Rio do Prado

This hotel is a seriously bad state of repair. It should not be open. There is no management present and although the young staff were very nice, they were ill-equipped to run this place. Mold, paint chipped “tub” in the middle of the room covered in dried soap scum, no door to the toilet that works. The grounds, besides the mowed grass, were in a terrible state. There is no landscaping crew here. The greenhouse looked like a set for a horror movie. The entire property is inundated with weeds. When you have a patio with tables that each are flower pots and the only thing in them is 15” weeds, you know you don’t care anymore. I was told by the very nice young girl chef that they are planning a renovation. They should close until that is complete

We were so looking forward to this experience and staying at this eco lodge. We booked three rooms months before for two nights. An error was made on their part which can happen but it is how it is dealt with that makes all the difference. There was little if any accountability and as all the hotels were booked in the area and our intention was not to move hotels. They recommended a new hotel on the beach which wasn’t on the beach . We would think that they would offer a glass of wine, a bottle or something for their reservation error although there was no mention. The staff was unhelpful and few spoke English. The grounds are beautiful and the concept is innovative yet not a cozy at all. There are few amenities and poor lighting for reading. The hotel states it good for reduced mobility and yet very inaccessible for limited mobility as the ground is uneven, beds on a platform and steps. The restaurant had music for dinner which was lovely but the dinner was expensive and not good at all. Trying to hard with no taste. A total disappointment service, food, amenities and experience.

Difficult to know where to begin so let’s start with the good points - the Hotel(?) - they are at pains to tell you it’s an agritourismo ) - is in a good location if you have a car or bikes, in that it is handy for Obidos, the glorious lake and coast and Peniche (which is a must visit especially Berlengas). The rooms (“suites”) are large and the shower was great. Now the bad news - it seems that this accommodation has been designed with no attempt to consider the customer’s viewpoint. First when you arrive they ask you to book a time for breakfast (and repeated this during our stay). We politely refused on the basis that a self serve buffet (more on that later) should be able to accommodate 20 odd rooms, and we dont know what time we want to eat breakfast when we are on holiday. Second - the rooms. Well call me old fashioned but I like a toilet which has a door you can close - these rooms have a flimsy blind which doesnt reach the floor. “We like it better” the receptionist told us - well WE certainly would like some privacy in that department. Next - comfortable bed in middle of room has no bedside reading light - a really simple and obvious detail overlooked. Next - there is no hot water tap in the sink (due to the design of the plumbing, a long story but you can get tepid at best) - which doesnt really work if you want hot water fro shaving. They tell you it’s “eco” but hard to see how other than the recycled pipes and uneven floorboards - there is a/c in the rooms, plastic pots of butter and disposable coffee cups at breakfast and outdoor fire pits. Ah breakfast - a poor selection of pastries, variable fruit offering (one day 6 different types, another day 2). One variety of cheese on same plate as ham and some very unappetising eggs in a warm container with bacon. Yoghurt and nuts and - some very good home made jams which were not refilled and one day were completely missing because….”we make the jam today” - so tough if you wanted some that day. Also - inexcusably - on the third day we were there (Tuesday) the croissants and rolls were absolutely stale and were from the previous day. The breakfast is staffed by one person who struggled to clear tables which were strewn with dirty dishes. This is not a cheap place to stay - we (our fault) had booked a plunge pool suite for 480 euros a night which turned out to be two separate rooms separated by said pool (un inviting and full of insects). We didnt need the second room - although we did use it for the toilet!!! (See above) When I asked about the spa “we think it’s better to just have the master suite (10 euros a night more than ours) have use of the spa” Housekeeping was rudimentary, sometimes not replenishing towels, never picking up a bathrobe left over the bath for example. There is a small uninviting looking pool which we didnt use as we were out at the lake or coast but it seemed popular for families with small children - warning there are