Convento da Graça, Tavira

Inspiring Culture

While converting the 16th-century Convento da Graça into a luxury hotel, developers ran into an unexpected problem that canceled plans for a basement spa and pool.

Beneath the old convent and the defensive walls of the ancient coastal city, the excavations uncovered a cobbled street and foundations of a dozen homes built more than 700 years ago by the Arab Muslims who then ruled much of Portugal.

Instead of the pool, there’s now a small museum under the hotel bar. Walkways allow visitors to wander above what remains of the medieval Moorish neighborhood.

Much of Portugal lived under Islamic rule for over 500 years from the early 8th century, when North African invaders overturned the Germanic kingdoms that had held sway over the Iberian Peninsula since the fall of the Roman Empire.

The Portuguese reconquista gradually forced the Arabs south, driving them from their last strongholds along the Algarve coast in 1249. In the neighboring Spanish region of Andalusia, the Emirate of Granada would hold out for another 250 years.

The Pousada de Tavira, Convento da Graça, is located in the Santo Agostinho Convent, founded by Dom Sebastião in the sixteenth century. This hotel in Tavira perfectly combines classic lines with a welcoming atmosphere and modern equipment.

 The Pousada de Tavira has 36 rooms, all with a view to the patio or the garden with pool. All the rooms come with air conditioning, a private bathroom with bath and hairdryer.

 The guests at the Pousada de Tavira can enjoy the outdoor pool on the sun loungers under the parasols or read a book in the drawing room.

The restructuring project of the Pousada do Convento Graça was the sole responsibility of the architect John Sousa Campos, who also included the construction of new spaces.

During the construction of the Pousada’s remodelling, they uncovered archaeological treasures of Islamic origin from the thirteenth century: Bairro Almoada. These discoveries forced some adjustments in the original project design, to allow for the preservation of another important historic legacy, which can be enjoyed at the Patio Moor Bar.