Praia do Canal Nature Retreat - Small Luxury Hotels of the World

Just lovely! This was our second stay here and it was perfect. The staff are very professional and very friendly. Main shout out has to go to - the reception staff and porters - to Joao in the bar (he looked after me so well as I have allergies) - also to Alice in the restaurant, such a fun and efficient lady, not forgetting lovely Dimitry. We also treated ourselves to spa treatments which were very good. I'm a fussy one over massages and it was up there with the best I've had. Definitely visit the local unspoilt beach, worth the dodgy remote track but make sure your car is up to it, our little Peugeot was fine, just! We saw that some residents had cycled (electric bikes) but that seemed far too energetic. We also drove to Praia de Monte Clerigo, which has a very good and unbelievably busy cafe called O Ze. Another day we went to O Paulo overlooking Arrifana beach. Beautiful seafood and a good wander on the beach watching the very brave surfers.

Terrible would not recommend this place to anyone. We wanted to like this place... but could not leave fast enough. It had no soul and is missing something... The food is not good and would not go back again. dinner was not edible was told only charged for drinks and only signed bill for drinks

Fabulous service, atmosphere and grounds. A major treat and opportunity to relax and indulge. Modern, exceptionally clean. It was our 3rd or 4th visit and we are treated like elite and beloved family every time we return. White globe service! We religiously indulge in room service AND thoroughly enjoy the dining room and bars. Spa is well worth the indulgence. They provide yoga every morning.

Laundry sevice ruined my clothes. They agreed to reimburse replacement costs but unfortunately after providing invoices and bank details still no payment, Very unprofessional ! On the plus side the room was clean and bright, although the phone to reception did not work and was not repaired during my 10 day stay A lot of water wasted as the shower took ages to run hot, not very environmentally friendly !

If you look for nature, peace and comfort, this is the place to go. In the middle of the Vincentina Coast Natural Park, full of birds and trees, the buildings of the hotel are designed with great architectural vision. The rooms are just georgeous and have private balcony or gardens. The main building is on higher ground with an amazing view over the park and on the ocean. Enjoy the sunsets from the terrace with the lanterns in the evening or at one of the tables in the excellent Azeitona restaurant. The menu provides for all tastes (fish, meat and vegetarian) and the dishes are prepared with a lot of flavour and finesse presentation. Breakfast is outstanding, with a large buffet selection (lots of typical Portugese sweets, home-made sourdough bread, many fruits, yoghurt, cereals, seeds, meat, cheese and salmon, fresh fruit juice, Bloody Mary station and Portuguese sparkling wine) and à la carte dishes (the pancakes with red fruits! the egg Benedict with salmon!) and drinks. Staff is really great and go out of their way to help the guests. I’d like to specifically mention Elisabete (breakfast and pool bar Zimbro) - who should be paid by the count of steps and smiles -, also Jessica and Paula (dinner service), Bruno (pool bar Zimbro and dinner), Tomas (sommelier) and I wholeheartedly recommend the delicious cocktails from Juan (bar tender Menzondro and cocktail creator). Book a spa session for ultimate relaxation, I had the place (with two sauna’s, hamam, IR shower, ice bath and indoors and outdoor pool) to myself several times. Soledad is very kind, lets you enjoy the place by taking good care of it and serves hot tea and cold water throughout. The main pool is nicely integrated in the landscape and pool service is very good. I very much enjoyed the complimentary yoga sessions in the morning from yogi master Sofia, she is an outstanding teacher, builds the flows from floor to standing to floor for all levels and does a very peaceful meditation at the end where she makes sure everyone lies aligned and relaxed. Namaste, Sofia! The Whatsapp concierge service is very convenient and Joana was very helpful during booking and at check-out. Often forgotten, but certainly worth the mention here is the room cleaning and turndown staff who impeccably service the rooms every day. If you like hiking, I warmly recommend the walks provided in the booklet of the hotel (next to many other activities which also look great). The walk down to the ocean (3,6km, red, labelled average) takes about 50 min (and about 1h10 up) through the Natural Park and rewards you with the best views of empty sand beaches and ocean cliffs like in movies - there is no access but by the dust roads, I only met 1 car driving down and on weekdays spent the time down at the ocean alone (in the weekend there were a few hikers and local surfers, but still paradise ). Do climb the cliff for an even beter sight. The walk to the viewpoint Abelhas (1,6km, green, labelled easy) was als