Hotel Camões

The bathroom had no ventilation or window, and there were toilet paper sheets under and between the bed. The corridor and our room smelled musty, with a hint of urine. Breakfast was poor, served in the basement, and the only coffee option was a Nescafé machine. The hotel is called Historic Hotel, but it needs renovation; the interior is wood brown. The central air conditioning didn’t really work, and opening the window to the inner yard wasn’t an option at night because of the air-conditioning noise. I don’t know why this is a 4 Star hotel.

Our room was spacious, with a large bathroom, though the view was limited. We’d asked for somewhere quiet, so I suppose that was the compromise. We loved the wood finish on the room floors and as decoration. The hotel is right in the centre. There was no restaurant at the time, we were told. Breakfast had plenty of good-quality choices. The coffee was okay, but could be better.

The worst part of my stay was leaving before breakfast service began at 7:30. My pickup was at 7:15, so they gave me a little bag with a sweet roll, a tiny pack of cheap biscuits, an apple and a small juice. At 7:00 I returned it and asked for a ham and cheese sandwich like the ones served at breakfast. The kitchen staff were already there and I still had 15 minutes, but nobody would take 30 seconds to make one. I left without the breakfast I had paid for. It felt ignorant and disrespectful. The buffet was poor too. For a British breakfast, there were scrambled eggs, and either canned mushrooms or fried bacon, but they alternated between the two, never served both together. No tomatoes, beans, sausages or black pudding. The continental selection was just one kind of ham or salami, one sliced cheese and some fresh local cheese. The room felt below the standard of a four-star hotel. There was no kettle, the TV was small, and the shower screen leaked onto the floor where it met the wall. The little fridge was noisy. My window looked onto a back street rather than the ocean, and cars and people talking made quite a bit of noise at night.

The location worked really well for us: the marina and whale watching trips are nearby, and the centre with its restaurants is about a 5-10 minute walk. Staff were friendly and happy to call restaurants to reserve a table, which matters because some get very busy. Our room was large and clean, and the staff were great. Breakfast, though, wasn't very good. We booked through a package, so I don't know what we paid for the hotel itself. It was a little cheaper than the other hotels that still had availability during our weeklong stay.