Pousada Brisas do Espelho

The gaps around the windows and doors, especially along the bottom, let in a lot of bugs, including live cockroaches. It seemed the pest treatment was overdue, and the cleaning wasn't adequate. I had to stuff towels against the floor and glass just to sleep. The rooms are very bright, with no blackout curtains, so sleeping past 5:30 a.m. was impossible. The bathroom had an electric shower and no shower enclosure, and the pousada is far from the beach. The photos were taken at 5:30 in the morning. A terrible experience.

The breakfast was thoughtfully served, with good-quality items and generous portions, and the staff were well prepared. The hotel is well managed and has a good standard of facilities. It's a good place with fair value for money, though nothing especially surprising.

It's a very peaceful place, with a lovely, well-kept pousada, spacious shared areas, a good breakfast, and polite, helpful staff. The beach is about a 15-minute walk away, though there are vans in the condominium that take guests there. I think having a car is necessary for getting around, since a taxi to nearby places like Trancoso costs around 350$ per trip, plus 500$ to the airport.

There’s plenty of outdoor space for walks in nature, the beach is a 15-minute walk away, it’s quiet, and the breakfast was very good. But the management didn’t seem to make the most of the place, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone looking for personal, attentive service from friendly staff and a manager who cares about their stay. Some staff, though not all, were sarcastic and would turn away while a customer was still talking. Replies on WhatsApp took over 30 minutes, and I had to ask several times to get an answer. The return on the issues I raised was slow. The day we arrived, there was a wedding, and it was clear the focus was on the wedding guests rather than those of us checking in. The bed was too soft. I had to explain three times that the problem was the mattress, not the bed. The bathroom screen was torn, so mosquitoes got in, and the internet in room 6 was terrible. There was a fly inside the glass olive oil holder with the pizza. We ordered a burrata pizza with basil and tomato, but got one with Parma ham instead. They also had no vinegar, and there wasn’t coconut water every day. We only got it on the first day. Lunch was a mess. They got the order wrong, brought two tiny steaks totaling at most 100 grams, burned one side of the steak, didn't ask how we wanted it cooked, sent the wrong salad, and the fries were burned too. The meal cost 90, and only the rice and beans were well made. The saddest part was that the manager brought the food and didn’t seem to care. The manager, Rafael, never introduced himself as the manager or offered any explanation. When I first spoke with him, he focused on making excuses instead of trying to solve things. I also lost a day following up and sending payment receipts because the finance team couldn’t find the payment.