Monte Xisto Country Charm Hotel

The folks here couldn’t have been kinder! We were late upon arrival due to a wrong turn on the Rota Vincentia but were well taken care of once we made it. The rooms were nice but the kindness nicer. The chef prepared an amazing meal of five courses, each one simply delicious. The mornings feast was even better. All workers genuinely cared and shared their numbers with us offering to help us during our trek the next four days. This spot is a gem.

This is a rural hotel and when we booked it hadn’t had any recent reviews. I took the plunge and came to regret it. The owner seemed to be triggered by my family from the beginning, making weird comments, which I overlooked as a quirky sense of humour. At one point, he told my eldest child he was likely a better person than my youngest (6 years old boy) ‘who was properly annoying’. He had just asked him a question. Like any 6 year old he takes things literally, so he was really offended. We had booked 5 nights but eventually decided to checkout two nights earlier because of an incident with the owner during breakfast. The owner approached our table asking my kids how living in Taiwan was like. We said fine to which he replied (note that my kids are 11 and 6) by asking if we weren’t afraid it might be taken back by China since it’s a non existent country which is in fact part of China, and so on and so forth… I tried sharing a different perspective having lived in the region for more than 10 years, but he was overwhelmingly against my ‘opinion’ (asked my kids if I was always this opinionated and stubborn…) so I told him I was really not up for an argument like this during breakfast, and we should just stop the conversation. He was completely infuriated, told me I was rude for dismissing him like that, asked me if I knew who he was, eventually that he would be charging the espressos I had asked for during breakfast (wow!), and proceeded to diminish me to the other guests sitting outside the dining area. It was an appalling behaviour, totally uncalled for. I have no explanation for it. My kids were super nervous. I checked out as soon as I could pack my stuff. He obviously retained the payment I had made in advance for the 5 nights (he forgave my coffee debt…) - so I lost 520€. But I couldn’t stay there any longer after that. Some attitudes are just unacceptable and I didn’t know what else to expect. A few comments on the hotel itself: It’s located in an isolated area, about 20-25 minutes from Porto Covo. Rooms are spacious enough. I had booked one bedroom with an extra bed (since I’m travelling with two young boys) but was asked if I would take two bedrooms instead, paying 30€ still for the extra bed and another 10€ to make it worthwhile for them… I didn’t really value this offer that much (maybe this offended the owner…?) but wondered if it was a small bedroom thus justifying the ‘offer’… They hadn’t even added the required extra bed assuming I would accept the suggestion… which I felt compelled to do… We were given two interconnected bedrooms (twin and double) with balconies/terraces facing the back (garden/pool area). Decoration is a bit ‘oppressive’ (too much going on) and ‘tacky’ for my taste. Bathrooms are fully equipped and have many hangers of all sorts, which is great. The shower cabin is a bit on the small side. Laundry is appallingly expensive! This is actually a trait within Portugal’s hospitality sector. Hotel units re