Seara Praia Hotel

The hotel itself is beautiful especially the dining area! Our room was also pleasant. The service was okay, it definitely could have been better for a 5 star hotel. The breakfast was very tasty and varied, which I thought was great! It also had enough space. What I didn't like was that I went for breakfast at 9am and there was a gentleman in the breakfast room with an accordion. I assume that the hotel booked him. That was too noisy for me and also for my family at 9am when you get up to have breakfast first.

We were there for 4 days only, yet the stay was not very satisfactory. Strange odor in one of the rooms: It smelled moldy and overall unpleasant, mind that -everything- in the room smelled like this. We went down to the reception desk to report this and ask to change rooms. The lady at the reception just looked at us with a blank expression and told us its not possible and that they can only offer to clean the room again. We accepted, yet it felt like that we were not being taken all that serious. Elevator not working/stairs leading to strange exits: On day 2 one of the two elevators broke down (this can happen) so a 15+ story building was left with 1 working elevator. Because there were many people using the elevator, the wait for it was sometimes very long (we are talking 10-15 minutes) and if you‘re in a hurry you really dont have the patience to wait. As we were only in the 3rd floor we decided to take the emergency stairs. It is marked where they are, but you have not a single clue where you need to go to get out at the bottom. Sure you can count the floor you are on but when you are there you feel like in a maze. The exit when you are at the bottom is in the kitchen, very strange to have to exit from there as it did not feel right. In a real emergency, better labelling of the exit points would be needed. Overall lack of customer friendly behaviour: We were checked out one day early in the system due to lack of communication by the staff. We originally had booked only 3 days but needed to reserve an additional day. We had done this before arriving and we had told the on-duty receptionist about this when we checked in. We were told that it‘s alright and they would make sure it will work. But yet, we were checked out one day early. When going down to the reception to report the incident, we were yet met with ANOTHER blank stare by the receptionist. We were told that we had to sign a document during check in for this „special request“ but we were not made aware of that. All the while the receptionist looked very bored and not present. This gave us the impression that they dont even care. The hotel itself is okay, but to make sure guests can enjoy their time and feel comfortable, it is necessary to have e certain level of hospitality. A „we apologize for the inconvenience“ or „thank you for making us aware, we will make sure that this is being taken care of“ would have changed the experience A LOT. Guests should feel welcome and not like that they are not being taken serious.

5 star hotel… are you kidding me!!! Not 4, not even 3 stars. One of the worst so-called 5-star hotel experiences ever! Room 1211 for those interested – July 11 to 15 2024. And yes, American Express Centurion made the reservation for me… After room 1105 was just not acceptable at all, they upsold me to this room, 1211 with ocean front windows – From a $114 per day to a $63 a day up-sale for what – a bit more ocean – through dirtiest of windows??? After room service just did forget our room, we called the reception, nobody ever arrived to do the job – nobody, no call no nada! Room safe did not work, no batteries, night light did not work, no bulb You are thinking Valet parking… or ANY parking, nada -only next door do it yourself. How about baggage assistance like a bell man, nada – do it yourself! Breakfast buffet, a mess and few choices compared to a real 5-star offering. Shower, sometimes hot and sometimes just warm, however long you tried it. I could go on and on but will spare you and leave it at that. Beware of it before you book!