ARCRISTAL - PRESIDENTS VILLA

Complete misrepresentation of the place. First of all it isn’t a hotel, it’s a construction site. Only after you pay the non refundable fee, they send you a message saying they’re doing work on site and do not have a working restaurant. The room we got was one of the only two usable rooms and absolutely not the one we paid for. No balcony with sea view, no kitchenette and much smaller. The only nice thing about the place was the pool that isn’t shown on any pictures because it’s attached to the bigger construction site and the breakfast the person in charge kindly cooked for us in a makeshift kitchen inside the construction.

2/10 - and the 2 points are only because Luciano and the limited staff on site genuinely tried to help us despite impossible conditions. This place is, unfortunately, a scam in its current form. Expedia advertises amenities and facilities that simply do not exist in reality. There is no restaurant, no bar, no pool bar, no common TV areas, no proper reception, no manager on site, no meeting rooms, no laundry facilities, no accessibility infrastructure, and no WiFi either. The property is still under heavy construction and should not be operating as a hotel at these prices. What is shown in the photos and listed in the amenities appears to reflect a future project, not the current reality. Expedia advertises this as a fully functioning hotel experience, but what guests actually find is closer to a half-finished construction site with only a few completed rooms. Room was advertised as having a kitchenette. In reality, it only had a counter, a kettle, and a small fridge. No mugs, no glasses, no utensils, no water — nothing that qualifies as a kitchenette. The room itself was relatively clean, but the rest of the property was not. Garbage was visible around the premises and we even saw a rat near the pool area at night. There is very little understanding of comfort. Not even a chair in the room. We stayed only because we had already paid and had no alternative. This has potential in the future, but right now the price and the advertised features do not match the reality.

The property is only half finished. It is 5star accommodation on a building site. Luciano who was the main man there could not have been more generous with his time and hospitality, and he turned what might have been an average stay into a pleasant stay. The roads or should I say dust tracks to get to the property are interesting and we had great times on the quad bikes scooting around on them. Ponto de Ouro was a fascinating place. Very much a seaside village, where bargaining is very much part of life.

Ocean is 30 min walk away, Location as indicated is wrong… Hotels.com is unwilling to fix the issue, I suppose it gets them bookings. Please check on Google maps confirming the location before booking. Hope this helps.