We got a last minute deal on this holiday and for what we paid I wouldn't have complained about a thing. As it happened there was nothing to complain about and, from the night we arrived by minibus in the middle of a political function to the sad morning we left in the rain, we had a fantastic holiday and would recommend São Miguel to anyone.
The hotel is large and the communal areas and central garden have a Japanese theme. All the rooms have balconies, mainly facing in towards the garden. There weren't that many other people in the hotel for most of the week that we stayed; we saw one tour group of retired Swiss people every morning at breakfast then midweek they were bussed off and another group arrived. One evening Pauleta the footballer received an award in the dining room and we alternated between watching the coverage on the TV and watching from our balcony with a glass of wine. We struggled to earwig what Carlos Queiroz was saying on his mobile phone below our window.
Our room was very comfortable and everything was of a high standard. Our one little disappointment was that the double bed was in fact two twin beds pushed together but everything else was lovely. We stayed on a bed and breakfast basis and had some wonderful moonlit picnics on our balcony. On the one day it rained non-stop we found we had the indoor pool, sauna, steam-room and jacuzzi to ourselves.
Breakfast was a very impressive hot and cold buffet with a wide selection of everything. The staff at breakfast were really friendly and all the staff we met were brilliant.
The hotel is a pleasant 5-10 minute walk from the centre of Ponta Delgada. The bus timetables are tourist-friendly and it's easy to take day trips to other parts of the island. We visited Sete Cidades, Nordeste and Furnas where we swam in the hot springs swimming pool in the botanic garden. Until they get promoted, Santa Clara football team play their home games on a Sunday in the 15,000 capacity Estádio de São Miguel. The Santa Clara barmy army provide an entertaining flag-waving, trumpet-playing accompaniment to the game and a huge variety of snacks can be purchased both in and outside of the ground. We can recommend the tremoços for half a euro.
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