The Convento de Sao Paulo, located in Alentejo is a wonderful place. The “lonesome poor St Paul’s order” (which is not the same as the other St. Paul’s order) settled in this hills in 356 D.C.. They wanted a place to pray and find spiritual peace. Shortly thereafter, in 1182 the son of a rich noble Portuguese man joined them and his father decided to build the monastery that turned out to be this magnificent building which is today, the hotel Convento de Sao Paulo. The present owner runs it as a non-profit organization, interested above all, in restoring every corner as much as possible. This convent has probably one of the largest private art tile collections covering every corridor with scenes representing the life of St. Paul (about 50.000 tiles). The rooms at Convento de Sao Paulo are quite nice. They managed to keep the original monks cells practically untouched, only that to convert them into hotel guest rooms, they had to use three cells for every two bedrooms, this was necessary in order to be able to put a full bath in each room. The grandeur of this place makes you feel as if the monks were still living there, quite often you have the sensation of having seen a monk cross the corridor... There is so much to see in this place that a complete house tour, can take you half a day. Ask them to show the novices quarters, the church, the cellar and a few things more not exactly open to the public.