Hotel do Mar — Hotel in Povoação

This is not a terrible hotel but it does not make you feel like you're on vacation.

The safety deposit box costs 1.50 euro a day. That’s not a lot of money but this is tacky on principle. The reason why people still pick hotels over airbnbs is features like a safety deposit box. I have never been to a hotel where they charged me to use it, including other European hotels. It makes even less sense as you are only charged a deposit (that you get back) for using their pool towels so that’s free but the safety deposit box is not. That makes no sense.

The beds are twin beds (for rooms with two beds). They are just enough room for me as a 5’1 person but good luck to anyone taller. You can’t spread your legs or body comfortably on the bed, the bed itself is not very comfortable and neither are the pillows. Does this sound like a vacation or beds for summer camp?

The bath towels in the room are falling apart and need replacing, the shower pressure is weak, and there is no body soap and shampoo, just something that is a combination body/shampoo (yikes).

The housekeeping staff are unbearably loud. Their work is appreciated but they all work together near each other and talk and scream so loudly as early as 9AM in the morning. I understand they are working and I don’t want them miserable at work but the rest of us are on vacation and I certainly didn’t appreciate being woken up by them, them disrupting my sleep, and being obnoxiously loud.

The air conditioning is central so you have to beg every night for the cool fan to be turned on as without it, it is uncomfortably hot and difficult to sleep. 2 nights I got told no and the heat was left on, the other 5 nights the cool air was turned on. Very random and illogical. The staff were frustrated with some guests wanting heat and others cool air but I was just as frustrated asking them every night. They need to upgrade to each person having control over their own room so we can all not be frustrated.

The location is not good. It’s cool that it’s in the first town to be settled on the island but the hotel is far from the city and attractions on the island and to get to the hotel you have to go through winding roads. The restaurants in the city are limited in choices. But it isn’t far to the grocery store or cafes.

The breakfast is good, the jacuzzi is nice though small (the pool is cold), there is a lady at the hotel bar who cooks omelets very well but the other staff don’t cook as well as her and a lot of their food is frozen, there is a billiard table and chess in their basement (which they don’t mention anywhere), everything IS clean. Parking is not bad as you don’t have to parallel park but there is limited spots in front of the hotel, you have to park slightly further away most nights.

Overall, I found myself missing my stays at Canadian Comfort Inns. With comfort Inn, at least you get bigger and more comfortable beds and a larger TV. I was sad to find out there is a Comfort Inn on the island when I arrived there. This hotel does the bare minimum but does not make you feel like you’re on vacation. Find...

This is NOT a 4 star hotel. The rooms are old and outdated and not cosy at all (for example very little decoration and no cosy lamps). The room was very big though, we had a bedroom and a separate livingroom with a sofa, and two balconys. There were too few electrical sockets and one of the towels we got was very old with a big hole.

The cleaning when we arrived was not very good but during the stay it was well done. BUT the cleaning staff moved around our things, which I have never experienced in any hotel around the world ever before. I didn't like that at all.

The breakfast was OK, but NOT 4 stars worthy. No granola, no fresh juices (only bought juices), not a lot of variety, and nothing home made except two cakes a day. But the scrambled eggs were good.

We ordered at the snack bar twice during our stay. The first time they didn't have what we wanted on the menu (very common though in the whole Azores) so we just ordered a toast and soup. The soup portion was very small (I've eaten soup many times in Portugal so I can compare) and the toast was hardly toasted at all. The service was also very slow. The second time we ordered a drink on the menu but got the wrong ingredients in it. We even questioned it while the "bartender" made the drink (and the right ingredients were stated in the menu) but he didn't listen. The drink was not good.

The pool is fine, and the jacuzzi is nice, but it was, like much of the hotel, outdated and old.

The hotel is situated in a small village which is very cosy and has several restaurants and supermercados. We really liked Povoacão!

The staff in the reception were not very service minded. Every time we passed by they were sitting down behind the counter, looking down doing-I-don't-know-what, but almost never looked up to greet us. So we basically mostly saw their foreheads. Not very welcoming. But when we talked to them they of course replied and were nice, but we never felt especially welcomed or greeted when passing the reception.

I have critised a lot of things now, mostly to show that this i NOT a 4 star hotel. If it was a 3 star hotel many of these things would be understandable and totally...

Report on Our Stay at Hotel do Mar, Azores||Our stay at Hotel do Mar on the Azores was quite pleasant. The location is convenient with free parking available right in front of the hotel. If the front parking spots are occupied, there are additional parking spaces available around the hotel.||The room we stayed in was clean and spacious enough for two adults. The bathroom was also clean and well-maintained. One notable feature was the refrigerator, which was extremely quiet; we couldn't hear it at all during the night. The surroundings were very peaceful, especially at night. Even though our room was ocean-facing on the first floor, we couldn't hear the ocean at all—it was completely quiet, except for the occasional noise from neighboring guests. Unfortunately, every evening after 11:00 PM, our neighbors would take showers, loud discussions, which lasted until around 11:45 PM almost mid night. This disrupted our rest, as the noise was quite noticeable.||I would recommend that the hotel staff remind guests of the hotel’s quiet hours during check-in. It would be helpful if everyone could be more considerate after 10:00 PM, allowing all guests to enjoy a peaceful and relaxing stay.||The breakfast offered at the hotel was relatively good. I didn't try the coffee myself, as I had read reviews beforehand that mentioned the coffee wasn’t very satisfying. Based on those reviews, I brought my own coffee and condensed milk from home. So, while I can't comment on the actual taste of the hotel's coffee, I was prepared based on what I had read.||Overall, I would recommend this hotel. It offers a nice, relaxed atmosphere with perfect ocean views and is an excellent starting point for daily excursions...