Excellent Trip Plan for Mainland Portugal and the Azores
Portugal
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May 6 - May 19, 2023
Our group could not have been happier with our two week trip to Portugal and Sao Miguel Island! The hotels, transfers, and guides were all excellent. In Lisbon, our guide was Filipa for two days and she was very good. I would definitely recommend Palacio Ludovice Hotel as well - great location, rooms, and customer service. We loved the day trip to Sintra, Estoril and Cascais as well - another great guide and Nortada restaurant for lunch was a great recommendation. Evora was lovely but I would not necessarily recommend the Pousada de Evora, Convento dos Loios hotel. The rooms were generally sparse and they had very limited staff. However, Telma (our guide for two days) was outstanding and we loved the Olive Oil Estate tour and lunch - definitely a high point. Quinta Nova Winery House was in a spectacular location - but the trip up and down the mountain was nerve racking for those with fear of heights! Our dinner at their restaurant was delicious and the boat trip down the Douro River was wonderful. Would not recommended the picnic lunch at Quinda da Roeda Winery and it was a LONG, uphill walk from the dock (not 10 minutes - more like 30 minutes). Torel Palace in Porto was another high point - beautiful rooms and excellent service in a great location. The trip to Sao Miguel went as planned. However, we did not need the two rental cars. The hotel was only 10 minutes from the airport, so a taxi would have worked fine and we didn't use them the rest of the trip (I think we would have needed them if we stayed in the original hotel at the botanical gardens and probably should have rethought them after we moved to the waterfront). The Hotel Marina Atlantico was nothing fancy but nice with a great view and central location. We loved the Sunset Boat ride, the whale watching trip, and the Food and Wine Walk was wonderful. Natacha for Sete Ciudades and Furnas could not have been better - please recommend her for all of your clients; they will not be disappointed! All in all, we had a fantastic trip and were so happy with Marta and the Kimkim team as always. Thank you again! Karen Friedrich and Team!
Hotel Reviews
Lovely hotel with good service. Many rooms have windows that overlook the atrium and dining area instead of outside, so you may want to request an "outside" room if that is important to you. Great location in central Lisbon.
It is a converted Convent, so rooms are small and sparse but clean. Minimal staff in the evening/morning so it was difficult to find someone if you wanted a drink at the bar or coffee in the morning. Location next to the ruins is very nice.
Lovely hotel with beautiful rooms and amazing views. The cost of those views comes from the trip up the mountain on a narrow, switch back road with no rails - scary up and down trip every day for anyone afraid of heights. There are also no other services so you will need to eat and drink onsite. Breakfast was not served until 8:30AM, and there were no staff onsite earlier if you wanted a coffee or tea. I found that lacking for a Relais and Chateau property. Dinner was outstanding.
Unbelievable rooms and amazing service. Central to everything.
A very nice waterfront hotel - nothing fancy but clean and good service with a great balcony facing the waterfront. Very nice bar with good food. Great location.
Hi Karen, thank you for submitting this review. It is a pleasure to have organized the trip for you and your group! All your comments will be a great help for us to continue improving the experiences we want to offer our travelers, and get more people to discover the beauty and wonders of Portugal. Wish our paths cross again in the future if you decide to come to Spain or Portugal at a different time. My warmest regards, Marta