My wife and I spent a week here very recently, (Oct 1st). This was our fourth holiday in Ponta Delgada arranged by the excellent Sunvil company. Previous stays have been at the Colegio and the Talisman. Those hotels had more of a 'holiday' feel to them and felt like family-run establishments. The Royal Garden felt more like an 'International' hotel and as such more of a conference/business rendezvous. If one were taken into it blindfolded it would be difficult to distinguish it from thousands of similar places around the world. Its décor is oriental, for no apparent reason, the reception area and the corridors adorned with huge ceramic pots and ugly lacquered heavy tables. Visible from above as one leaves the lift is an 'atrium' with many armchairs and sofas, but there is nothing welcoming about it and I saw nobody ever sit there. The square ?Japanese/?Chinese 'Garden' in the middle of the hotel has ponds filled with stagnant green water which look like a breeding-ground for mosquitoes, not that I saw a single one, but it is unattractive and the lighting never came on.
The whole place is showing its age and needs a good 're-furb'. Examples: the 'spa/gym' area is very shabby. the loungers by the pool need re-varnishing and the cushions replaced. (In fact, one of the loungers collapsed under me, luckily only damaging my pride and dignity!) The sauna was grubby and the steam-room out of commission, 'waiting for a part'.The paintwork on the outer walls is peeling; the extractor fan in the bathroom was out of order and never repaired despite three requests. However, the room was fine, with a decent balcony. Several other minor niggles but nothing too awful. We never used the restaurant but were told it was pricy, as was the bar. They advertised an 'Italian Night' - Why? To show how 'International' they are, perhaps. The breakfast was repetitive. I thought it unwise not to offer muesli and whole fresh fruit with so many Scandinavian guests, though the fresh pineapple was great. The bacon, egg and sauté potatoes always seemed less than warm, despite the chafing-dishes, and the croissants cold as a corpse.
This would be an ideal venue for a CEO to use, to close a deal or give a talk in the excellent business facilities, relax in the sauna, have an unchallenging meal and fly out again from the airport two minutes drive away. For us, we thought it was 500-750 yards too far from the centre of PD, unlike the other hotels we know. On the plus side, you can park your hire-car for free, impossible to do at the other hotels cited.
Other pluses: very friendly staff. comfortable beds in very clean rooms,good air-con, very quiet at night. The Portuguese President stayed there the night before we arrived, so that should mean it's the best hotel available. To merit that rating, it needs to spruce itself up. However, thank you, Sunvil, for finding more rooms here when the hotel in the original offer was full. And thanks again, Ponta D, especially the Café Royal opposite the Police Station!

George & Ann, UK

Excellent hotel, nice rooms and staff, only few bad things

Bad:
Bed was too hard, I think the beds was missing a soft madres on top.
Once the cleanning personal entered even we had put the "Do not disturb sign on door".

Good:
Nice room, silent, view to the japanes garden. Super breakfast, was only missing oatmeal (in danish "havregryn"). We also liked the poolarea. Also the wellnessarea was okay, but small. Personal was really friendly in all ways. only few 100 meters to restaurants, minimarked, harper and Pt Delgada city.

Azores is really a nice place to visit. The weather was ok, about 25celcius was nice, most cloudy but also some sun - just as we liked it to be. Very much to see: The vulcanos, and the views from the vulcanos, the sea, the hot springs, waterfalls. it's also possible to see whales and delphins, even swimming with them. But the whale-trips are not recommended if you have bad back, bad heart or is pregnant (so we must go back, because my fiancee is pregnant). That's because the boats sail very fast and the boat turn hard against the sea.
There're many good restaurants - you must at least have the local steaks/bief and fish!

Recently came back from a one week stay at the Royal Garden Hotel and although the stay was okay the 4 star rating leaves you expecting a lot more.

The rooms are clean, decent size, also decent size bathroom and by the looks of it all rooms come with a balcony. Our balcony had a view of the japanese garden that is in the center of the hotel. Unfortunately there is a lot of noise as the sound bounces of the hotels walls generating a lot of noise through out the evening,

The staff is ok but nothing more they dont seem to be that service minded. We had the cleaning staff coming into our room twice despite the 'Do not disturb' sign hanging on our door which was very annoying and something i've never tried before.

Breakfast was ok but nothing more and again you'd exepct better.

Ok stay but i'd try another hotel if i'm going back to the Azores.

This hotel is a four star hotel and so we did expect a somewhat luxurious hotel. In fact the entrance and the bar are fashionable, but the rest is just middle of the road. The room is good, but the carpet has stains and the room is not really clean. The pump for the pond in the inner garden is noisy and only late at night the pump is switched off. But the most disappointing fact was the lack of service and especially at the front office. You don’t get the feeling that they appreciate you as a guest.
The breakfast buffet is unsatisfactory, poor quality and little variation from day to day