Angra Marina Hotel

Exceptional, friendly staff offer prompt service and helpful assistance. Spacious, clean rooms with sea views and large bathrooms. Diverse, delicious breakfast buffet. Excellent location with beautiful harbor views.

During our recent trip to Terceira, we chose the Angra Marina Hotel, which at the time was the only hotel actively advertising itself as a 5 star lodging. The website photos appeared promising and matched what was being offered. Unfortunately, our actual experience was far from what we expected. Upon arrival, we were met with a discouraging start. Only one staff member was present at reception, engaged in a phone call for over 40 minutes. Despite three guests waiting, there was no acknowledgment of our presence, no welcome gesture, and no attempt to call for assistance. The condition of the rooms further compounded our disappointment. They were dirty, poorly maintained, and one of the rooms had a strong, unpleasant musty odor. Upon requesting a room change due to the smell, we were told it was not possible—even though the hotel was far from full. The best the staff could offer was to remove the offending chair, which they simply placed on the terrace. Breakfast the following morning was similarly substandard. The buffet offered no fresh items; pastries and baked goods were clearly pre-packaged and not freshly opened. The eggs were cold, with broken yolks and dirty trays, and the orange juice was from a carton, not freshly squeezed. When I raised concerns with reception, I received an astonishingly unprofessional response: “If you don’t like the eggs, we recommend you don’t eat them.” Later that day, we returned to find the removed chair still sitting outside and no replacement provided. One of the beds was damp and smelled of bleach. When I contacted reception again, the same staff member came to inspect the issue. Shockingly, she climbed onto the bed to sniff it herself, seemingly to determine whether I was being truthful. Only after this bizarre interaction did they agree to change the bedding. The hotel overall is in a serious state of neglect: cracked walls, rusted pipes, limescale-covered bathroom fixtures, torn or stained wallpaper, outdated televisions with non-functional remotes, and a general lack of cleanliness throughout the rooms and bathrooms. I don’t usually take photos of the places I review, but in this case, I made an exception. I took numerous pictures to ensure that readers can judge the conditions for themselves and so the hotel cannot dismiss my comments as untrue. The evidence speaks for itself.