What will $500 buy you in Macau? A punt at the roulette table; a sangria-sodden meal at Fernando's; or a massage at the Mandarin Oriental Spa. It can also buy a night's stay in a tranquil Portuguese-style inn, in the grounds of a 19th-century fortress. Inside, you'll find a tastefully decorated room with a small balcony. Beds are dressed with crisp cotton, and the spotless adjoining bathroom is decorated in blue and white ceramics. Free welcome drinks and breakfast are included in the price, and if you throw in an additional $400, you can upgrade to a suite. So, what's the catch? Well, the 20-room Pousada de Mong-Ha is the educational hotel for the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT), and all the staff are students. Not that you'd notice. From the moment you arrive, the service is nearly faultless. A smartly attired receptionist welcomes you in the rustic lobby and leads you to your room, along terracotta-tiled corridors, through open-air courtyards lined with hand-painted Portuguese azulejo tiles, and past a tinkling fountain. When we call housekeeping for a newspaper next morning, not one, but two copies are delivered within a minute (which saves fighting over the funnies). A request for a late checkout is granted with a smile and without hesitation. That said, the relentless hospitality is understandable when you consider that jobs and grades are on the line. Located on a hill behind the Buddhist Kun Lam Temple in the north of Macau, the IFT was established in 1995 to train students for the local tourism and hotel industries. The Pousada is in former military barracks. Students are required to work in housekeeping, reception, restaurants and kitchens, two days a week for seven weeks during the first two years of their course. Eighty per cent are from Macau and go on to work in the local tourism sector, while most guests are Hong Kong residents. Andrew Lui, a business development manager, has stayed at the Pousada de Mong-Ha three or four times a year over the past few years. Lui and his wife, Celia, discovered the hotel by accident. 'Everywhere else was fully booked, and we came across an ad in a travel agent's window at the ferry terminal,' he says. 'We fell in love with the place immediately. It's very clean, has a lovely atmosphere with the garden and the Portuguese-style decorations, and it's never crowded. The students are so polite and it's not as commercial as other places.' John Rhind, a Hong Kong resident and retired High Court judge, agrees. 'I guess it could best be described as a boutique-style hotel,' he says. 'There's nowhere quite like it. It's not part of a chain. I think I've stayed there about six times - for three consecutive Christmases, two Macau festivals and at least one other time. The rooms are comfortable and well-kept, the staff are extremely enthusiastic and closely supervised by their tutors, and it's also very good value. Plus, it's about as quiet a spot as you'll find in Macau.' The hotel's charm makes up for its lack of facilities. Walk up the cobbled steps and you'll arrive at Mong Ha fortress, built in 1849, where you can explore the cannons and embattlements. Or you might stroll along the carefully landscaped rooftop and herb gardens, where fresh thyme, basil and rosemary are plucked for the kitchens. Breakfast and Sunday brunch are served in the Pousada Restaurant overlooking the herb garden, on Portuguese crockery and with embroidered linen. Sunday brunch, popular among locals, costs $100 ($110 for non-guests) for five courses plus tea or coffee. The Macanese fare is perfectly adequate, if not memorable. And the service is impressive. If it's five-star luxury you're after or facilities galore, then the Pousada de Mong-Ha isn't for you. But if you want to stay somewhere with character in spades, this could be an ideal, inexpensive, option. Pousada de Mong-Ha is about 10 minutes from the Macau ferry terminal. Ask your taxi driver for loi-yau hok-yuen or mong-ha san. Double rooms are $500, suites are $900 (or $700 and $1,000, respectively, at weekends and public holidays). If you bring a copy of this article, you'll get a 10 per cent discount. Room 105 is the best double, or try one on the second floor. Mong Ha is the best suite. Call [853] 515 222 or visit www.ift.edu.mo