We really enjoyed this hotel! We had room 226 which had a nice view over the Horta marina and Pico…read moreisland. The room and hallway looked recently painted, although the bathroom was a little dated. We had a big balcony with a table and chairs. The service at the reception was excellent and friendly. We also tried the a la carte menu at the restaurant. It was excellent!! The waiting staff was really friendly and we noth had a filet mignon (only 22,50) with spinachspread, batatas and shrimps. It was the best dish we had on the whole trip!! We went for another meal the next day. I'm sure the buffet wasn't as nice as the a la carte menu, so if you have the choice, eat a la carte instead of at the buffet. The breakfast was also very nice and one of the few that had a jug of soymilk, which I totally emptied :P We also tried the little hotelgym, that was situated behind the pool and jacuzzi. Maybe the hotel could check it once in a while, some of the equipment looked as if it needed repairment. From the hotel it is quite an easy, but sometimes steep walk to Horta city center.

I stayed here for 8 nights for a conference in June 2014. I did not expect much from the pictures,…read morebut I was pleasantly surprised by a number of factors, most important of which was the friendly service and hospitality. The staff went out of their way whenever someone needed something. A few things to know: Wifi was spotty and slow. For a small amount you can purchase wifi for a week through a local provider and it works in different places on the island. The rooms were updated about 5 years ago and are pretty nice. The beds, however, leave a little to be desired in the way of comfort. They have a full bar area with tv. Nice area to have a drink at the end of the day. Pretty substantial breakfast each morning although the food in the Azores, generally, leaves a lot to be desired. There are two beaches within walking distance, the nicer of which is about a 5-7 minute walk. The hotel is centrally located. Really a perfect spot, steps away from everything. They have a small gym and indoor pool as well as a nice outdoor infinity pool. Beautiful views! I would highly recommend this hotel for this specific location and would not hesitate to return.

Went to dinner at the Príncipe gastro bar and really enjoyed it. The restaurant is located on the…read morefirst floor of and apartment/hotel on a side street close to the marina. We did not have a reservation and were able to get a table but the place is small so I recommended calling ahead and reserving a table. Staff was friendly and spoke English. We started with the cheese plate as a starter, my husband went for the sticky ribs and I opted for the beef (similar to short ribs) the food was very good, dessert was the chocolate cake with coffee ice cream.

This was our second trip to the Azores but our first time to Pico. We are seasoned foodies and…read morecooks back home in NY....Translated ( not impressed easily... lol) So discovering Atmosfera was a breath of fresh air, or in this case fresh pesto! Cynthia and I combined are 125% Italian so the thought of fresh pasta etc. got us in the car and our way. This place is kind of hard to find. Great property with sweeping views in almost every direction including Mt Pico which I had climbed earlier that day. Let me preface the meal by saying the Azores aren't known for world class cuisine. We love it here, but didn't find any gourmet options on the biggest island - Sao Miguel. So it was surprising that tiny Pico Island would be the place where we finally found a proper gourmet meal prepared by a passionate Italian chef and staff. We had the pesto pasta & the bolognese sauce. The wines were local with some good and very affordable Italian options. The service is personal and warm. Desserts were outrageous; Lemon Meringue Pastry shortbread concoction Panna Cotta We enjoyed so much we returned the following night and ordered some new offerings... Carrot Onion soup - Absolutely amazing with polished presentation ( see pic) Pork Shank- Cynthia ordered this as I normally don't order pork. She let me try it and it stole the show... tender, moist with perfectly prepared roasted potatoes on the side. This dinner was so satisfying we had to skip dessert. We had a different server who was extremely courteous & polished ( which was not our experience at most of the best restaurants on Sao Miguel ). The only negative we felt was the bread. It was served room temperature and just ok. You gotta give a pass for this however , as the Azores aren't London, NY Paris, Rome or San Francisco. In one word.. Delizioso! We hope to return soon

I'm giving this place 2 stars because the location is nice and there's a pretty view…read more We were very disappointed with this restaurant. It claims to be Italian food but I don't find the food here Italian. There's 2-3 Italian dishes and that's it. We ordered 2 appetizers, the cheese board and shrimp cocktail. They were pricy appetizers so I was expecting a large cheese board and a traditional shrimp cocktail with large cold shrimp and cocktail sauce. Instead, we got 6 small slices of cheese, 2 thin slices of pear and 1 walnut. We also got 4 hot over cooked shrimp, a questionable sauce which was not cocktail sauce over a salad... I don't know what that was but it was not shrimp cocktail. The appetizers were very disappointing. We ordered 2 pastas. The waitress raved over the noodles being homemade. I've had homemade noodles before and they're very soft... I didn't find the noodles soft. The sauce also wasn't very good and kind of bitter. We were excited about this place from the reviews but unfortunately we didn't find it very good. With the prices reflected on their menu being on the higher side, I guess we expected more. Advice : appetizers are meant to be shared. 6 small slices of cheese and a few thin sliced pears and 1 walnut isn't enough. Google "restaurant cheese boards" and "shrimp cocktail" and see how they're typically presented at restaurants. Also, shrimp cocktail is something which is very popular and is expected to be a cocktail sauce with chilled shrimp which aren't over cooked or warm.

Solid hotel option in Faial!…read more The hotel location is close to many eating establishments and has a great view of Pico Mountain. Regarding the room, the room was a decent size, beds were comfortable, and the shower pressure was pretty good. The buffet breakfast has many great options and even included instant coffee machine and self serving pancakes. The noteworthy inclusions were the breads and local cheese/butter. During our visit, there is some ongoing construction but nothing that has disturbed our trip.

This hotel is nice and in a beautiful coastal location. Our room was #7 with perk-a-boo views of…read morethe ocean outside our room in the seating area. It was overly perfumed, so we had to keep the window open and door when possible. There is NO a/c, and the window tips open, maybe 30 degrees. We had to put the blankets in the closet under our beds bottom sheet because the mattress was extremely hard. The kitchen area had a nice fridge and kettle, no towel or wash cloth. The pool was extremely difficult to find because no one would take the time to show us. The second day, we had to use google maps to locate it. Find room 11A or B. You follow the sign to the sea and find the blue ropes. You will also see a steep path down to the ladder where you can swim in the ocean. Continuing to the pool you need to go past the green landing with chairs, more blue ropes and go past a house with a short wall. Finally, at the pool, the view is beautiful. The pool is in disrepair and cloudy water, which was concerning. Staff was nice, but little English spoken. No wash clothes in the room, but that is common. Breakfast had some great choices of fruit and the usual. Dinner was great. The cod and octopus plate was yummy. Filet mignon was also very good as was the lapas. All in all it was a nice place, just needs a little elbow grease.

This hotel is absolutely stunning. I went during the off season, so it was about half the regular…read moreprice. It's relatively well maintained and the views are unbeatable. It was built outside of town along the water, so it's very private. You can walk along the "sea trail" that the hotel built and arrive at a number of ocean overlooks. One of them is right next to the water and you can climb down a ladder to go swimming. The breakfast was good and the staff were friendly. The dinner was especially nice and included lots of local produce.

Fantastic town homes right near the center of town. Tons of space and fabulous patios that look…read moreover the vineyards onto the sea. swimming pool into the ocean right across the street. Monica did a great job checking us in and recommending restaurants in town. This is the place to stay in Magdelena for sure. Would stay there in a heartbeat again.