Quinta Pedra Dos Bicos

This is a beautiful hotel with excellent facilities. The pool area is clean, well maintained and has the potential to be a wonderfully relaxing place to spend the day. Most of the staff we encountered were friendly, welcoming and professional, and the hotel itself deserves a great deal of praise. Unfortunately, the behaviour of some of the pool attendants significantly detracted from what was otherwise an excellent experience. I fully appreciate that enforcing safety rules is part of their job, and I have absolutely no issue with staff ensuring guests behave responsibly. However, there is a clear difference between firm, professional enforcement and an unnecessarily confrontational approach. During our stay, I witnessed several occasions where younger groups appeared to be singled out and spoken to in an aggressive manner, even when the situations seemed relatively minor. Rather than calmly managing situations, the approach often appeared to escalate them, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere around the pool. One interaction particularly concerned me. My son-in-law politely asked why the approach was quite so aggressive, and the response he received was: "You are on your last warning, and I have your room number." We found this response unnecessarily intimidating and completely disproportionate to a polite question. It was not the standard of customer service we expected from a hotel of this quality. This is a great hotel, and it's a shame that the conduct of a small number of pool attendants overshadowed what was otherwise a very enjoyable stay. I hope management reviews the customer service approach taken around the pool, as the facilities deserve staff who can enforce the rules firmly, fairly and respectfully, without creating an atmosphere of confrontation. We would happily return because the hotel has so much to offer, but I sincerely hope this issue is addressed.

I was extremely disappointed with my experience at this hotel. I booked our stay nine months in advance for a group of seven after hearing positive recommendations from friends who had stayed here previously.

Unfortunately, the problems began immediately after booking. My reservation repeatedly showed only three adults instead of the seven guests I had requested. I contacted the hotel numerous times to query this, and on every occasion I was reassured by staff that everything was correct and there was nothing to worry about.

We later made a minor amendment to our booking, changing our travel dates while keeping the total length of our stay the same. After this change, I was unable to obtain an updated confirmation email despite multiple attempts. When I eventually received it, the reservation still incorrectly showed only three adults. Frustrated, I contacted the hotel again two days before our arrival, only to be told for the first time that the apartment could accommodate only six guests, not seven, despite having been repeatedly assured over several months that the booking was correct.

To make matters worse, we were informed that accommodating the seventh guest would cost an additional €583. I found it completely unacceptable to be asked to pay such a substantial amount just two days before our holiday because of an error that had been repeatedly brought to the hotel’s attention. We tried to discuss the situation and asked whether they could reduce or waive the additional charge given the circumstances, but no reasonable solution was offered.

The only reason I have given this review one star is because the apartment itself was comfortable and reasonably clean.However, even this was overshadowed by the presence of ants and a few cockroaches during our stay.

I would also like to mention Cora at Quinta Pedra dos Bicos, whose handling of this situation was disappointing. At no point did I feel that any genuine effort was made to resolve an issue that stemmed from the hotel’s own booking errors. The lack of communication, accountability, and customer service turned what should have been a relaxing holiday into an unnecessarily stressful experience.

I would not recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a smooth, stress-free holiday.