Hotel berhampiran Ponte dos Sete Arcos, Nordeste

I just returned from a three night stay at this hotel with my girlfriend and our teenage daughter. We have been countless times in S. Miguel as we consider it such a pleasant and beautiful island. This time we opted for a hotel outside the main towns and in fact we managed to do just that. At the same time it is only 20 minutes away from the airport and 15 minutes away from Ponta Delgada or Ribeira Grande, the two main towns. We already visited the nine islands of the Azores archipelago and always get a rental car at the airport (exception at Corvo Island). If you are staying in this hotel, it is paramount that you do the same. As to the hotel itself, we booked it only four weeks in advance on high season, thus we had to pay the full rate of the stay at that moment. Upon check-in on room 206, we were given two identical cards without any distinctive element, one to open the door and the other to insert into the slot for lightening. That is odd, generally, hotels give two identical keys to open the door and one of them, if necessary can be left on the slot when we are out. We were assigned a spacious accommodation with living room, bedroom and bathroom. We did not have sea view and the living room had lots of glass walls overlooking the adjacent condo. All those glasses made it very hot on the sun shining days and we had to keep the AC on during the day. The décor of the room was unstylish and lacking attention to details. The bedroom had a big closet but no clothes rail or hangers. Besides that, one of the doors of the closet could not be opened fully, because it bumped into the shelves that are installed as bedside tables. The safe was old style, that is to say, it closes with a key that we had to ask for at the reception at no charge, along with a cumbersome key ring that we had to take with us whenever we were out of the room. The living room had a well equipped kitchen, that we did not use but it was constantly patrolled by half a dozen ants. We had bought previously some good looking fruits and had to fill a big dish with water and in the middle of it we put a small dish with our fruit so that the ants weren’t able to cross the water in order to get to fruit island. The bathroom was very spacious and pleasant looking even if the washbasin was more stylish than efficient. This room lacked tremendously of a place to put one´s belongings (toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, electrical razor and so on). Amazingly no one foresaw the installation of a shelf. The social areas of the hotel such as the lobby are, again, unstylish, corridors have shabby carpeting. The room where breakfast is served has a view to an outside wall and lacks natural lightening. Breakfast itself has a reasonable variety of items, but by no means is it worth 12 euro per person per day, that in our case we were asked to paid in advance, precisely at the same moment we made the reservation. There is a restaurant at the hotel, called Dragoeiro but it features mainly sushi. It is in

Menghadap Lautan Atlantik dan terus ke laut, tiada halangan di hadapan. Bilik ini mempunyai balkoni, yang sangat selesa dan mempunyai pemandangan yang luas. Anda boleh melihat laut terus dari katil. Bilik mandi dilengkapi dengan tab mandi. Boleh mandi sambil tengok laut. Memang selesa! Hotel ini sangat bersih, saya sangat menyukai gaya hiasannya, ia mempunyai rasa reka bentuk, padanan warna sangat sesuai untuk pemandangan tempatan, dan perinciannya dibuat dengan baik. Perkhidmatan ini sangat baik, restoran bufet sarapan pagi boleh melihat laut dan makanannya banyak. Hotel ini mempunyai kolam renang infiniti luaran. Anda boleh berenang sambil melihat laut. Jika anda tidak mahu berenang, anda boleh datang dengan malas untuk berjemur di bawah sinar matahari. Terdapat juga sebuah bar di sebelah kolam renang. Jika hujan, terdapat juga kolam renang dalaman yang dipanaskan, jadi anda boleh berenang sambil menonton laut. 【Pemandangan Tepi Laut】 🧹Kebersihan: 🍃Persekitaran: 🔔Perkhidmatan:

Quaint little resort tucked away in Povoacao. Very quiet and clean. Fantastic breakfast, and decently appointed bar which was exceptionally reasonable. The staff was nothing short of amazing! We accidentally left our car key in the room and they got it back to us at the airport just in time! Hertz also gave our car we'd reserved away before we landed... and they helped us locate a replacement on a holiday and drove us to pick it up. Amazing people! It's not super central to everything on the island, but we enjoyed the drives and seeing all the happy cows and vistas in and out. Great time here!

We stayed here for a night in the last week of April 2023 - though we booked this hotel because it mentioned 24 hour access to the park, when we went after the park closed it was not lit up, was quite dark so frankly we would not have been able to enjoy even the large main geothermal pool (we changed and went there, but didn’t even get in when we realized it could be dangerous due to the depth and lack of light), instead opting for a morning dip before the park opened. The rooms smelled a bit musty, and the bathrooms would get wet constantly because the shower “door” was glass that didn’t extend enough to prevent water splashing out so the bathroom mat would constantly get soaked - a pet peeve of mine. Keep in mind the restaurant there shuts early with the last order at 9, so when we got back from the town by 9:20 and wanted to have dinner, we were told to order “room service” - which meant we had to go down to the bar to order the food, pay and wait for it there, and bring the cart up to the room ourselves when it was ready. Not sure if this is the case also for room service order before 9pm. Though the Terra Nostra gardens are worth a visit, in hindsight I would have done it as a day trip, as there are other geothermal pools close by as well that are open until later ( 10:30/11 ), so no need to stay at this particular hotel unless you want access jacuzzis and geothermal pool before other guests can arrive. When we visited the jacuzzis were under scheduled maintenance work until June 2023 so perhaps this access in addition would have made the stay worth it.

Overall, I did enjoy my stay here and I would return. The staff was exceptional and really bent over backwards with a smile to ensure you were happy. The spa was lovely and I enjoyed having private hot springs as part of the hotel experience. The hot springs are 24 hours, so that can’t be beat. I also appreciated they let you do two nights (other places wanted three night minimums) so I could split my time on the island. The breakfast was a nice spread. They actually provided champagne with the drinks, which is more generous than other hotels. I did a dinner with them too that was good. The rooms themselves were modern and clean. My negatives were that it’s off a busy- ish road and, while I grabbed one of the last rooms, I didn’t appreciate that there would be rooms looking into a parking lot in what I was expecting to be a very serene/remote spot. I’d pay extra for a better view/side when booking. A couple notes: I was surprised that this small town is not very pedestrian friendly. There are very narrow sidewalks and a couple roads where drivers are whizzing by. The town needs more crosswalks and speed bumps. You’re better off with a car here. I was also told that if you tip on the receipt, the money goes to the hotel, which I’m hoping they disseminate, but not directly to the person helping you. I’d have some cash for tips … That said, no one ever appeared like they expected tips.

This apart-hotel complex is absolutely beautiful, flowering bushes everywhere with a lovely scent. Our apartment was large and airy and had a great private terrace on the first floor (2nd floor if you’re North American). It really was a home from home with a full dining area with table and chairs and lounge area with sofa, soft rug and tv. The main double bedroom was upstairs with an anteroom having a sofa/pull out bed for children or guests 3&4. Lots of storage in the bedroom but there was a distinct lack of hangers in the wardrobe but loads of drawer space. The kitchen is adequate enough for simple meals (no oven) with a twin hob and microwave, kettle and toaster, and a selection of pots and pans. We managed really well. The hotel provides breakfast 8am - 10am if you want it at 12euros per person. We didn’t try this option. Housekeeping are amazing and come every day! Everything is clean and beds are made. Towels can be changed daily if you like. For a self-catering holiday we found that a lot was provided in the apartment for us: washing up liquid, washing up sponge, washing up cloth and a tea towel. These are replenished and changed as needed. There is also toilet roll, shower gel and hand wash provided in the bathroom which was lovely - again, replenished when needed or on request. The complex gardens are beautiful and well-tended. The pool looked lovely and well-cared for, however we didn’t try it out. There seems to be a hot tub in a wooden building off the pool area - we took a look but it was grubby and the water had floating debris. I’m sure they would have sorted it out if we had asked, but we were out and about discovering the island every day. You definitely need to hire a car for the duration of your stay here as there isn’t any bus route nearby and taxis would be very expensive to get around the island. HANDY TIP: If you’re picking up your hire car on landing at the airport and driving to Quinta da Santana - to get into the complex there is an electronic gate that requires a remote control. When you first arrive, drive past the big metal gate and find the next smaller (pedestrian) gate. Put the hazard lights on in the car and get out to ring the bell. This alerts reception who will come and open the gate for you or just give you a remote straight away so you can drive into the complex. We had a horrendous time of looking and looking and going around and around the roads trying to find the entrance!! We didn’t know about the need to ring the pedestrian gate bell (face palm!) The reception staff are lovely and very accommodating and speak English very well. I’m not sure what other languages they can speak. The area that Quinta da Santana is situated in is the one fly in the ointment….it seems really run down and the road they are situated on is all full of industrial buildings and commercial businesses. Further exploration within Santana uncovers the grubbier side of agricultural life with its local working class community.