A Quinta da Auga

I usually prioritize infrastructure and sleep quality in my hotel reviews and thus it’s hard to fault Quinta da Auga. Bed was comfortable, AC was effective and silent, and we experienced no problems with noise. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Bathroom was in good condition, with a great sink and plenty of surface area for personal items. I also appreciated their TV system that allows one to “cast” content from the guest’s device to the room’s screen. EV chargers (4) are available with Porsche Destination Charging being the vendor. The hotel can activate them for you if needed and charge €20 for a half day of charging. We brought a dog with us and overall found that this property worked pretty well in that regard. Our room allowed us to keep the exterior window/door open so he could feel he was not confined we were away. From the property there are a couple of shady paths that can be walked along the nearby canals and river. Despite our enjoyment with our stay, there were some aspects we found didn’t match up to the over €350/night we paid. In the room the bed pillows were not of a “luxury” level and the shower was pretty stingy with it’s water quantity/pressure. The hotel grounds, while green and leafy, are pretty rustic, and the pool is just a small, above-ground pool with a small deck on one end. We ate twice at the bistro and found the food and drinks to be pretty mediocre overall.

Very overpriced for what it is. They don’t show on their website that - despite the prices - is only a 4 star. I have been disappointed by three Relais & Châteaux hotels in a row this week. It seems to be a club hotels can join without any consistent requirement of quality This hotel missed on enough details that the overall stay was very average. From the start they were deliberately difficult: their website does not have a possibility to add children, only adults. But the room type said it could accommodate up to two children. OK, they said at check-in, but there is a supplement of €60 / night. Throughout our stay there were disgruntled parents in the lobby, complaining about this. We were annoyed that the hotel did not even bother to add another towel or more water to the room. With the supplement the hotel is even worse value for money The WiFi is terrible. Even sending emails is painful, and definitely too slow for work video calls Breakfast is fine, nothing special, in a space that gets very crowded. A long queue forms in front of the self-service Nespresso machine. The staff seemed overworked and refused to do basic things like getting coffee cups (they explained where they were, get them yourself) We did not try the spa because it does not accept kids (unless you rent a private room with its own small pool, which sounded depressing) The restaurant is excellent though, and the staff there was superb There are electric car chargers, priced by the day (€40, or €20 a half day) The building itself is quirky and charming, the best feature being its eclectic and comfortable drawing room where you can have a drink before dinner My recommendation is to stay somewhere else and come here for dinner