Words cannot really describe our very, very brief one night stay at Levada but I shall try without cringing. After reading the rave reviews from previous guests we found the same scenery, same beautiful views and same fortress feel but different owners. Probably attacked and eaten by the present ones we met.
So. In dot point form the list of things that made this particular 'accommodation' the worst of our entire 3 month trip:
- The weirdest tour of a house in the history of the world. After being invited to be shown around the house we ended up seeing our room, the loungeroom and the tiny swimming pool. That was it. No history about the house, no idea about where to have breakfast, where to go if we wanted dinner or even suggested what was on the menu. Trying to get words out of Luis in particular was like trying to harvest an entire set of denutres from a particulary toothless chicken.
- Having to manually pull the plug from the bottom of the cistern to get the toilet to flush and then being told that it was "very hard to get fixed" so this is what we'd have to continue to do for the remainder of our stay.
- Not being told about dinner (if we wanted to have any that is) even though the lodge itself is a good 25 minute drive from anything else vaguely human. We arrived at about 6PM (hungry) and after waiting until 9PM to see whether we'd be told about what was the go for tea I went down to see the owners enjoying theirs already. After being glared at I patiently waited outside until they had finished and Luis came out to say "Can I help you" like I was a lurking theif and not a paying guest. I then discussed what dinner would entail (if it was still available to us) and explain that we may not be able to afford the 25EURO per person cost which would in effect mean just dining with him and his wife. He nods in agreement but it's obvious to see he's not happy. Since we had booked this through an external agency we had not been told about the costs of dinner or anything prior. Find it mighty hard to believe that the, and I quote, "owner enjoys talking about the history of the house and the previous poets who have previously stayed" would ever happen. Was all we could do to get him to utter any English.
- The fact that it seemed that the entire place was a ghost town!!! There was NO-ONE else there at practically anytime (certainly no other guests) which made for a very spooky feel. Maybe good for horror enthusiasts.
- The creme de la creme. After albeit an awesome breakfast we asked the owner (further to our previous conversation the other night) what would be the best time to get a lift down to have a look at the city that would be best for him. He said after breakfast. Fine by us and we went into the deathly silent car again while trying to milk the odd word out of him. Keeping in mind we had already asked him about the best time for a pickup during the 25min trip down (we didn't have a car) but he dodged the question. So. As we are about to get out of the car we ask him again what would be the most convienient time to get a lift back up (even suggesting whether we could combine it with the guests he was picking up later that evening) we were told that he was out until after 2PM and so we'd need to make our own way back. He said that we'd need to get a bus back with a different company. No details of which were given. Now to paint the scene here team Amarante is a tiny, Portugese speaking place that is VERY remote. In fact the only reason we stayed here was because we knew the owner would be picking us up. Since we had been picked up the previous day we had no idea how to even get to this place and then after enquiring at the bus station we were told that only school buses went up but it was school holidays. The next bus that would get within about 10km of the actual place (up windy very steep roads in 35 degree temps) would be leaving at 5PM. So. Gobstruck that we hadn't been told about this before going down (and making it clear that we were on a very tight budget so cabs would be a huge stretch) we closed the door where he left us as quickly as humanely possible.
After finding out all the above stuff we then went to a tourist info place and decided that there must have been some mistake and that it would be sorted out by ringing the owner. Proceeded to do so and then gruffly informed by Maria (the female owner) that our rate included a pick up and then a drop down. Anything in between was up to us. Fair enough but why weren't we told this before getting the lift down there?? If we had know then we wouldn't have left at all. So. After getting a bit annoyed I pass the phone over to the tourist info lady who can see things getting out of hand but by the time I pass the phone over Maria has hung up. The tourist info officer rings back at least gets the directions for us then confirms with us that bus or taxi is the only way to get there with the bus being too impractical for the distance we'd have to walk from the top (seriously this would have been a Mount Everest trek if we walked it).
So. Enough is enough and we pool our remaining money we have to get a cab to get there and back and agree on a round fare so long as we don't take too long packing. We get there, pack our stuff and pay the penalty rate for 1 night (we had intended to stay for 2) and then out of a nearby pot plant the female owner springs out and asks what's going on. This is actually a good thing as I didn't want to have to write a note and wanted to specifically voice my disatasfaction of the way that she and her husband had treated us like lepars for our whole stay and her attitude on the phone. After stating this the FIRST thing she says with an Emperor Palpatine like smile is "you still have to pay". Un-flipping-believable. So. I tell her that we're leaving and I've left the money on the dresser in our room. She says that she doesn't believe me. I tell her to go up and see that it's there. She says for me to get it. So with the cabby waiting patiently outside and my partner being lugged with getting our stuff into the boot I run up the stairs get the money I have left as promised and give it to her then go. She practically runs after us saying that "it's a relief to see you go" and "if you want to stay here then make sure you have enough money". Which was insulting as we did have enough money for the 2 night stay and even enough for their elaborately priced dinner so we could fit in a bit more.
So the long ride down my partner and I just stare blankly as to what has just happened. Nightmare really doesn't sum up but DO NOT stay here if you:
a) Value good conversation in English and want to feel like valued guests.
b) Are a younger travelling couple
c) You're not loaded to take the 20 euro round trip down for everytime you want to see the only thing there is in Amarante, the city, and get back again
d) You expect to be treated as a guest and not like a vagrant
So. That is our story. Please make sure you read it before staying here and take it for granted that we are honest people who don't make rash tripadvisor reviews without meaning every word we say.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
