Pestana Quinta Do Arco

NO HEATING IN OUR VILLA! It is absurd that in a 4-star facility one should suffer so much from the cold. There was only a tiny electric stove that did not heat at all, and it is well known that it is not safe to keep it on at night while sleeping. The living room had a wood stove but we were advised against using it because of the smoke detectors. The facility is really very beautiful and surrounded by nature but if this thing had been clearly indicated we would never have chosen it. We also saw some ants in the kitchen.

Hotel has lots of potential but it is dated / needs a good clean. Bathroom smelt of damp and spots of black mould on net curtains. Restaurant where breakfast is served is a bit gloomy, standard continental breakfast. Good location for walks and vineyards.

[review posted with a delay - actual stay was in June 2022] This is a nice resort with, unfortunately, ageing infrastructure which is in a dire need of refurbishment - the views are amazing, but the underinvestment into the furniture, appliances and the rose garden itself is very obvious. I recommend that management takes care of this place and revives it to its former glory. The surroundings of this resort are awesome, so I really hope that Pestana can make proper investment into it... The room was spacious, the beds were good. The kitchen was good to have, however, it was not exactly very-well stocked, so we could only have a very limited use of it. Unfortunately, the WiFi was patchy. The breakfast was rather nice, and we did try a dinner at the restaurant of the hotel - it was very good, I recommend that you do take it during your stay.

When I moved in, they gave me a house that smelled so much of mold that it was impossible to be there, because my daughter's allergy to mold asked me to change the room, so she moved me to another house that smelled even stronger of mold. we decomposed and wanted to take a shower - it turned out that there was no water, no water at all, after calling the reception we were told that unfortunately they could not help. What did we need to do? Looking for another hotel at 22:00 night?. The additional bed for my daughter was broken and it was not possible to sleep on it. In addition, mice rustled on the roof all night. The worst night of my life.

We went with the family so we booked the 'Manor House' meaning it was not connected to any other Villas. However not the best location as we had booked it for two nights, after the first night my grandpa had to go home as it was too cold. The main reason we went was to see the rose garden, even though it was winter there were still flowers in bloom. Would recommend going in April/May. When we had checked in from the reception we had to take a car to the room as it was so far away. The pool was freezing and could barely get in for a minute.

My worst hotel experience ever! We had a reservation for a TRIPLE garden studio for 2 adults + 1 child of 13 years, booked on ***********. On the day of our check-in I received a message from them to see if we are 2 or 3 people. When I confirmed, I was told I need to pay an extra 35eur per night (=140eur extra for 4 nights!!!) for the child, since their reservation system shows 2 adults only. When I sent them the voucher stating it was for triple occupation and the price was for 3 guests, they didn't accept, they insisted they saw other thing in their system. Although it might happen that the glitch was on booking.com's side, still, it's totally unacceptable to put a guest in such a situation, just a few hours before check-in, although the reservation was made months before. We had a valid voucher and as such, as a client, you need to respect that. Not even a minimal gesture was offered (like letting go half the extra amount or providing early breakfast to go on the last day). I tried to resolve the issue with them afterwards, via booking, but they still insisted, saying we "3 people showed up" for a 2-people reservation. Well, we didn't "show up", we had a valid reservation, just check the voucher. Even in the messaging system we used, it said "3 guests", not two. When we confronted them why they contacted us on the day of arrival, they said it was to see if they should prepared the extra bed. Well, it wasn't prepared. We had to pay upon arrival (usually in hotels we pay upon check-out) and we didn't get an invoice or bill. I asked for an invoice or bill the next day. I was told it will be ready by the evening. It wasn't. Other than that, it was a minuscule studio (smaller than it seems on the photo), with ants all over (their route even went through our bed). My son said the sofa bed was the most uncomfortable he ever slept on. Cleanness was an issue, although they did change the towels daily (the only good thing). You can hear every noise from the other 3 studios sharing the same pre-fab building. There was at least a kitchen corner (equipped with 1 pot and 1 pan, and exactly 3 cutlery). There was also a small table with 2 chairs only. FYI, the breakfast is served in the tea house which is outside of the quinta, and at the end of the road, which means take an umbrella with you if you don't want to get there wet. This was a very expensive experience and one that ruined our vacation. The other hotel we used on Madeira right before this was the most amazing hotel we stayed at and was much less expensive than this one. Should I have foreseen this, I would have definitely cancelled this reservation. Not the best location. Really bad service on all levels for an expensive price.