Best Hotels near Praia Fluvial da Ponte, Fronteira

Great location amidst very scenic countryside surrounds, in a remote Lusitano horse stud with 400 horses. Some rooms are really great, we unfortunately had a noisy one overlooking the restaurant and pool, with an overpowering sewerage smell from our toilet. We reported it but they couldn't fix it. They do daily tours of the stud farm and falconry centre, very interesting, but don't often accommodate non-Portuguese speaking visitors. Even though our tour leader speaks English, she firmly told us that on that day it was only in Portuguese and then proceeded to ignore us, which made us feel quite unwelcome. In other encounters we definitely got the feeling that the resort is aimed at Portuguese speakers and that foreigners are 'tolerated'. Excellent dinner buffet on weekends. Service levels could do with a bit of improvement.

We had an enjoyable four nights at the hotel staying in what is the new wing. Lovely view over fields with sheep and goats and hence very quiet which was what we wanted. The bed was large and very comfortable and the room was clean. Staff were friendly and spoke good English. The breakfast buffet was expansive and decent quality. There are a few things that could be done to make the stay more enjoyable though. First, the wood floor in the lobby area of the room was loose and creaked every time we walked on it. It was odd that this hadn't been attended to. Second, the provision of a kettle with tea, coffee and cups would make a big difference. When you arrive back after a day out it really is nice to be able to make a cup of tea and relax. Instead, it was necessary to go to the bar and either wait to be served or find a member of staff to take the order. Yes, the hotel gets the revenue from selling you the drink but relative to the goodwill created by putting a kettle in the room it's minimal. Third, the food in the restaurant for dinner was fine, not spectacular. However, there seemed to be a bizarre approach in that we were given the menu, the order taken (including the drinks order) and bread and olives arrive but no drinks! Half an hour later I had to find the waitress to ask where my wife's G&T was. The response was that ”The staff are busy.” This was repeated the second night albeit with a shorter wait. In any restaurant or hotel I've been in the drinks are normally served first. Strange. The above may seem trivial but they detracted from an otherwise enjoyable stay and suggests a hotel that needs to work a bit harder on the basics. Would we come back? Probably not.

The location is perfect, out in the country, very quiet and tranquil with beautiful views from the balconies. The rooms are large and satisfactory for a 3 star. But, there are problems. Wi-Fi doesn't work reliably in the rooms. The hotel is beginning to look a bit run-down and needs reinvestment, furniture in the rooms is worn. There was only one employee in the whole hotel to serve customers. The food in the dining room (dinner) is HORRIBLE - whoever is cooking is not a chef, avoid eating in the dining room at all costs. For an overnight stay, or a longer stay the rooms are fine. Just find somewhere else to eat.