Pousada Areias de Amaro

The grounds look lovely, but room 07 needs repairs, especially the ceiling. The shower only dripped and had very weak water pressure, and I had to fill the toilet tank by hand to flush. The bedding smelled musty, and I couldn’t sleep because of noise from what sounded like rats. It was a night of terror. The owner was very rude. I asked for an extra blanket and pillow for my five-year-old daughter, and she said I’d have to pay. That was the worst part, especially since the pousada was empty. The attitude felt intrusive and far from good service. They need to improve how guests are treated and hire someone friendly at reception.

The owner was very thoughtful and helped us arrange our tours, sharing tips that were really useful for our trip. Our rooms were clean and comfortable.

They’re finishing work on about four more ground-floor rooms in the neighboring wing, while the upstairs rooms there are already ready. The Smart TV has YouTube, but access to Sky and Netflix was locked. They use solar energy, which is nice, and weekday rates are lower. The location is good if you want to swim in the river with less concern about possible city discharge, since the pousada is upstream from the more populated area. The room had what I needed to rest, with blackout curtains, air conditioning, Wi-Fi, a minibar, and a clean bathroom. The housekeeping was good too. The wooden bed creaked when I moved, though. Service was good and they shared lots of information. Breakfast portions seemed limited and refills took a while. The kitchen is downstairs, so an early breakfast could disturb guests in the four upstairs rooms near reception.

Breakfast was awful. The juice was poor and smelled of the water, which had a mangrove-like odor. They could at least have used mineral water, but they didn’t. The papaya was nearly green, the cuscuz was dry, the scrambled eggs were very hard, and there was bread and beijú with margarine, cheese, and ham. There wasn’t much variety, and none of it was inviting. The building itself is simple, new, and well maintained, but I had several issues. The location is inconvenient if you don’t have a car, as we didn’t, and it’s 1.5 km from the center. The shower in our room didn’t heat up, and the water smelled bad, like a mangrove. The owner said that smell is common in the region, but that didn’t match our experience at pousada Amorim, where the water didn’t smell nearly as strong. I wouldn’t return or recommend it.