We arrived in Ponta Delgada on the SATA flight from Boston. Once we had our luggage, we had a ten minute ride to Hotel Avenida. General Manager Paulo Botelo was gracious and welcoming. The room was well-priced, attractive, with a large and immaculate bathroom. We stayed two nights before going to another island. The room came with bottled water and fresh fruit every day.

The hotel is in the center of the historic part of the city, 1/2 block from the harbor, and in walking distance to almost everything else. Management and the Front Desk were responsive and offered good tips on local restaurants. Maid service was efficient, quiet and respected privacy signs on doors. (Hotel Avenida is part of the Bensaude chain of hotels). Guests can avail themselves with a computer and free wi-fi, but it wasn't always working

The breakfast (which is included) provides a variety of items: breads, cheeses, cold-cuts, bacon, sausage, assorted yogurts, cereal, milk, coffee, juice, and limited types of fresh fruit and scrambled eggs. We were disappointed with the scrambled eggs -- they seemed to made from powder instead of fresh eggs. The hotel has a nicely appointed bar that has a panoramic view of a busy street-corner. The service is excellent and the bar appetizers we ordered were very good (and put the eggs to shame!).

Banks, ATM's and shopping are within 1/2 block of the hotel. The hotel also arranged for rental car at a very reasonable price. The hotel's limited underground parking is on a first-come first served basis...so if you don't luck out, there's plenty of metered on-street parking on nearby streets. Evenings, on-street parking is free, but the meters are checked the next morning. Locals told us to buy a 2 or 3-hour voucher at night from the parking meter and put it on the dash board of the car. (In Ponta Delgada, when you purchase the voucher after hours, the voucher will automatically be dated for the next morning, which gives you time to get up, have breakfast and then get on your way without risk of getting a parking citation!)

We loved Ponta Delgada, the Island is beautiful with many historic and interesting things to see and do, and our hotel was a great base of operations. We spent most of our time on another island and when we returned we ended up with 10-hour layover in Ponta Delgado, which gave us plenty of time to back into town for more sightseeing and shopping.

Finally, no review would be complete without a some tips:
- Cab fare to/from the airport and hotel is about 9 euros, but if you go to/from the City Center (just 2 blocks away) it's only 7 Euros.
- Ponta Delgado's airport has a baggage check service. So if you are flying between islands and have several hours in Ponta Delgado, check your luggage (I think it's about 3 euros) and spend the day sightseeing without having to lug it with you!
- Ponta Delgado Airport also has an expansive Duty Free shop that has reasonable prices. For last minute shopping you can get a selection of the various, delicious Azorian cheeses, preserves, and Cha (tea)!








We arrived in Ponta Delgada on the SATA flight from Boston. Once we had our luggage, we had a ten minute ride to Hotel Avenida. General Manager Paulo Botelo was gracious and welcoming. The room was well-priced, attractive, with a large and immaculate bathroom. The hotel is in the center of the historic part of the city, 1/2 block from the harbor, and in walking distance to almost everything else. Management and the Front Desk were extremely responsive and offered good tips on local restaurants. Maid service was efficient, quiet and respected privacy signs on doors. (Hotel Avenida is part of the Bensaude chain of hotels)

The breakfast (which is included) provides a variety of items: breads, cheeses, cold-cuts, bacon, sausage, assorted yogurts, fresh fruit and juice, coffee and scrambled eggs. Our only disappointment was that the scrambled eggs seemed to made from powder instead of fresh eggs.

The hotel has a nicely appointed bar that has a panoramic view of a busy street-corner. The service is excellent and the bar appetizers we ordered were very good (and put the eggs to shame!).

Banks, ATM's and shopping are within 1/2 block of the hotel. The hotel also arranged for rental car at a very reasonable price. The hotel's limited underground parking is on a first-come first served basis...so if you don't luck out, there's plenty of metered on-street parking on nearby streets. Evenings, on-street parking is free, but the meters are checked the next morning. Locals told us to buy a 2 or 3-hour voucher at night from the parking meter and put it on the dash board of the card. In Ponta Delgada, when you purchase the voucher after hours, the voucher will automatically be dated for the next morning, which gives you time to get up, have breakfast and then get on your way without risk of getting a parking citation!

We loved Ponta Delgada, the Island is beautiful with many historic and interesting things to see and do, and our hotel was a great base of operations. We spent most of our time on another island and when we came back we had a 10 hour layover in Ponta Delgado, which gave us plenty of time to back into town for more sightseeing.

Finally, no review would be complete without a some tips:
- Cab fare to/from the airport and hotel is about 9 euros, but if you go to/from the City Center (just 2 blocks away) it's only 7 Euros.
- Ponta Delgado's airport has a baggage check service. So if you are flying between islands and have several hours in Ponta Delgado, check your luggage (I think it's about 3 euros) and spend the day sightseeing without having to lug it with you!
- Ponta Delgado Airport has a very expansive Duty Free shop that has reasonable prices. For last minute shopping you can get a selection of the various, delicious Azorian cheeses, preserves, and Cha (tea)!

Amazing Staff always ready to help. Being one of the original modern hotels in Ponta Delgada its kept in excellent shape. Location is excellent. Rooms are clean and comfortable.
Nice to come home to after visiting an amazing Island with lots to discover. Guests can avail themselves with amenities of all sisters hotels on the island. all you need do is ask at front desk and the Amazing staff will be more than happy to assist you!

Staff is polite and kind, but most have difficulties speaking English.
Overall clean hotel, but kinda old.
Breakfast is not good at all, but block table dinner offera nice choices.
Location is in the heart of Ponta Delgada so its great.
Poor gym and sauna services, unfortunately.

I stayed at this hotel for 5 nights early September. It's really not a 4 stars, but not a bad value. Rooms are clean, although we could see some stains on the carpets and on the curtains. There were two bottles of water in the room, replaced every day, as well as a plate with fruits (2 apples, 1 kiwi and 1 pear) and a little chocolate on the bed every day. The location is perfect and staff was friendly and helpful. Two negative things in my opinion. First, the breakfast. Choices very limited (eggs, bacon, saussages, bread, cereales, yogourts and fruits) and food not very good, nothing compared to a real 4 star. However, lunch at the restaurant was good (been there once).Second, Internet access ! There were 2 computers in the lobby but only one was working so there was always someone using it and someone waiting... You would have to ask for a free password before using it and the coupon is only valid for 30 minutes... if you need more time, you have to get another coupon. Wi-Fi was free in the lobby but it never worked for me. In the room, Wi-Fi is also provided, but the signal was so low that I couldn't use it. You would have to buy a card to have access in your room... 2 Euros for 30 minutes or 3 Euros for one hour, but continuously after the first connection. It means you couldn't use 10 minutes, log out and then go back a few hours after because the code expires. It was very frustrating at some times and it could cost you a lot of money if you want to use Internet often.

However, keep in mind it's not a 4 star hotel and you won't be disappointed.