This is a lovely hotel. Perched on a hillside overlooking the sea the views are breathtaking. When you book a room it includes a breakfast buffet with a large assortment of local cheeses, just baked bread and eggs so fresh the chicken is out looking for them. It is considered 4 star and costs $57. euros per night.
The restaurant also serves a buffet dinner each night. That costs $30. euros and is worth every penny. It includes seafood captured that morning along with several other main dishes to choose from, an assortment of vegetables, salads and desserts. Beverages are not an extra fee. You can have unlimited Portuguese wine with your dinner. Served in a wine glass they fill all the way to the top. Very impressive!
This all takes place in a dinning room that can seat 80 people and half of them will have an ocean view table. So far the largest number of guests I have seen in that room at one time are 28 and yes I counted them. At breakfast you simply wander in half awake between 7:00 to 10:00 am. Dinner is served from 7:00 to 10:00 pm. That consistency makes the hours easy to remember.
Portugal is a very polite and proper country. As part of that mystique dinner reservations are required. Few guests make them but we all play the game. Here is how it goes:
I show up dressed nicely for dinner at about 7:45pm. There are already 12 people seated and eating dinner. Standing there alone with no one else in sight for a mile I am greeted by a gracious young lady who asks me:
“How many in your party for dinner tonight?
“Just me”, I reply.
“Do you have reservations for dinner this evening?”
“No, I am so sorry. I am a hotel guest. My room number is 105” She makes a check beside that number on her list and says: “Just a moment, please, I will see what I can do.”
“Thank you so much”, I say.
( I so hungry I could start chewing on a table leg at this hour.)
Then she walks into the room and in the midst of dozens of empty tables earnestly
looks all around. With a serious expression she examines all four corners. When she returns from the hunting expedition she says:
“Please follow me, I think we have a place for you.”
We maneuver around empty chairs to a distant section and the place she somehow managed to find for me.
“Please be seated” she instructs me. “Someone will come soon to take your beverage order.”
Choking back laughter I say: “Thank you for accommodating me.” This is the nightly routine even after we are on a first name basis. It is so charming I wouldn’t try to change a thing
However, I would like to suggest the hotel change their elevator protocol . It is a bit confusing.
Ok, I admit elevators can be challenging for me at times but it would be helpful if they actually made sense when it comes to making it clear where you are going to wind up once you push that button.
I entered at street level and they call that 1. Ok that makes sense. My room is on the first floor of rooms....that is -1. Huh. The outside pool that I can see from my balcony is -3 and I have no idea where they hid -2. I know there are levels above and below me, but I dare not venture too far in any direction or I may never find my way back to the room. I hope they are not actually expecting anyone to show up on level -2.
Here’s the other unexpected challenge encountered.
I learned on the trip to Madeira it is helpful to have two keys even if your only one
person. You can leave one key inserted in the wall thingy that turns the electricity on in your room. That way you can charge your phone or iPad while you are at breakfast. But yesterday I discovered another use for the spare key. After the maid finished cleaning my room, as she rushed out the door she grabbed my extra key out of the wall thingy! She thought she had inserted her’s when she entered the room. I took a nap and did not notice until it began to get dark that the lights would not turn on. Now I feel super smart .....a experienced two key traveler, able to thwart the antics of busy maids and dispel the darkness. Must be a super power.
So I am headed out today to see where adventure is hiding....but first I must recharge my batteries with a short morning nap. Call it a “power” nap.....
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