THE FACTS ABOUT POUSADA SAO FRANCISCO

Portugal Beja

There's no doubting that the building's former incarnation was as a 13th-century Franciscan convent. Beyond the reception area is the vast church, now largely redundant save for the occasional concert or reception. Then there are the frescoes and painted ceilings in the chapterhouse (now a sitting room), with black-and-white ecclesiastical architectural prints dotted along the walls, not to mention the kitsch model church at the bottom of one of the staircases. And there are also the rose bushes, the 15th-century cloisters framing the cypress trees and an ancient well in the courtyard. On the doorstep is Beja itself, a pretty, lively little town with narrow streets and whitewashed houses. Partially pedestrianised, it is a pleasant place to wander around. The town is perhaps best known as the home of Mariana Alceforado, a 17th-century nun who fell in love with a French soldier to whom she wrote many love letters, the translations of which were subsequently published as Letters of a Portuguese Nun. This place really gains atmosphere after dark, with candles flickering around the cloisters. Dinner is served in the high, vaulted restaurant and, as in many of the Pousadas, the start and finish of the meal were the highlights: the complimentary nibbles (in this case, chorizo, squid, garlic mushrooms, olives) and, for dessert, bolo de pinhao, a rich pine-nut cake. The bar is low and long and gives onto the garden, which features a large sunny terrace, a generous, square swimming pool and a tennis court. The bedrooms have terracotta stone floors, simple wooden furniture, white walls and exposed brickwork, vaulted ceilings, dark-red paintwork and yellow, checked fabrics. For a broader perspective, climb up the bell tower on the other side of the cloisters, where you can look out over the tiled roofs of Beja towards the 14th-century castle and the Alentejo countryside beyond. CONTACT Pousada São Francisco, Beja (00 351 284 313580; fax: 329143). Doubles from around £70, suites from around £83