Adegas do Pico - Rural Tourism — Hotel in São Roque do Pico

Our family enjoyed three nights in Alto da Ribeira (5 of us) and Bananeiras (2 of our group, but sleeps 4). The property is rural, so don’t expect restaurants and shops nearby. We did not have a car and the walk into Prainha to the market was fine for the younger of our group, but not for my 79 year old mother... however, she was perfectly happy to sit with a glass of wine on the patio with her friends and enjoy the beautiful views and lovely gardens. ||The houses are so very cute and really give you a feel for traditional living. My mother lived in the Azores in the late 1960’s and loved the accommodations as it brought back a lot of memories. I only regret not having more time at this very peaceful and beautiful property. Next time though I will rent a car as I think it would be easier to go to the market and explore the island. Prainha is definitely not in a largely populated area... but taxis are happy to drive out there and are very reasonable. We also used a local tour company who was able to pick us up and drop us off though so it it was all good...||My mother had a small mishap and tripped... and we ended up needing to call an ambulance and be taken to Sao Rogue for a few stitches. It was totally a freak accident, but I appreciated that Sylvia has taken the time to have emergency numbers in their welcome folder as well as posted in the kitchen! It made a stressful situation much easier to navigate. Sylvia even showed up just as the ambulance did because word had gotten to her that we had called for an ambulance... and she was so concerned and helpful. And by the way, the paramedics and hospital staff were wonderful as well!||Thank you for a wonderful stay - we are already planning to return to Pico and hope that Adegas do Pico will...

My family and I stayed at Adegas do Porto for two nights this August, and were excited about the chance to stay at such a charming, authentic home in the heart of Pico. The house had the basics and necessities needed for our stay, and the staff were readily available by phone or email. A welcome basket of local bread, jam, coffee and tea was prepared and set out on the table for our arrival. This, however, was the extent of the positive experiences we had at Adegas do Porto.||Soon after arriving, we began to notice bugs covering the walls of the bedrooms downstairs. One room, had over 10 spiders on the ceiling, and the other had multiple house centipedes running across the walls, into the floor, and even onto the bed. We also noticed that the en-suite bathroom toilet appeared to be leaking. When wiping up some of the water, we were shocked to find a lizard in the trash bin. The lizards were also in the walls of the kitchen, and a bat flew into the outside stone of the house while we were on the patio. The final issue before reaching out to the host was the fact that none of the outlets in the bedrooms were working... An email was sent to inform the host of these issues, to which the response was: ||"Thank you so much for your email and information! It was a pleasure to welcome you and we look forward to your next visit 😊 Have a nice evening."||We do understand that this is an authentic lava home within the wild nature of the Azores, however, did not appreciate the toilet paper stuffed between the bottom edges of the wall and the floorboards, signaling that the host was well-aware of the issue prior to us reaching out. Suffice it to say, we did not sleep well during the two nights...

Unfortunately, this was our worst stay in the Azores. While the location was excellent, the house had 2 critical issues I wish I had known about prior to the reservation.

The main problem was the WiFi. The listing stated it was available but that’s not true. Initially we believed the hosts as they insisted it was mentioned on the ad, but then noticed that was not the case. When we let them know, they simply disregarded what we said and glossed over that (see screenshot of their response in the photos).

Another issue was the insect infestation. We love nature, but we don’t like sleeping with the insects. The downstairs cabin smelled strongly of mold and was unusable. Ants, spiders, and even centipedes were common throughout the house, including in and around the bed, which made it really uncomfortable to relax or sleep. None of this was mentioned in the listing. When we brought up our concerns, the response from staff was dismissive (“this is just nature”), rather than apologetic and understanding. The villa lacked proper pest control and cleaning. Plus, the interactions with the hosts led us to believe that honest information on its state was maliciously and deliberately inaccurate, which leave us with no other choice but to give it 2/10 stars.

[The other media attached and taken during our stay shows the type of visitor you may find every night after coming back from an exhausting day...