Pousada iapoi

A solid 10.

I stayed there this February. The receptionists we dealt with were great, polite, and attentive, and the kitchen staff were easygoing. Breakfast was simple but tasty, with some variety. I’d been told over WhatsApp that the room would be small. The bathroom was tiny and narrow, so I had to sit sideways. The washbasin was so small it looked like it might fall, and the shower was low with weak water pressure. I had to switch off winter mode because it was leaking water and sparking, then call my husband to turn it off. The TV only got Globo, and its signal would drop at night. A receptionist tried to fix it but couldn’t. The blanket was too small for a couple, so we had to remove the sheet covering the bed. The internet worked well, and the location was good. Since this was our first time in Porto, I can’t compare it with other guesthouses. Maybe the rooms at slightly higher prices have better facilities. I’d come back for the good reception service alone. I can’t remember the woman’s name, but she had dark, curly hair and braces. The male receptionist was the only man there, worked the afternoon shift, and was very attentive too.

The good points first: breakfast was delicious, the pool was always clean, and parking in the little square felt safe. The reception staff were extremely polite and friendly, and the air conditioner cooled really well. The location was great, right by the small center and very close to the beach. There were cute cats too. But the bathroom was so cramped you could only use the toilet from the side. The shower had weak pressure and swung between cold and extremely hot, making it hard to wash off beach sand. We had to turn it 30 degrees to stop water getting into the toilet and all over the bathroom, since there was no shower enclosure. The tiny ceramic sink couldn’t even fit a toothbrush. The window wouldn’t shut, and the folding plastic bathroom door didn’t close all the way, which matters later. The toilet had a tank flush that often didn’t work if your partner used it just before you. The TV worked only for a few minutes during our six-day trip, then had no signal, and I couldn’t find Netflix or another streaming app. The women handling breakfast were rude while we were there. They didn’t say good morning, and when we asked for something they either ignored us or answered curtly. It made us feel like a nuisance. In our room there was just one outlet by the bed for charging phones and no bedside tables, so we used the minibar as a surface. The promised double blanket was a single one, the kind sold at supermarkets, and they refused to exchange it or give us another. The Wi-Fi was so bad I couldn’t even watch one video, so I used 5G the whole trip. There were no water dispensers, so you had to buy water. When another guest asked if staff could refill her bottle, they said they couldn’t. There was no laundry tub either, only paid laundry service. I don’t understand the four- or five-star reviews. We had an Azul package and deeply regretted not checking the Google reviews. I won’t come back, and I wouldn’t recommend it. I was short on money, so I didn’t switch guesthouses, though I nearly did after the water outage on our second-to-last day. I was menstruating and couldn’t shower that morning because no water came out of the shower. That was the last straw. There’s also a house next door rented for parties. That isn’t the guesthouse’s fault, but if you stay here during high season, don’t expect to rest. We tried to block the noise by closing the bathroom window, which wouldn’t shut, and the folding door, which didn’t close properly either. We slept badly for two nights because loud music went on from the afternoon until 4 a.m., even after the guesthouse staff called the police.

I stayed from December 6 to 10, 2025, with a group of 16. Marcela and Iarley were fantastic, and I want to praise their service first. But I can’t recommend this guesthouse, and I won’t return if I can help it. My room’s shower was burnt out when I arrived on Saturday. I reported it right away, but it wasn’t replaced until Monday at 10 p.m. On Sunday at breakfast, one of the kitchen staff was so rude to our group that I left before finishing my meal. A couple of friends’ air conditioner broke, and when they asked for it to be fixed, they were told it had broken from being left on too long. We’d paid for the room and should have been able to use it around the clock, and we were out on tours all day anyway. They just wanted it repaired.