Lagos Avenida Hotel

Update: The hotel kindly sorted out the problem and refunded us. I’m glad they did, and I appreciate it. Original review: We were stranded on Madeira by severe weather and airport disruptions, so we couldn’t get to the hotel at any point during our booked stay. I explained what had happened, but management refused any refund, even a partial one. The response felt rigid and focused only on policy, with no willingness to work with us in such unusual circumstances. A more flexible, empathetic approach would have made a big difference. At the time, I was very disappointed and said I’d never book there again or recommend it.

This was the worst hotel of our 11-day trip in Portugal. The room was clean, but the bathroom had no privacy at all. If you’re lucky enough to have a balcony, your roommate can sit outside while you use it in peace. The pool bar was expensive and added a 10% service charge despite barely providing service. Dinner was mediocre at best, and there are plenty of better restaurants in Lagos. The hotel was quiet, which I assumed was because there were few guests, and thought there was a reason for that. Other hotels at a fraction of the cost might offer a better stay. The payment issue was frustrating. The machine charged me in US dollars by mistake, even though I selected euros when prompted. I immediately asked them to cancel it and charge me again in euros, but they refused. They made me sign the receipt or I wouldn’t have a room, and the charge was about 80 USD too high. The front desk man said the POS machine had a new prompt, but they still wouldn’t correct the error. I believe that’s because the hotel makes extra money from it. They claimed I had chosen USD, but I hadn’t. We also asked the front desk about reserving beach chairs. The staff member checked the live beach cameras and saw empty chairs, then called to confirm they accepted credit cards. We took an Uber there and found that all the empty chairs were already reserved. A four-star hotel with good service should have told us to reserve ahead; instead, we lost a whole beach day. Beware of this charging practice. This was the only hotel I visited that offered this currency choice on its POS, and it felt like a money grab.

A heated pool, a great included breakfast and a nice room looking out over the marina made for a lovely stay. Beaches and town were an easy walk away.

For the price, this hotel and its service were stellar. The air conditioning hiccup cost us an hour of holiday while a front desk assistant tried to track down maintenance, but otherwise the place delivered in spades. Ekaterina at the front desk and Robbie at the bar both went above and beyond several times and clearly cared about making guests feel looked after.