Parador de Monforte

Situated at the highest point of the town of Monforte de Lemos is the San Vicente do Pino monumental complex, comprised of the Keep, the San Vicente do Pino Monastery and the Condes de Lemos Palace; the latter two house the Parador de Monforte's facilities. The origins of the monastery date back to the 9th century, although the current building, erected on the site of an earlier one, is Neo-classical and dates to the 17th century. The 16th century Condes de Lemos Palace, located opposite the monastery, was damaged by fire and then restored in the 18th century. The original doorway, with the shields of Lemos and the Castro y Osorio and Enriquez families has been conserved. Today, the palace houses the Parador's magnificent function rooms and dinning rooms. The monastery building contains a central Neo-classical cloister of finely-worked stone; it is the monument's most interesting area in terms of architecture, with an intelligent layout of slopes and curved channels in the central flooring that were used to collect rain water that was then stored in a cistern beneath the floor tiles. The monastery has been restored and converted into a Parador with 50 rooms distributed around the central cloister. There is also an annex building called the 'Casa del Monte Fuerte', with a capacity for 100 guests. In addition to the standard hotel services such as restaurant, cafA©, function rooms, etc., the Parador features a sauna, Jacuzzi, seasonal pool and Internet connection. The Condes de Lemos Palace houses the convention and banquet rooms.