Monte Prado Hotel & SPA — Hotel in Melgaço

I was looking for a room with privacy, a king size bed and a balcony. I had many options in mind but this hotel stood out for being beautiful and located in the middle of the nature.||I called many times before booking the room to understand if the rooms with balcony were facing the swimming pool because some pictures showned rooms with balcony facing the pool in the ground floor, and I didn't want that because I'd loose the privacy. On the first call they told me that all the rooms were facing the mountains and that they had no rooms facing the swimming pool which left me confused. So I called 2 more times to be sure and on the third call the woman even joked about it because I was being so insisting about this issue and guaranteed me that I wouldn't be facing the pool, so I booked the "Fine Art Duplo New Deluxe w/ balcony" room.||When I arrived the Hotel I was very disappointed because my room was in the ground floor facing one of the sides of the swimming pool, the one closer to the bar. That means I had constantly more than 15 people which could see everything inside my room if I didn't close the blackout curtain. It also means that the employee which answered my phone calls deliberately lied to me in order to get the sale done, and it wasn't a misunderstanding since I'm a native Portuguese and we spoke the same language on 3 different phone calls in the same day. ||I went to the reception to demand for another room and get an explanation for this situation to what they simply appologized and said that it must have been a misunderstanding because all the "Fine Art Duplo New Deluxe w/ balcony" rooms were in the ground floor facing the swimming pool so I would have the same problem in all of them. Then I asked for a room with no balcony, with privacy and a king size bed and they gave me a far inferior room in the first floor, where some people in the pool could also see inside the room, which had a horrible noise everytime the electricity was turned on, to the point where we had to turn the electricity off in order to sleep and because of that we couldn't even charge our cellphones and laptops. Beyond this, it also sounded pretty dangerous, I doubt it would pass any kind of inspection. Regarding this issue, we call the employees and neither they had an electrician nor they were able to call one. ||Because I paid 21€ more to get a room with balcony which I didn't get, because an employee lied deliberately to get another client and also because they gave us a room with mediocre staying and safety conditions I asked for a partial or total refund, which was entirely dennied.||The Hotel as an amazing swimming pool and location, with trekking paths and birdwatching places nearby, an amazing river, a beautiful design, an ok breakfast (it wasn't good but it's not bad also), but I don't recommend at all because the service is very very poor, it was the worst experience I ever had in a hotel. It was a waste of money, vacations, time...

This could be such a nice hotel: rooms are modern, spacious and clean, all face to the Minho valley and will have sunsets. Breakfast (still included for all guests) is above average and is served in bright open roof top restaurant. Indoor pool wiht Jacuzzi and Turkish Bath is a plus in this Portugal very Norte area.. Outdoor pool was great!||What makes me to vote so bad? ||First of all you'll be welcomed with a recently (2023?) introduced parking fee of 6€/day which is ridicolous as outside the parking is "free". ||Actually the real free area is 700m to be walked back, so most folks who are shocked about those low-cost airline fees do park their car in front of the gate where actually it'y a yellow line both sides of the street. Risk of fine exists! ||6€ isnot much and you might find it petty to complain? True but as 99% of the guest do come by car this kind of mandatory fee if you don't want to be risked of a fine - I'm sure the local authorities will sooner or later - of course only time by time - check and give fines. In my eyes this is done in "cooperation" wiht hotel management.||Hotel Management, oh yes: during our 2 nights (3 days) stay hotel manager wasn't available to talk to me? A management which isn't on site isnot a management - should be fired!||The last minor thing I complain is the limited experience of most of the ladies working there. This could be improved with above management, if there was one at all?||My message: insteady of introducing stupid parking fees, charge for the indoor pool or for the pool towels like other hotels do. I can't imagine why 6€ for each room can make a difference if the prices are very dynamlically changeing between 55€ (tour operators) and 200€ for the double depending on the date you are searching for. ||(BTW: even 100€ is a maximum limit for this remote area middle of nowhere close to...

Let's declare... I am going to write my review about a 4 stars hotel! We are experienced travellers, been in many hotels before so I know what to expect from a 4 stars hotel and its staff. ||The hotel itself is nice. We had a beautiful view from our room through the window. |But this is the only good thing I can tell about it.||There is no parking space option for free. They charge you for 6€ extra for parking. Even if it is not a garage. |You have to wear a swim hat at the spa, otherwise you can't use the spa. They charge you 6€ for it. |There is no coffee or tea in the rooms. ||The most upsetting thing is the kitchen! |First of all.... The restaurant for dinner was not even half full but the food took ages to get on the table. The tomato soup was way too salty, plus there was raw tomatoes in it, next to big hams. They didn't have any reason to be in my soup. The portion was so little. It didn't even cover my plate! It is ok for fine dining. But I am telling you, it is not! |The cod was chewy. The ratatouille was more like a vegetable stew what someone already chewed. It was made from frozen vegetables. Come on... In the end of March? In Portugal? For this price in a 4 stars hotel?||This is ridiculous. The management should work on many many things here. This hotel could be something great. But it is...