a different experience from the indoor pool – less about recovery, more about lounging in the altitude while the mountains watch. Same rules apply: caps required, under-16s need adult supervision, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. operating hours.

Outdoor Activities

Summer transforms the snowy slopes into lush greenery. Someone organizes activities in the park for children, while adults tackle trails leading to viewpoints, waterfalls, riverside beaches, and sanctuaries. The hotel maintains a Bike Station with storage, washing facilities, and space for minor repairs. Cyclists get access to challenging trails, with the hotel providing route information and infrastructure support.

In winter, families arrive for the snow. The nearby ski resort offers skiing and snowboarding, with the Torre accessible via the shuttle service. The hotel accommodates cyclists with secure outdoor parking and specialized amenities, positioning itself as a base camp for two-wheeled mountain exploration.