Forte de São João da Barra

Fantastic find. Perfect quiet b&b in a 350 year old fort. 10m stroll to Cabanas with many very good restaurants. Complimentary boat to beach. Very welcoming.

Very unique, calm and relaxing place. Amazing location and views from the bar terrace. Very welcoming staff and great breakfast. We had a short stay but definitely worth every minute. We will be coming back soon!

We stayed in late May and had the Fort all to ourselves! Great place, fantastic staff, and some really great venuesto eat and drink in not too far away! Beach just a short ferry ride away too!

Stayed here in August 2022 for 4 nights. We had the Lavente suite and it was perfect. Although the room has no windows, it's does have a skylight. The room was large, very clean and had strong WiFi. The crew was very friendly and Rita, the innkeeper, was extremely helpful. The forte itself is amazing with easy beach access. The breakfast was fantastic with beautiful views. The same with the pool. Be aware that it does require climbing some steps down a dune and walk along the beach but is a relatively easy walk to town. If you want something away from tons of tourists with great access to a beautiful beach, this is the place to stay.

This B&B surpassed our expectations enormously. It is a wonderful old fort with modern amenities. Our room was a converted gunpowder storeroom with a lovely stone floor and built-in working fireplace - not that we needed it in early June, the weather was beautiful. The bathroom was large, modern and well equipped. We had chairs outside our room where you could sit and observe the dark night sky - the stars, satellites and the ISS were there for all to see.||Cecilia was such a warm and welcoming host. She was so helpful and great fun to be with. We looked forward to our breakfast each morning on the sea facing ramparts - such an uplifting view at the start of every day.||The fort has a private swimming pool and lots of hidden nooks to sit in the shade and read or snooze. We particularly liked the olive trees next to the pool.||It is in a great location just a few minutes walk along the beach to some great restaurants and the local spar supermarket.||Overall this unique and special place gave us a wonderful holiday. It was so relaxing and such a superb area of outstanding natural beauty.

Our experience here was fantastic and so relaxing. The manager (Claudia) was lovely and such a gracious hostess. The room, just off of a breathtaking courtyard, was clean, well-appointed and spacious--especially considering it was one of the smaller rooms. The pool is small but lovely and the views are amazing. Breakfast was delightful with eggs and a continental assortment of cheeses and meats plus fruit and freshly baked breads. The town is a short walk away, as is a 2 minute boat ride to a gorgeous beach. The only downside is that the wifi was available just in the main house, but that's not a huge deal as it truly feels like a remote getaway...in a castle dating back to the 17th century! We'll certainly be back.

Who doesn't love staying in a 17th Century fort? The grounds are stunning and well kept with a unique set of rooms. There are lots of nods to the history of the fort throughout in the way it's decorated, which is a nice touch. Breakfast out on the terrace offers truly unique views in the Algarve, and while the breakfast isn't anything to write home about, it's perfectly good to get you started on your day. The staff are all very friendly and helpful making our stay all the more pleasant.

My husband and I stayed here for three nights during our two-week Portuguese honeymoon, and it was the perfect peaceful respite after a week of high-paced sightseeing in the cities. I don't think I've ever felt so at home in a hotel before.||||We arrived at the fort on foot from the Conceicao train station, which I don't recommend unless you're backpacking--wheeled luggage won't do well on dirt roads! We were immediately welcomed in, given a key code to the front door and showed to our Moon Room, despite the fact that we arrived before check-in. The owner, Cecilia, went above and beyond in loaning us a beach umbrella and printing out a Google map of her three top restaurant recommendations. (We visited them all and they were delicious, especially Noelia & Jeronimo's!) ||||We loved our room, which won us over with its unique aesthetic, perfect size and cool temperature. Outside of our room, the hotel had everything we could possibly need for two days in the sun and rain, including sun loungers scattered throughout the property, a pool, beach towels, free water and tea, snacks and beverages for purchase, books in English and Portuguese, local tourism information and a handy local bird guide. (We asked for a clothes line one afternoon and instead returned to find our clothes dried and folded--what a pleasant surprise!) The included breakfast starts at 9am and is a delicious combination of baked treats, cheeses and meats and fresh fruits with yogurt. The view from your table can't be beat!||||We visited the fort in mid-October, which despite the still-nice weather (sunny and low 70s F/low 20s C) is considered the off season in the Algarve. As such, we were unable to use the fort's own ferry boat to the beach, but we didn't mind; the Cabanas ferry is a five-minute walk away and costs 1.50 per person round trip, though we were told the hours are a bit more limited than in summer and tend to revolve around Primeira Liga football games! All of the beach facilities were still open, including the restaurant, snack bar and restrooms. So, too, were all the local restaurants. ||||A few tips for visitors: make sure you have a flashlight, even if it's on your phone, for the nighttime walk between town and the fort, as there are no lights; take a short and cheap (2 euro) train ride to Tavira on rainy days to explore the town and the castle; bring a large umbrella with you to combat the wind on the beach; and get to know Cecilia, who has great local stories to tell and is not your average B&B owner.