Pedras Salgadas Spa & Nature Park — Local services in Vila Pouca de Aguiar

We stayed at the Pedras Salgada Spa and Nature Park for two nights of our honeymoon and were very disappointed by what we experienced. It has also been extremely discouraging having reached out to the hotel multiple times to have no one return our emails. ||||For our stay, we paid a premium to stay at one of the two tree houses on the property and were woken up by children and families running up and down our deck and pounding on the door in the morning while we were sleeping. ||||It is very important to note that this is truly a Nature Park, in that school trips and many people who are not staying on the property can just walk around, and in turn interrupt those who are staying there (knocking on your doors, looking around your property, rooms etc.) ||||The property offers bikes to get around and when we tried to use them, the bikes brakes did not work resulting in us hurting ourselves. We got new bikes, a different brand, and one of these also had broken brakes. In both cases the gears did work when going up hill which eliminated the whole purpose of having them causing us to get scraped up - they are very unsafe. ||||We also paid a premium for the the romance package, which included a dinner. We went to the restaurant on the property and waited a long time before anyone even greeted us at the restaurant (which was completely empty) and when we finally asked for a menu, they handed us a hand written piece of paper with some items that we would be eating, we then asked to see an actual menu and no one seemed to understand what we were asking. ||||The property has two abandoned boarded up hotels which are actually quite scary, and the "casino" is a conference centre - there is very little to do on the property aside from use the pool, so we left every day in order to fill our time. ||||For a hotel that advertises itself as being top caliber this was our most expensive accommodation for our honeymoon and by far the worst, and the property felt almost vacant aside from all the visitors that would inundate the grounds during the day. No one was ever in the the restaurant for breakfast or dinner which says something. ||||We felt like we were put into the the middle of a vacant park where anyone could walk around and disrupt our stay constantly, when we mentioned our experience when we were checking out they had nothing to say, and it was really unfortunate to be celebrating such an important milestone in our lives to leave having had such a negative experience. I hope this review paints a realistic picture for those thinking about staying here, because what was advertised to us, was not at all what we...

We stayed at the Pedras Salgada Spa and Nature Park for two nights of our honeymoon and were very disappointed by what we experienced. It has also been extremely discouraging having reached out to the hotel multiple times to have no one return our emails. ||||For our stay, we paid a premium to stay at one of the two tree houses on the property and were woken up by children and families running up and down our deck and pounding on the door in the morning while we were sleeping. ||||It is very important to note that this is truly a Nature Park, in that school trips and many people who are not staying on the property can just walk around, and in turn interrupt those who are staying there (knocking on your doors, looking around your property, rooms etc.) ||||The property offers bikes to get around and when we tried to use them, the bikes brakes did not work resulting in us hurting ourselves. We got new bikes, a different brand, and one of these also had broken brakes. In both cases the gears did work when going up hill which eliminated the whole purpose of having them causing us to get scraped up - they are very unsafe. ||||We also paid a premium for the the romance package, which included a dinner. We went to the restaurant on the property and waited a long time before anyone even greeted us at the restaurant (which was completely empty) and when we finally asked for a menu, they handed us a hand written piece of paper with some items that we would be eating, we then asked to see an actual menu and no one seemed to understand what we were asking. ||||The property has two abandoned boarded up hotels which are actually quite scary, and the "casino" is a conference centre - there is very little to do on the property aside from use the pool, so we left every day in order to fill our time. ||||For a hotel that advertises itself as being top caliber this was our most expensive accommodation for our honeymoon and by far the worst, and the property felt almost vacant aside from all the visitors that would inundate the grounds during the day. No one was ever in the the restaurant for breakfast or dinner which says something. ||||We felt like we were put into the the middle of a vacant park where anyone could walk around and disrupt our stay constantly, when we mentioned our experience when we were checking out they had nothing to say, and it was really unfortunate to be celebrating such an important milestone in our lives to leave having had such a negative experience. I hope this review paints a realistic picture for those thinking about staying here, because what was advertised to us, was not at all what we...

So, to start.. 4 or 5 star review is definitely not appropriate for this 250€ a night “eco” hotel and “spa”. The check in process was normal although the long winded dissertation of the property could have been greatly reduced but fine, some need and appreciate that. However, it’s almost comical that at this eco resort they bus you to your quarters in a diesel golf kart so by the time the ride is finished your sick from the fumes. The houses are cute, some easy repairs definitely needed but fine. Neat architecture and private, beds where comfy and kitchenette well equipped. Our room had bunk beds however the top bunk did not have a safety bar so a child could easily fall out. On the second night unfortunately, it rained a lot and the house started to leak in multiple places on the inside. Maintenance put lots of towels on the floors and said we would be offered a discount. Upon check out we had to remind them of the discount which was 10%. However, after the everything we spent at the hotel it was maybe 20€. The discount did not quite fit the problem. Especially since we were a large group renting multiple houses.

The spa was very institutional, almost hospital like, which I guess is what it used to be. The treatments for me at least was not great, painful in fact. The spa “heated” pool / circuit which you pay extra to use pp per day was not heated.

Breakfast was basic continental breakfast with some scrambled eggs and beans. If you ask for another type of egg, extra charge.

The grounds, which is a public park during the day are beautiful. Easy walkable, hotel does offer free bikes and tennis equipment. There is a nice outdoor pool but was not open yet for the season.

Overall, I would give this hotel another try, the property is very nice especially to just let kids run and play and would also like to try the outdoor pool when it was open. However, would not use the spa or spa pool. That entire area was sad...