Quinta De Santo Antonio

Pros: swimming pool, working air conditioning. Cons: everything else. Upon arrival, we found a deserted Quinta. Everything was closed and there were no signs or directions. Fortunately, we met a friendly Portuguese guest who pointed us to the restroom. He tried his best to find someone who worked there, but to no avail; he'd rarely seen anyone since arriving. Due to the high temperatures and the lack of seating out of the sun, we decided to wait in the car. Not that you'd want to after a day of driving, but at least there was something to drink and something to cool down. Just after 4 p.m., a woman was hurriedly gesticulating at us. We had to come along because it was hot. She walked ahead of us to a dilapidated door. We stepped into a dark room. Our eyes barely had time to adjust to the darkness before the woman uttered the legendary words: "Is it okay?" And just as suddenly as she had appeared out of nowhere, she vanished again in a flash. Leaving us in the darkness without any information or where we could find her. Once we could see something, we quickly realized it wasn't all that great; there was only one set of towels to share among three people. The rickety beds, with high headboards and footboards, were 1.80m long. A child or gnome could sleep comfortably there, of course, but an average-sized Northern European would quickly get tangled up. Our 7-year-old daughter commented that it was like a haunted house; dark, and everything squeaked, creaked, stuck, or smelled. Fortunately, the air conditioning worked perfectly and the pool was right outside; we don't get easily distracted by a little discomfort. Until we went to bed; like adults, sleeping separately in separate gnome beds, the wiring for the light switch hanging exposed from the wall, but still full of good spirits. Unfortunately, the mattress was rock hard, and springs were poking between my ribs. Turning over was impossible due to the noise and the risk of falling. There you lie awake, knowing you paid money to sleep in a crib in a musty hut that's less comfortable than a prison cell. The next morning we had to search for breakfast. Hidden somewhere behind a jammed door was the next disappointment, but you'll have to experience this poverty for yourself. During our second night of sleep, we decided we should book a hotel for the third night during our planned day trip to Porto, so we could catch up on sleep and then survive the fourth and final night in the haunted house. At least, that's what we thought at the time. Unfortunately for our wallets, the hospitality and sleep there were so good that we never returned to the Quinta, and so our gnome beds remained empty for two of the four nights. Fortunately, this was the only bad stay during our long trip through Spain and Portugal; otherwise, it was wonderful. Authentic, quiet and charming is what we were looking for in this Quinta, but we found a poorly maintained, impersonal attic.

Last June I booked a few days at this place and was extremely displeased with how the stay ended. The first point to highlight was the lack of cleanliness of the pool. It wasn't the leaves and dirt from the surrounding environment that bothered us, but the dirt and visible foam on the edge along the entire pool, which clearly demonstrated a lack of care in cleaning the water. Although the accommodation had clean dishes, bed linens, and towels, and was generally presentable, the poor cleaning was evident when we detected numerous places with many cobwebs and dead insects. We also had to shorten our stay and return home in the middle of the second-to-last night booked, since during the night and while we were sleeping, we heard noises very similar to those that rats make when gnawing on something. We did a brief search of the room, and the noise came from a closed rat trap, which we found behind one of the room's wardrobes. After this episode, we decided to immediately leave the accommodation, having already paid for and not enjoyed a night. We explained the situation to those responsible for the reservation, and at no point did they attempt to apologize for any of the things that occurred and were listed, and on the contrary, they suggested that these were normal situations. I strongly advise against staying at this accommodation. In addition to the conditions offered not being the best for use, the managing entity lacks common sense to guarantee quality service to customers.

Very warm welcome, ideal location and great services.