We just completed a week long stay at the Penha Longa and I'm very impressed by the property. The property is breathtaking and is home to a plush golf resort, so the surrounding areas and nature is beautiful if you are into hikes like we are. We are not golfers, but the urge to start golfing definitely came once or twice during our stay. I redeemed points for our stay, and as a Category 5 property, demanding 35k per night, it truly is a bargain. We booked the standard room and were upgraded the day before our arrival to a Junior Suite which did just fine. The room is slightly dated, but was overall very comfortable and with the classic RC bed. Breakfast was included in our rate, not sure if this was an isolated thing due to Covid-19 or whatever it was, as my understanding is that breakfast is typically not included for redemptions, nor is it offered to Elites at RCs. I had read somewhere else that the hotel offers free breakfast to Platinum+ even though it is not the brand standard.
Breakfast is fine, but nothing special. You can have it in the room if you have it included, for a 10 euro delivery surcharge. The breakfast is otherwise an assisted buffet consisting of some cold cuts, fruit, pastries and beans, hash browns etc. You can also order eggs whatever way you like it. I found them to be very accommodating at the breakfast and they prepared some things that were not on the menu for us with a big smile and no surcharge. Overall I would say the stars of this property are the staff. Their intentions are in the right place, and they definitely do their best to make you happy. You can reach them easily via WhatsApp and they were quite responsive. Now there were some smaller service blunders, but nothing major, and this is still Southern Europe, so refined service is from my experience not even found at top tier properties.
Our stay consisted mostly of R&R, which meant going for hikes, enjoying the indoor and outdoor pool and occasionally visit restaurants in close by Sintra or Cascais. We couldn't have been happier with our stay. On the Covid-19 subject: the hotel is taking necessary precautions, but not at the cost of providing good service, and all normal services are still there, even if they are slightly modified.