Santa Barbara Eco-Beach Resort
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Estrada Regional N0 1-1a 1º Morro de Baixo, Ribeira Grande, Sao Miguel 9600-219 Portugal
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Pool & Beach (24)
Room & Suite (17)
About
#1 of 2 hotels in Ribeira Grande
Between the mountains and the sea! Placed in the middle of the mountains and the sea, the Santa Bárbara Eco-Beach Resort offers the best experiences from both worlds, between the contemplation of the mountain sheltering the famous Lagoa do Fogo and the relaxing Santa Bárbara beach, with over half a mile of sand. Both families and adventure lovers are able to enjoy an infinite number of experiences that will fill you with the mystic of “living Azores”, since the pedestrian tours, to the adrenaline of using a surfboard for the first time, or to just contemplate our unique blue and green landscape.
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Full view
Property amenities
Free parking
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Pool
Yoga classes
Free breakfast
Beach
Bicycle rental
Babysitting
Car park
Wifi
Hot bath
Pool / beach towels
Pool with view
Outdoor pool
Saltwater pool
Shallow end in pool
Yoga room
Bar / lounge
Coffee shop
Restaurant
Breakfast available
Breakfast buffet
Outdoor dining area
Special diet menus
Rooftop bar
Water sport equipment rentals
Bicycle tours
Walking tours
Children's television networks
Highchairs available
Pets Allowed ( Dog / Pet Friendly )
Car hire
Taxi service
Couples massage
Foot massage
Full body massage
Hand massage
Head massage
Massage
Neck massage
Baggage storage
Concierge
Outdoor furniture
First aid kit
Umbrella
24-hour check-in
24-hour front desk
Laundry service
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Room features
Blackout curtains
Soundproof rooms
Air conditioning
Dining area
Coffee / tea maker
Cable / satellite TV
Sofa bed
Bath / shower
Housekeeping
Interconnected rooms available
Private balcony
Safe
Seating area
Sofa
Telephone
Wardrobe / wardrobe
Bottled water
Private bathrooms
Wake-up service / alarm clock
Kitchenette
Microwave
Minibar
Refrigerator
Electric kettle
Kitchenware
Flatscreen TV
Complimentary toiletries
Hair dryer
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Room types
Mountain view
Ocean view
Non-smoking rooms
Suites
Family rooms
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
HOTEL STYLE
Great View
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish, Portuguese
Location
Full view
Contact
Estrada Regional Nº 1-1ª 1º Morro de Baixo, Ribeira Grande, São Miguel 9600-219 Portugal
Name/address in local language
Getting there
Car HireSee all Ribeira Grande car hire
206Reviews10Q+A11Room tips
Reviews
Traveller rating
- 90
- 59
- 24
- 13
- 20
Time of year
Traveller type
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we wanted to have dinner in the hotel and arrived early in the evening.when we entered the hotel the lady from the reception turned away..we went into the restaurant area and asked for a table.she was very impolite and told us that the kitchen only opens at 730pm.we sat down in the “lounge area” and wanted to have a drink but nobody cared and neither asked us if we want to have a drink before dinner..so we went off and left without food. cool location but that’s it..
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Beautiful view, interesting choices in interior design, nice team, great ingredients, what am i missing? wait a minute... Where is the sushi Chef? on holidays? It sure felt like it. Pure lack of creativity and bad communication. Although we have asked for brazed pieces you can see in the picture that we have not received a single one.😪
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I stayed at this resort as part of a retreat. It would've been a very enjoyable experience if it wasn't for the following issues I encountered. Issues: - unfriendly and unhelpful reception staff (in particular one woman) - so many FLIES in the room - no power plug converter provided or one that I could borrow or buy. The advice the reception staff gave me was to "take a taxi to the nearby town or Chinese tourist shops to get one." What??? - laundry came back STAINED. I sent in a bunch of clothes to be washed, when they came back, my gray sweatshirt had noticeable blue stains on both the front and back. I didn't even bother bringing it up to the reception because I already pegged them as unfriendly and unhelpful. Positives: - the wonderful ocean view - the bartender makes the most delicious and beautiful drinks - the breakfast is simple but healthy and delicious I feel like the hotel either wasn't ready to handle a 20-person group like ours or just isn't managed well in general. I'd definitely return if they fix the above problems. But as it is now, I wouldn't recommend the resort. …
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It was with great astonishment that a few years ago I first heard about a beach resort in S. Miguel, since the pictures portraying the green landscapes on sunny days of this archipelago give the wrong idea of what the weather is like. It is never cold, even in winter, but it can be rainy and windy throughout the year. Having this in mind, I think that for the promoters of this hotel project, it was undoubtedly a risky endeavor to create a beach resort on this location. There are in mainland Portugal many other seaside spots where the climate is not so unpredictable and with much more sunny days, thus more suited as an emplacement for a beach resort. However this eco resort is now four years old and if this business is in shape, that is because its clients do not go there for the beach, but because they prefer a place to rest outside the main cities. We – myself, my girlfriend and our ten years old daughter - arrived to the hotel on a light rain afternoon. Check in was fast and smooth since we had already paid the full tariff several months in advance for the entire stay. We were escorted on foot to what they call a blue & green studio situated uphill (number 13). Our luggage was taken there separately by cart. The first impression of the hotel setting was a very good one. The architectural project is in fact modern, stylish and it conveys a feeling of harmony with the surrounding landscape. Upon entering our studio, however, the feeling was more of a total lack of warmth, probably the consequence of an overly spartan interior decor. We had the feeling of entering a substandard hut on a remote place on earth. The total area was good and it had a well equipped kitchenette. Still it has an extremely pleasant outside area with two chairs, a table and a couple of loungers. This area does not give you a sense of privacy, since you can see and hear your neighbors through the stylish but inefficient bamboo reeds. The most interesting aspect of the blue & green studios is the fact that they share a pool that spans across the entire building. The water is salted and heated and we had a great time swimming for some minutes in early morning, just before going out for breakfast. And we also did the same in late afternoon. The light rain during almost all of our four nights stay, did not discourage us from having these moments of pleasure. All the accommodations of the hotel are east facing and you can see directly in front and by the far the city of Ribeira Grande and Ribeira Seca (see photo with loungers) . It is not an entirely rural landscape. For that and weather allowing, you have to come out to the outside area and look right. Our studio was serviced once a day and the staff cleaned it thoroughly on every occasion. They even washed and tidied up the kitchenette every time. The spigot on our bathroom lavatory was faulty, since when you pressed to close it, it was then extremely difficult to open again. They certainly have noticed the default while cleaning, but did not report it to maintenance during our stay and I refrained from doing it myself so to see their demeanor. I shall not discuss the minimalistic décor of the studio since this is a question of personal taste, but we found that there was an undeniable lack of attention to details, that in most hotels make for a pleasant stay. Consequently, this accommodation bares the bulk of my criticism as far as our stay is concerned: - There is no phone link to the hotel’s reception. You have to use your own mobile phone and call them in case of need. In other words, do not bother them and they will not bother you. - At night the room is dark. A few more lamps are needed. - The wardrobe lacks space. It would have been easy to mount a shelf above the hanger rod, since there is enough space for it (see photo). - There is no sitting inside the studio. You have to sit on the bed. The sofa area was occupied with our daughter's bed. We couldn’t bring in the two chairs that were out as they were rain wet. - On the bathroom, a shelf under the lavatory would also have been a good idea, as there isn't much storage here either. - The shower corner is spacious but the shower head is attached to the wall. It is not the kind of those that you can grab. My girlfriend and our daughter complained that it became difficult for them to wash their hair conveniently. - The instructions to set a code on the room safe, were wrong. The consequence was that it became blocked immediately after we closed it for the first time, even if we followed the instructions by the letter. We had to call the reception (with our own mobile phone) and ask them to send someone to unblock it. It happened again moments after they came to unblock it. Only on the second visit, the lady who came to “rescue” us, realized that the small sheet of paper with the instructions to operate the safe were wrong and promptly removed it, but was not replaced during our stay. - The photos of the interior of the blue & green studios on their website gave a far better appearance of what it was in reality our studio, so as to say that they were misleading. Breakfast buffet is served on the main restaurant and it is good in terms of variety and quality. You can also taste some local products, such as cheese, pineapple and a sort of round shaped bread called “bolo lêvado”. The buffet stand is too small to present conveniently everything they put there, so it is by times very crowded with people with dishes in hands looking like bees on hunger ellipses around their favorite items. I know that it is difficult to install a wider stand in that small place but it would certainly ease up circulation. Breakfast starts at 08:00 and the room was packed a few minutes after that. As most of the guests were from Europe and there is a time difference of at least two hours to their hometown, they were hungry at that time, as it means for them to have breakfast at ten o’clock in the morning. We took dinner in the restaurant on three occasions and we enjoyed each one of these meals. It is expensive especially when compared with the other restaurants in Ribeira Grande, but we were not at all disappointed with the recipes. They show some degree of sophistication and are well presented. Portions are too big, but this is my personal opinion. When I am out of home I prefer to try several restaurants, but my girlfriend and daughter are very fund of sushi and they were particularly pleased with the sushi menu that this restaurant also offers and preferred to stay in the hotel restaurant for dinner. Wine menu was eclectic and expensive, fortunately it was possible to order a glass of wine on some selected brands. The room has a nice décor and its glass walls allow nice views to the outside before nightfall. The chairs, however, are more stylish than comfortable. We did not have to wait very long between courses. Staff is young yet efficient, friendly and except on one particular case, smiling. For this venue it was always necessary to make a reservation for dinner, probably because we were there on high season and with lots of other customers. Even if you make the reservations with one day in advance, they will always request you to have your dinner at 19:30 or 21:00 and not in between, in order that they can organize two shifts and better monetize each table. I got the feeling that during our stay, there were not any other Portuguese clients, because staff in the restaurant and elsewhere always addressed us in English which was odd. We felt like foreigners in our own country. Concerning the booking procedure for our stay, I have to say that I didn’t like it at all. I made it through their website in march for our stay in august of the same year. To start the procedure I was instructed to pay immediately 50% of the total cost by bank transfer (not refundable) which I did at that time and the remaining value was to be transferred sixty days before check-in. Their cancellation policy stated that it implied a loss of 50% of the fare if I cancelled it less than 60 days prior to check-in and the loss of the total fare if cancellation was made less than 30 days before check-in. This procedure and conditions were a first time for me. Generally hotels ask for credit card references and state that in case of no-show or cancellation a reasonable short time before check-in, the value will be charged on the credit card account. With this system and if someone cancels the booking less than 60 days prior to arrival, the hotel can still book the room to another client, charge him the total fare and get a 50 or 100% bonus from the person who canceled the stay. I do not say that they do it, but they can. Most of hotels only charge a cancelled booking if they cannot get a substitute booking. This policy is undoubtedly very unfair. The fact of having to do two separate bank transfers so long in advance was time consuming, unpractical and very annoying. Finally I would say that this hotel is very well located on the island if you want to explore it. In less than half an hour by car, you can reach the edges of the island by road. I do not forget that I was there during high season, but anyway I paid for a beach resort and I only managed to set foot on it only on one afternoon. In comparison with other hotels that I have been around S. Miguel (some of them even as a repeater), I feel that I paid much more than what I received. In other words the cost to value ratio is mediocre. Tips for future travelers: - Get a rental car in order to have a minimum of freedom of movement. The hotel is not within walking distance of interesting spots. - Avoid booking a garden villa. They face a small lake with a garden all around and the parking lot. - Inside our room we found plenty of snacks and the refrigerator had also a good assortment of drinks but, as in every other hotel, everything was very expensive. Save lots of money by asking the staff to remove all the snacks and drinks and go to one of the supermarkets in Ribeira Grande and select from a wider assortment what you like, at unbeatable prices. - During breakfast avoid sitting around the tables that are closer to the serving stand. You’ll be bothered by the constant coming and going of other people.…
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We loved our stay for our honeymoon, and the hotel staff was very welcoming- after a long day of travel, this was the perfect oasis. The saltwater pool rooms are amazing! We didn't want to end our stay. Very nice food for breakfast too! Thank you!
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No. : ) We saw no one sunbathing topless anywhere in this area.
I was also wondering about this. Has anyone stayed here and purchased the “half board” option? In so, what did it include?
All the villa's are oriented toward the garden. However you can definitely see plenty of beauty where ever you look. We slept with our doors open and heard the pounding surf all night. The hotel is perched on the edge of the cliffs. It's a definite must stay experience.
Just call the front desk
Sorry for the late reply. Yes hairdryer . Even have a diffuser attachment
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PRICE RANGE
€98 - €308 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
PortugalAzoresSão MiguelRibeira Grande
NUMBER OF ROOMS
30
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Claim Your Listing Frequently Asked Questions about Santa Barbara Eco-Beach Resort
Which popular attractions are close to Santa Barbara Eco-Beach Resort?
Nearby attractions include Azores Outdoor Activities (7.8 km), Lagoa do Fogo (7.1 km), and Miradouro de Santa Iría (4.6 km).
What are some of the property amenities at Santa Barbara Eco-Beach Resort?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include a rooftop bar, free wifi, and free breakfast.
Which room amenities are available at Santa Barbara Eco-Beach Resort?
Top room amenities include a kitchenette, a minibar, and air conditioning.
What food & drink options are available at Santa Barbara Eco-Beach Resort?
Guests can enjoy a rooftop bar, free breakfast, and an on-site restaurant during their stay.
Is parking available at Santa Barbara Eco-Beach Resort?
Yes, free parking and a parking garage are available to guests.
What are some restaurants close to Santa Barbara Eco-Beach Resort?
Conveniently located restaurants include Quinta dos Sabores, Restaurante O Silva, and Restaurante da Associacao Agricola de São Miguel.
Are there opportunities to exercise at Santa Barbara Eco-Beach Resort?
Yes, guests have access to a pool and yoga classes during their stay.
Are pets allowed at Santa Barbara Eco-Beach Resort?
Yes, pets are typically allowed, but it's always best to call ahead to confirm.
Which languages are spoken by the staff at Santa Barbara Eco-Beach Resort?
The staff speaks multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Does Santa Barbara Eco-Beach Resort have any great views?
Yes, guests often enjoy the ocean view available here.
Is Santa Barbara Eco-Beach Resort accessible?
Yes, it offers wheelchair access, reduced mobility rooms, and facilities for disabled guests. For specific enquiries, we recommend calling ahead to confirm.