Casa do Príncipe

I had to return home urgently after my father suffered a stroke in Australia. More than three weeks before my stay, I contacted Casa do Príncipe, explained it was a serious medical emergency, and asked them to understand my situation. They showed no compassion or flexibility, and made no effort to respond with any humanity. They simply enforced the policy in a cold, transactional way, as though a family crisis didn't matter. Hospitality should be about people, but I felt treated like a credit card number. With three weeks' notice for a genuine emergency, they didn't offer even a small gesture of goodwill. That says a lot about how this property operates. If empathy and basic decency matter to you, book somewhere else.

For a supposed four-star hotel, this felt like three stars at best, unless perhaps you book a suite. My basic room was tiny, with the bathroom inside the room behind only a partial wall, and there was no mirror by the sink. The whole place smelled musty. Breakfast was the most basic of the three hotels I stayed at on my trip, and I skipped it one day. There were no room amenities. Even the shower only had a 2-in-1 body wash bottle.

I booked the King Suite for eight nights through Capital One Travel and paid $1,800. One night, we got back late and found a bloodstain on the bed sheet. It was too late to contact the front desk, so we had to sleep uncomfortably on the edge of the bed. I raised it several times the next day, but nobody apologized. Each time, I was told, “I’ll let my associate know.” The suite only had 1 trash can. I asked for another, but they didn't have one, so I used a trash bag by the couch. Breakfast was also worrying for quality and hygiene. There wasn't much choice, they used tap water, and the bread basket was left uncovered on the floor by the front door. After seeing that on the second day, I avoided all food from the kitchen for the rest of the stay. On the plus side, I liked the view of the park, and we became good friends with the owner of the Kiosk across. I hope this feedback is taken constructively, but I would never recommend this place to anyone.

This is an affordable bed and breakfast in a great neighborhood, with a park and a permanent bar just across the way where you can relax. Walk east for a few minutes and you're in a lovely tourist area with amazing views. It's a building with one floor turned into a B&B, so don't expect a full hotel. The back room is quiet. I imagine the front-facing rooms get noise from the park and traffic. Service was great, the place was clean, and the water pressure was strong. Breakfast was decent, nothing special, but waking up to it was an absolute delight: strong coffee, fresh orange juice, the best I've had, boiled eggs, fruit, yogurt, cereal, two or three bread choices, and one choice each of cheese and ham. The stairs are a menace, though you can manage them carefully, and the elevator is old-style. I recommend it for an affordable stay.