Royal Garden Hotel, Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel

Advantages: Relaxing, stunning scenery and still unspoiled!
Disadvantages: Cuisine lacking in fancy menus.

...! Choose the time you want to leave and stop where you want. F Furnas was one of my favourite places. It is full of fumaroles or hot springs. The mud plopped and bubbled, the heat from the ground was amazing, so much so that local restaurateurs bury cooking pots and cook a stew in the ground, which takes about 7 hours. We went early one morning before too many tourists arrived, and enjoyed the walk by the lake and exploring all the springs, and saw the mounds covering the cooking pots. G Gardens. There are municipal gardens in Ponta Delgada and a famous one called the Terra Nostra Garden, near Furnas. We also found a lovely park with flowers and animals in a little town on our tour of the island. Geothermal energy is supplied to the island, steam can be seen rising from the green hillside in a few places, but the silver structures we saw... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Beautiful setting
Disadvantages: Buffet dinner could be better

...Stepping off the plane at 21.00 hours in Ponta Delgada, on Sao Miguel in the Azores the humidity hit me. WOW. It was hot, I was tired and hadn't expected this level of humidity. Thankfully we quickly collected our cases and didn't have any passport control to queue in, as we had flown in from Lisbon. Our tour operator was waiting as we came into the arrival hall and whisked off to our destination. Twenty minutes and many bends and bumps later we turned a corner and saw a large hotel block, lit up and sparkling against the dark sky, standing beside the Atlantic ocean, with a high tree covered backdrop or should I say side drop! The long driveway through the gardens with lovely trees and flowers prepared us for the serene and calm entrance to this otherwise pink concrete block. There was a plaque saying when the hotel was opened... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Perfect if you like to walk.
Disadvantages: If you're looking for night life, it will be difficult to find...

...Whether you're a natural walker or a relaxed rambler, Pico is perfect for walking. The island, part of the Azores (which belong to Portugal), has 148 volcanic craters, from gentle slopes to arduous scrambles. The dad is Mount Pico itself; at 2,351 metres, it's Portugal's highest mountain, and it will take you around six hours to climb its steep, crumbly lava slopes. At the top you're rewarded with views of all the islands. It would be impossible to tire of this extraordinary landscape, but one of the biggest attractions on Pico is located underground at Gruta das Torres, a deep 5km-long lava tube, created more than 1,000 years ago. It takes a brave soul - and sturdy boots - to venture into its darkness. A flight to Sao Miguel can be arranged for just under £200 and there're ferry links to Pico from Sao Miguel.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful