Menina Colina Guesthouse

Last year I had the most wonderful stay at Menina Colina, and was excited to return. Unfortunately I now wish I had reserved elsewhere, as it has been nothing but a disappointment. Prices are so much higher than a year ago, but I thought I got what was a good deal on the garden room. Turns out it is greatly overpriced for what is offered, as it has none of the exquisite design or attention to detail that the interior rooms have. It also seems to be neglected in terms of maintenance. The coffee machine was leaking, and after reporting it, it was made out to be my fault as I was using it incorrectly. I had to physically show a member of staff the leaked water for them to agree to replace it. I was really annoyed that they felt that they needed to demonstrate to me how it works rather than just replacing it immediately. The next disappointment was that the room was initially not serviced at all, and no explanation was given. When you are paying $165 for a mediocre room (not even including breakfast), one would at the very least expect the bins to be emptied. The bathroom also had a terrible smell that permeated the room, and mosquitoes were a problem too. Management did offer me lunch or attendance of their fado show, but none of these arrangements fitted into my busy programme. I thought a small financial compensation would have made more sense. That did not happen, and nothing further was mentioned or discussed on check-out. The final issue was the online check-out which they require. When I tried to complete it, my bill was for my entire stay, although 3 of the 4 nights had already been paid months in advance. So my conclusion is unfortunately that Menina Colina’s standards have dropped significantly, and that it is overpriced for the lack of attention to detail that is evident in several areas.

This is a lovely little hotel with delightful staff. The hotel is in a very low key area opposite the hospital but wasn’t noisy at all. It has been beautifully refurbished and the garden is lovely for a drink or spot of lunch. We stayed in the main hotel and also in the garden room which was spacious (slightly lacking in privacy as there are only light curtains covering the large glass windows). It’s exceptionally clean and the staff are real gems, especially Felipe who gave us great restaurant recommendations and was so charming and helpful. We would definitely recommend this hotel and we will be back to stay here!

Fantastic place to stay. The building has been beautifully restored while having all the modern facilities necessary. Our room was spacious, well-appointed and comfortable and, had the weather been better, we would have enjoyed the west-facing balcony (and the garden). Breakfast was just as thoughtful, our food was colourful, healthy and nicely presented. Everyone we met was helpful, efficient and concerned to make our stay enjoyable. 'Thank you' to them.