Herdade da Malhadinha Nova - Relais & Chateaux

Beautiful hotel with nice design. The grounds are well kept. Location is isolated but ideal to relax. Too many kids over Easter so not the hotel’s fault. The hotel has a lot of potential if they could up their game in relation to service. It lacks attention to the detail. We would leave towel on the floor or empty wine bottle and housekeeping wouldn’t collect it. Some tables around the pool were full of dust. Most of the staff seem unhappy. Often, we would not even get a good morning. Some waiters would drop the dish on the table without any explanation. Check-in was unwelcome: no greeting from the person doing the check-in besides asking for passport. It’s hard to explain why most people were not friendly and seem lost. Only one driver, the hostess at the main restaurant and the sommelier were more engaging. They did help with an early breakfast and check-out. Thanks Activities were expensive and tried to charge for simple things usually free in 5 stars hotel like bikes and visit to vegetable garden. I wouldn’t go back because of the service but the hotel is really nice. Staff needs training on how to make customers feel special if they want to be a luxurious and five star hotel.