Villa Bebek Hotel

The pool area is lovely, and the hotel grounds are beautiful and well kept. The beach is fairly close, and Villa Bebek has a Tuktuk service to take you there, though we never managed to use it. Our room was clean and fine, if rather dark and less luxurious than the four-star label and Bebek’s prices suggest, perhaps by local standards. The service was the real disappointment. During our four-day stay, not one staff member spoke even a few words of English, Spanish, French, or any language besides Portuguese. We didn’t expect fluent English, but at a four-star hotel someone should be able to help with check-in and check-out, explain the facilities, services, and rules, and respond to concerns. An online translator could have helped, too. Instead, we got a basic information SMS before arriving and little else. Staff seemed reserved and not especially interested in making sure we felt cared for or could communicate what we needed. That meant we paid for things we weren’t told about or helped to arrange, including extra breakfast options and the Tuktuk. We didn’t feel valued as guests. Breakfast itself was okay, but dinner was average and far too expensive. We also asked for a dish without a particular ingredient, but it arrived with it anyway. Thankfully it was just a preference, not a serious allergy, or that could have been dangerous. The area is beautiful and we had a nice time, but the service level left us very disappointed.

It’s still a lovely, even beautiful place, but it has lost some of the charm it had when we first stayed in 2013. It used to feel like a great boutique hotel, and now it feels more like a good pousada. The renovations haven’t fixed the little amenity issues that, at this price, cost it that fifth star for me: no Internet in the rooms, slow or unusable Internet in shared areas, cheap towels, lower-grade body care products, Sky tv with only 8 public channels, and plastic shower curtains. None of this would ruin a weekend, and each could be fixed. But management didn’t seem interested in hearing our feedback this weekend.

We came with my husband and some friends to relax, and the place was wonderfully peaceful. It lived up to what we hoped for. I’d love to return and stay longer when we get the chance.

The place itself is comfortable, but management is a mess. Ana refused to give my partner and me extra soap and shampoo, saying we could only get a new set every two nights. I was appalled.