Horta is a special place. It has an incredible view of the Pico volcano. This fact alone sets it apart from other destinations in the Azores. It is an old town that has not been overwhelmed by mass tourism yet.

The town is oriented around a busy "marinha" that over the years has been fortunate enough to become the destination of choice of thousands of yachts making a transatlantic crossing. The marina is incredibly evocative. Transatlantic sailors have, by the thousands, marked their journeys in paint on the jetties and piers. For just a few euros, you can take a ferry ride to explore Madalena on Pico, or perhaps rent a car and explore around for the entire day.

And who doesn't appreciate being on a picturesque, volcanic garden island in the middle of the ocean? If you are willing to rent a car, there is enough of interest on Faial to make Horta the base for a week-long visit.

The hotel can rightly boast that it has the best location of any hotel in Horta. It is about 50 metres from the ferry. About 50 metres from Cafe Sport. About 100 metres from the whale tours and the rest of the yacht marina. Restaurants and grocery stores are all nearby. Porto Pim (along with its beach and historical sites) was about 100 metres away. (Turn right when you get out of the hotel.) It's situated on the road out of town, so there's not much traffic to navigate when you come in and out. Unlike some of the other hotels, it's at the bottom of the town so there are no hills to climb (unless you want to).

Best of all, it has the same incomparable view of Mt Pico as everyone else in this town. Rooms facing the water have an incredible view of the port and Mt Pico.

I noticed that several guests had discovered the shaded terrace on the 1st floor overlooking the busy port and Mt Pico. They were quietly taking it all in while sitting in the lounge chairs and enjoying their wine and cheese. I tried it myself a few times. Now when I look back on it, I think this secret place is probably one of the nicest and most comfortable vantage points I saw in the Azores.

The hotel complex itself is large and modern. The reception staff are efficient and English-speaking. It's the kind of upscale hotel that business people and tour groups stay at.

The room was large, modern and comfortable. I had a room in the back, so without a view of Pico; however, I didn't mind that because I think being in the back was quieter and more private and that is what I wanted. The hotel room had everything I needed for a comfortable stay. Comfortable bed with lots of pillows. Sofa and desk. Large modern bathroom. Excellent air conditioning. Good TV with a wide range of channels for English speakers. No balcony. No coffee maker.

The breakfast spread was very good. Not ultra-luxurious but more than enough. Excellent coffee. Nice variety of breads, pastries, cereals. Two kinds of juice.Yogurt, A huge bowl with a fresh fruit cocktail. Cheese and cold cuts. The eggs offered were scrambled. Bacon. The sausages were what I would call hot dog wieners. They also had a health section, which was appreciated.

I had lunch a few times at the hotel. I liked the calmness and coolness of the restaurant there in the middle of a hot day and in the middle of the busy port. They were charging 25 euros for a buffet dinner (including the alcohol) but I can't say anything about it because I didn't try it.

Peter's Cafe Sport was not my kind of place at all, despite the hype surrounding it. The meals I enjoyed the most there were takeaways from the Chinese place and the lunch I had at the whaling museum. They had a few tables set up outside with a great view of Porto Pim. Not expensive but excellent food. I ended up picnicking for most of my meals.

The wifi at the hotel is 3 euros an hour for your laptop. It's set up so that you must use the time purchased immediately. So if you buy an hour, you must use the entire hour right away. (It costs more if use the computers in the lobby, but in this case you can stop and start your time.) The wifi signal was wonky. It was disturbing to lose some of the time purchased because of the loss of the signal. After a couple of days, I realised that the entire port was wired for free wifi. Take your laptop two steps out of the hotel, and you have it for free. I wasn't able to find a plug though, even in the local cafes.

The wellness area on the third floor was appreciated. The jacuzzi and saunas worked perfectly. I liked the wood decor. No pool.

The fitness area had only three cardio machines (step, cycle, treadmill). That was it. I ended up going to a lot of trouble to try to find other fitness facilities with weight training equipment, but they were at the far end of town and this proved to be too much of a disincentive.

If you're interested in swimming and snorkelling, you might want to plan your trip for August or early September, when the water is a little warmer. I was there in July and there were Mauve Jellyfish in the water. I was told that this was unusual. They disappear when the water warms up apparently. Still, I enjoyed snorkelling here, specifically at Almoxarife, another nice beach just north of town.

I would have preferred to stay in a hotel that was not so expensive, but I just couldn't bring myself to switch. The set up at the hotel suited me perfectly. As one of the locals told me, Horta is one of the most expensive places in the Azores. And the hotel is not that expensive when you consider the experience. It is worth it.

I spent four nights here w. my 72 year old mother and had a great time.

The hotel is about 15 minutes from Horta Airport (12 Euro cab ride. The bus doesn't hok up with plane schedules.) We arrived at 1 PM and our rom was not yet ready but at 2 PM we came back from lunch and our room was not only ready but they had already sent up our luggage. Front desk was always super friendly and polite in answering our questions about ferry timetables and booking day tours for us.

The hotel is a large international type hotel with all the amenities you would expect. It's modern and very clean. There is a large common sitting room area on the first floor. The "exercise room" is small with just two bikes. There is also a tiny jacuzzi one person would just about squeeze into. No pools, but Horta has a few beaches 5-10 minutes walk from the hotel if you want to swim. Room and bathroom are a decent size. There is WIFI but you need to buy a voucher from reception and it is very expensive at 20 Euro for 24 hours. Hourly rates are also expensive. There are two computer terminals in the lobby but unlike other hotels in Portugal these weren't free. The same high rates apply to those terminals. You can, however, go to Peter's Cafe and use the Internet there for much less until 10 PM.

Room rates included a decent buffet breakfast but that is about the only decent food at the restaurant. It's a pity as the reastaurant is really nice and overlooks the harbor but while the service is friendly the food is really very mediocre. Fortunately, there are a number of good restaurants nearby. Peter's Sports Cafe is a must as yachts people from all over the world meet here and they have good healthy food people coming off sailboats crave (soups, salads, pasta etc.) There is a great atmosphere here and a visit to the scrimshaw museum in the cafe is a must too as its the best in the worlds and the gyuide very passionate and knowledgable about her subject. If you turn right as you leave the hotel and cross the street on your left you will find O Canto Da Doce. This ended up being our favorite place as you grill your own food on hot lava stones. You can choose various meat and fish or veggie combinations. Service is quick and freindly too. At the end of the same street overlooking Pims Bay and Beach there is O Pim which is also friendly but a simpler taverna. We also had a meal in the Pousada Santa Cruz, which was very expensive, stuffy and had lack luster Portuguese specialities.

Actually, I had wanted to stay at the pousada Santa Cruz as it has a lovely setting on the water in an old fort with ivy covering the ramparts. It also has a small pool overlooking the harbor. But it's a bit snootty and so we were glad that it had been fully booked and that we were a Do Canal. I booked Do Canal on Expedia but it was not cheap compared to other hotels of a similar class we stayed at in Portugal.

Our first trip to the Azores and found this hotel very comfortable, clean and excellent for walking to shops and sites. Bring good walking shoes for in town, mostly cobblestone walkways. You might want to consider bringing "wash cloths" if you are American, seems they don't know exactly why they are needed!! If you are a smoker, they do provide comfortable outdoor areas. Breakfast is usually a buffet if you are on a tour, if you are staying more than a couple of days you might get a little bored with the same thing everyday. They do have a lovely restaurant as well. Staffs speaks English pretty well. Was able to rent a car right from the hotel desk.......no hassle! If I made the trip again, I would go in July or August......rather have the warm/hot than the cold/rainy.

Right next to the harbour so you can watch the comings and goings of the boats. Bedroom spacious and comfortable; good breakfast buffet. Evening meals about average international hotel food.