Quinta Da Comporta - Wellness Boutique Resort

Have stayed here several times and the restaurant is nice, the food is good, the rooms are comfortable, the beds are excellent, and it’s a great location. What is bad about this hotel is the staff and lack of friendliness, twice I had to ask staff members if they were OK because they look so miserable and unhappy. In my experience with hotels with unhappy staff, it normally stems from the management, and that is why it is not an enjoyable place to stay. This is consistent throughout the hotel, restaurant, spa, check-in, and concierge. People are unfriendly, do not greet you, and you can just tell they are unhappy in their jobs and that naturally reflects in the customers experience. This is not a one off comment, as I said I stayed here several times and it’s consistently like this. Last week we stayed in Sublime hotel, which is far superior in terms of experience. the staff there seem very happy in their jobs and give a wonderful welcoming wherever you with friendliness and welcoming. I think this is a great hotel, it’s such a shame is being ruined by the management staff being so unhappy.

Despite arriving in some of the most hideous rain and wind weather possible, QdaC gave us a cosy, luxurious, delicious and completely pampered experience. We felt so lucky to have found this place. There was evidence everywhere that in peak summer season, this is definitely a rockin' family place, but as we found it is the quieter shoulder times where you can take really a breath, spread out and connect into something very special. From the thoughtful and fun architecture and art, (FYI, we discovered the Dior flagship shop in Lisbon ALSO has a textile sculpture by Joana Vasconcelos) to the meticulous decor emphasizing local and global originality. The immaculate and meditative vegetable and herb gardens and landscaping with hidden corners and surprises there's a peaceful and playful energy uncommon in many places of this caliber. We ate and drank, (and ate and drank...) VERY well and the spa experiences and facilities brought a new level of natural healing and deep relaxation. But even with ALL of this amazingness, for us it is the people, (with the help of two fabulous cats) at QdaC who make it five stars. ALL of the staff, (gate house to baristas, front desk to masseuse) manage a high-wire act of impeccable professionalism, highly knowledgeable information sourcing and good fun. We learned bits of new languages, had some great laughs, got the inside scoop on special places from Carvalhal to Nepal - all of it thoughtfully celebrating over and over how interconnected we all are/NEED to be, in this world right now.

Amazing.