A TRIP TO REMEMBER!

Portugal | May 23 - Jun 4, 2025

Hotel and rooms are very beautiful and clean. The staff is wonderful and accommodating. Leo at the front desk was appreciated by my husband for a very helpful map outlined by Leo! The breakfast was spectacular and the outdoor area to sit at night was wonderful being with a group of six!

This hotel is located in the center of a very busy street, which has pluses and minuses. If being transported from the airport to the hotel you must pull your luggage up a steep hill to get to the hotel. Restricted times for traffic on this street. Rooms are accommodating but small in comparison to the two other hotels we stayed. There is no outside area to sit which we appreciated as a group of six. The rooms have less amenities than we found typical in our other hotels. Overall, this is a very nice hotel but, in a comparison, not the favorite of the three we stayed.

If you stay here, you will be amazed at the setting, the views, the outdoor areas to sit, relax, swim, spa, restaurant. You do not need to leave unless you want to. The staff do everything they can to make you feel special and meet your needs. If we were to pick a resort setting to get away and relax and be pampered, this hotel would be top of the list. We are a group of six on our trip to Portugal and not one in the group had a complaint. We did go out sightseeing on one of our days in Lagos, but 4 of our group said no thank you, we are not leaving here!! That speaks volumes

Our last night preflight staying at this airport hotel exceeded our expectations. Airport hotels do not have these same amenities and dining from our experiences. Very clean and well appointed, great staff.

Paulo Pires our guide made this excursion one not to be forgotten!! His knowledge, personality, engagement is exceptional. If we were to do any other excursions, we would seek Paulo out to guide us and make us feel as though we are off on a journey with a friend. We need to add his wife, Anita, as he calls the beautiful one, is equally a spectacular person and you feel the warmth of true Portuguese people. We had our lunch at her restaurant, and you will not be hungry when you are done eating!! Exceptional couple and family!

Our guide Celia was well versed in the history of Porto, made our walk a bit easier by knowing the streets to take. Porto as is Lisbon hills and cobblestone. She offered suggestions for the rest of our evening, where to eat more local, and a great Farmers Market that we went to the next day and which roads to take back to the hotel. We ate on the Riverfront and took the Funicular (cheated on the walk up the hill) to the top. Plus, a fun experience, never have been on one before. After many days of Lisbon and Porto walks, it was a welcome treat to not walk the hill.

Alex was a tremendous asset to our understanding of the history of Lisbon and took the time to allow each person in our group to be involved. He slowed the trip a bit when needed for rest period. When we completed our tour, he surprised us with a treat of Ginji, our first tasting,

Pedro had a wonderful line up of events for our day trip to the Douro Valley. This excursion is a must, a completely different experience and set of scenery. Small town stop for coffee/pastry onto our boat ride down the river, and off to two wineries'. One a large venue and one a small venue. Each beautiful. The lunch and people we met at the small winery gave you the feeling of the love that goes into the wine making process. The lunch was delicious and once again, lots of food.

We have been on Catamarans before, so we had an expectation of the type of boat we would be going on, but this boat was not quite what we were expecting. That being said, we enjoyed the trip, staff very knowledgeable and willing to answer questions for those seeking information. The ride and scenery we saw was amazing, looking back at the cliffs from the water is awesome. The lunch served was exceptional for serving on a boat. The staff a thumbs up.

I hate to do this review, but it is necessary. The jeep, not a jeep but rather a very old 1976 Nissan, dirty, and seating unacceptable. There were seats in second row for 3 tight fit, and 4 more of us had to sit in the rear, step up on a small plastic step he put on ground for us, as you hit your head leaning over to get into the back, and sit facing each other with no view out the windows, and knees touching each other. 8 people in the vehicle and one driver, Daniel, who did his best based on what he was given to drive us. He said the other two jeeps were in the shop. The vehicle emitted fumes, so you could not close windows, and you still smelled it. The people in the very rear could not hear anything the guide was sharing. The trip description did not mirror what we received. We were to have wine, Chorizo and bread when we sat for the sunset. We did not receive any of this, and when we returned to the hotel, I asked Daniel and he said no bread ever on Sunday, because the bakery was not open, and he did not know why his boss did not send him the wine. Honestly, I thought maybe our planned trip was subbed out to another company, but he said no. I, being the lead in this group of six, had very angry travelers, and all requesting money back for this excursion. I do not know what happened, but it was a sad that the last part of the trip had been wonderful until this excursion. They all wished they never got into the vehicle and remained at our beautiful hotel. We would like feedback on this situation. Thank you