Quinta Das Palmeiras

The room looked out onto trees, and in the morning I could hear lots of different birds singing. That really brightened the day. Breakfast was simple but tasty, and the kitchen staff were kind and gave great service. I spotted some animals around the inn too. It's a peaceful place if you want to switch off, since there isn't a TV in the room. The house is large, old, and beautiful, a real colonial home with history, a good atmosphere, and lovely green surroundings. The inn has a nice idea, and we felt at home, but cleaning let it down. In my room, the bathroom smelled of urine, there was an orange stain by the door, and spiderwebs hung from the towel hooks. The bathroom was in bad shape and dirty, and the toilet was loose. There was no hand sanitizer or soap in the rooms or breakfast area, so I had to buy soap and shampoo during the pandemic. I hardly saw any staff while walking around, and even finding the receptionist for checkout was difficult. The bathroom weighed heavily on my review. Without that issue, I would have stayed longer, but it was still an experience.

The guesthouse looks like a museum left to fall apart. The bed linens were torn and the mattresses were so old it felt like I was sleeping on the bed frame. The room smelled musty, and opening the window made it worse because a terrible sewer smell came in. The bathroom constantly smelled strongly of urine, and the ceiling fan was so noisy I couldn't sleep with it on. Staff weren't in uniform, and flies were landing on the breakfast food. When we mentioned the mold smell on arrival, the receptionist seemed unprepared and paid no attention. My wife later posted a review on the booking site, and the response said they'd seek legal recourse to prove the complaint. A horrible experience.

The staff in the kitchen were attentive, and the receptionist was too. I also liked the pleasant view from the room into the garden. The building and its facilities are old, and we were told they are being restored. There's no TV, minibar, or air conditioning in the room, and breakfast is quite simple.

The breakfast setup was chaotic, crowded, and had few options, with too few tables set close together during the pandemic. There was renovation work going on, and the old things looked poorly cared for. I won't come back. The innkeeper, who I think may have been the owner, was very rude to a kitchen employee, which felt unprofessional and unethical. The furniture in the room had a strong stored-away smell, so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with rhinitis. The towels were mismatched in size, had another hotel's logo, and smelled bad too. The room ceiling was badly fitted, with grass sticking through, and rain dripped through it. I had booked a room with a minibar, but there wasn't one when I arrived.