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

First, the plusses: The hotel is indeed beautiful and in a beautiful location in a national park, as shown online. The rooms are spacious and comfortable, with excellent beds and air conditioning. We came in October for some peace and quiet away from the beach and away from busy resorts and it certainly ticked those boxes. There is little to do in the national park except rest and hike to the sea, which suited us just fine. That’s kind of the point. The nearby walks to the beach are well worth it and the coast is truly spectacular and well worth a visit. Note that you need to walk to some of these locations (as we did) or have a 4x4. The spa is small but adequate and we had excellent massages. The quality of the breakfast is very good, but not the service (see below). The cocktail bar is small but had excellent cocktails and a hospitable bar man. Also on the upside is that there are some incredible nearby restaurants (15 min drive). We enjoyed Cal and O Paolo in Arrifina especially both having incredible food and locations. Minuses: As reflected in other reviews this amazing venue is let down by really appalling service in the dining room and by the pool (which seem to share the same staff). The breakfast buffet is excellent but the waiting staff are insufficient in number, poorly supervised and chaotic. For example, it can take an age to be seated, no coffee or tea is offered when seated, when asked for there is only about a 50% chance it will turn up and only about a 40% chance it will be hot. Food orders are sometimes taken, sometimes not. There is no sign of management direction with what appear to be untrained staff clearing random tables and taking random orders, rather than having stations to care for. With some exceptions there is zero small talk or charm. The staff themselves can hardly be blamed if they are not being trained and managed properly. Dinner in the hotel was disappointing but the concierge do provide a list of external restaurants many of which are excellent (as discussed above). Service by the pool is very patchy and varies enormously depending on who is on duty. Few are very keen to serve and one often feels like an irritation. Service is highly reactive (you have to go and find staff) and not proactive. Sometimes drinks would not arrive. If there was a general manager keeping people on their toes, we did not see him. Overall we had a very relaxing time in this beautiful and quiet spot, which was what we came for. As matters stand though it’s a five star venue with one star service. I find this baffling because comments like this one have been similar going back a year or two now. I can only assume that for some reason is is hard to get good staff and management to work at this quite remote location. If the service could be dramatically improved we would certainly come back but as matters stand that is unlikely.

This part of Portugal is very rural, and I know this is one of only a few hotels in the region. It definitely doesn't feel like a 5 star resort but l also know that service in rural parts of Portugal is difficult due to staffing. That being said, the beds are very uncomfortable (way too hard), the pool is very cold (even in July), the staff is not well trained, and the entire place needs a facelift. HOUSEKEEPING; I assume the hotel is understaffed bc we had to ask for housekeeping. We were out of our rooms 7-8 hours a day between 9-4p yet returned to rooms without housekeeping. Housekeeping arrived within an hour of being asked. There isn’t turndown service. A housekeeper knocks around 6p to ask if more towels are needed. FOOD: The breakfast spread is nice and there are many items available on the a la carte menu. Dining staff is pleasant but untrained as mentioned in other reviews. We had one dinner at the hotel which was delicious but again, untrained wait staff. SPA: We tried to book massages on the first day of our 3 night stay and the spa was supposedly completely booked. I assume that was due to staffing issues and not due to the number of available massage rooms. If you want a massage or any spa treatment during your stay, book before you arrive. Note that the ocean is far (not walking distance) from the hotel. It can be very windy and chilly at night and in the mornings so pack layers.

Beautiful stay from start to finish! A true architectural gem in a serene setting. Restaurant and bar offering was also incredible.

The Praia is wonderful, it was our second visit and we look forward to coming again. The rooms are incredibly well equipped and the staff are very polite and attentive. The only drawbacks are the restaurant which is good but not five star, and the approach roads which are a little like a rally. However, it is well worth the effort just for breakfast!