Sublime Comporta Country Retreat & Spa

What to like: Breakfast was very nice and up to the standards of a luxury hotel. Service was excellent, perhaps a notch above the usually expected service. The PR level at this hotel is remarkably friendly and courteous. The garden has some unique and carefully manicured combination of greens (colours and sizes) and zen grated sand and the garden paths are carefully bordered by dried pine needles. I’ve known gardens in five continents, and this is still wonderful and relaxing. We had dinner once at the hotel and i believe the smoked eel (appetizer) and the Lobster rice were worthy of a Michelin restaurant. There are no specific luxury clichés, as opposed to many other 5-star hotels. Though luxury is a feeling expressed by the surroundings. The whole hotel breathes an atmosphere of rustic upscale welcoming smile and quietness. Definitely a place to revisit. A criticism and some small hassles: 1. Biopools are and cleaned every 4x4 months - minimum 2 complete days (Nov / Mar/ Jul ?). Whenever booking a "Biopool room" guests should be informed it will be impossible to use the balcony and pool on their chosen stay. No one is basking in the sun or swimming while the plants are being cut and some hours later removed. Even less with a scuba-dier scrubbing the bottom of the pool for several hours. We might decide not to book or get a discount. In fact one is paying for a benefit which is entirely taken away and out of reach. Since we were lucky enough to chose those exact cleaning two days, were were reduced, I and my wife, to keep the curtains closed most of the time. I suggested at the reception, that this type of work as much as possible should be pushed into the first 2-3 hours of the morning during breakfast time. Even if such a change might imply working an extra week. 2. All the lights in the room should be controlled from the beds. 3. I fail to see the reason why bidets are unavailable – it’s not for lack of space and we have to take a shower each time we use the toilet. 4. The bedside Chinese Ming blue and white table vases hold an unequivocal presence and should be kept for their aesthetic impact but somehow an effort would be appreciated to add up 2-3 small drawers perhaps embedded and half-hidden on the top-sides of the bed ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A big not-to-like and some small