Pousada Toca da Ilha

Breakfast was the worst part. The food kept having flies on it. I know the inn is by the beach, but that shouldn’t be treated as normal when it’s a basic hygiene issue. Simple fixes like protective screens, proper food covers, or the spinning fans used at buffets could help. I ended up going to another inn for breakfast. These details really affect a guest’s stay. I hope they review their standards for cleaning, maintenance, and hygiene. Sometimes you have to stop and reinvest in the business. The room at Pousada Toca da Ilha, on Ilha do Mel, was dirty, and the bathroom had maintenance problems, mud, and a greenish look typical of damp areas that haven’t been cleaned. There was even a used bar of soap left behind, which made the lack of care with hygiene pretty clear. The reception was often unattended, even when we wanted something basic like water or a drink, so we had to leave the inn to get it. The common areas also looked poorly maintained, adding to the feeling that some parts had been neglected.

The staff were friendly and helpful, and breakfast was simple but tasty. The location is very convenient, close to the beach, market, bars, and shops. But I had trouble sleeping in room 2: there was mold on the wall, the bathroom was so cramped it was hard to use the sink, and the mattress was very hard and narrow. This was my sixth time on the island, so I know the inns are quite basic, but our room was in very poor shape even by local standards. I can’t say what the other rooms are like, so if you’re booking, I suggest asking for photos of the specific room.

The island is beautiful, but this kind of situation takes away from its charm. We paid the same as we would for a 4-star hotel in Santa Felicidade, yet they didn’t give us any of the rooms shown in the photos. Instead, we got a small, very hot service room on the mezzanine where our son slept. The view was of a bunk bed, trash, and a tent where the self-service restaurant staff slept. We asked to change rooms and they apologized, but they couldn’t even provide a chair for our clothes when we asked. My advice is not to pay in advance or trust the photos they send. Look for another inn.

The breakfast covered the basics, but the rest of the stay was awful. The receptionist was very rude and unwelcoming. We had water outages on both Saturday and Sunday, in only some rooms, which meant we couldn’t reliably shower. It was horrible to come back from the sea and be unable to wash the salt off. The room cleaning was poor too: there was a spider web, the sheets smelled bad, and the bathroom was dirty. We found an open jar of Nescafé in the minibar, even though we’d been told there wouldn’t be any items left there. They clearly weren’t paying attention to cleaning it.