Hotel Ancora Mar

We meant to stay one night and wound up staying four. Nazaré really won us over, with its beautiful beach, unforgettable sunsets, and peaceful feel. Encora Hotel is right in the center, and for the location, comfort, and price, we’d happily come back. The rooms are spacious and clean, although the bathrooms are quite small. Staff were friendly and courteous from the start. Breakfast was better than we expected at €70/night. We weren’t keen on the cheese, but luckily we’d brought jam and Nutella. The beds were a mixed bag, with some comfortable and others less so. We’re pretty fussy about mattresses. There’s a rooftop pool that looked clean and inviting, but we chose the beach instead. The rooms don’t have views, and we could hear water draining from other bathrooms, so the pipes don’t seem well insulated.

The rooftop pool was beautiful, and this was good value for an overnight stay. Breakfast was just average, with no eggs :(

I’m sure I left my headphones in the room, but they haven’t answered my calls or emails. The room itself was large but old and not very nice. The blanket was dirty, a cupboard door was missing, the bathroom was very dated, and I didn’t even want to use the shower. There was a big balcony, but its tiles were broken and it faced a wall. The hallway smelled bad and looked like it hadn’t been renovated in ages. The staff were unfriendly, arrogant, and unhelpful. When we arrived, they were watching a TV show on their screen, and we saw it playing every time we passed them. Their English wasn’t very good, which made communication difficult. When I asked about parking, the first response was an aggressive remark that I should have read the description because parking couldn’t be reserved. They eventually showed us the parking area, where several spaces were free, but picked the smallest one. I had some trouble parking, as I’m not the best driver, and they kept speaking Portuguese to me and laughing.

The front desk woman was very friendly and led us to a parking space. It’s first come, first served, and once the spots are full, you’ll need to use regular downtown parking. The location is great.