Where to stay in Ponta Delgada? Canadiano Urban Nature Hotel
Hello there! We told you in our previous article a little about our first destination after more than a year and a half without traveling. We chose to go to Azores Island, in Sao Miguel, and we had accommodation in Ponta Delgada, which is also the capital of the island. We went with our friend from Anotherside of Me and chose to stay at Canadiano Urban Nature Hotel, a newly renovated hotel that reopened earlier this year.
The hotel’s story begins in 1982, when Edmundo Pavão, returning from his travels in Brazil and Canada, put into practice everything he saw there.
Canadiano Urban Nature Hotel is a 3-star hotel, located in the historic center of Ponta Delgada, within walking distance of all major attractions of the city. We really liked the fact that we could walk to explore the city, not having to depend on the car or public transport.
Rooms at Canadiano Urban Nature Hotel
The hotel has 48 rooms, has a huge parking lot and is also pet friendly. They have 3 categories of rooms from which you can choose:
- Standard room of 25 sqm
- Junior suites, spacious rooms of 32 sqm
- Family rooms, perfect for families or friends traveling together. Here are included 2 adjoining rooms of 22sqm each
Moreover, from the standard category you can choose between single, double, twin or triple, with the Garden View option. We stayed in a Twin Room, overlooking the garden. If we were to compare it to other rooms at the 3 star hotels we stayed at, this one was extremely spacious.
And don’t get us started about the bed… very comfortable, with soft pillows, exactly what we needed after a day of exploring on the island. We felt like we sleeping on a fluffy cloud. On the first night at the hotel we slept soundly, having a well-deserved sleep after a night spent at the airport, on the metal seats.
What else did we have in the room? A Kettle with a selection of local teas. You must imagine that Simy was super delighted and could hardly wait to drink her tea on the balcony.
One thing we really liked was the attention to detail in the bathroom. And when we say “attention to detail” we mean the shower gel and body lotion. Let us explain a bit. Usually, the hotels we stayed at had either shower gel or travel sized versions of shower gel and body lotion, rarely a no-name in the shower container. Well, they had shower gel as well as body lotion. Both in full size, which also smelled amazing. For a 3 star hotel it is not bad at all, don’t you think? We really appreciated this aspect.
Breakfast at Canadiano Urban Nature Hotel
We don’t know it happens, but when we travel, breakfast becomes extremely important to us. At home we often skip it, but on trips we always eat in the morning. Mainly because it gives us more energy, enough until after noon. If we have a busy day exploring, we know we will most likely skip lunch. We usually have an early dinner, so breakfast is always a must. We don’t skip it even when we’re not so hungry in the early hours of the morning.
At Canadiano Urban Nature Hotel, breakfast is included. Since the pandemic, the rules have changed a bit and we liked the fact that all tourists follow them. The breakfast place is not extremely large, so people do not rush to get their breakfast. Most of the time, there is a queue at the door because breakfast is served at the buffet. And it takes some time until everybody chooses their food. But it seems that this is “the new normal” and the world has easily adapted.
You find a wide variety for breakfast, from different varieties of bread, to omelette, bacon, cheese or oatmeal. Also due to the pandemic, you are not allowed to touch the food. Someone from the kitchen staff is present to put whatever you want on your plate.
We also liked the fact that they also had various types of milk. Having a slight lactose intolerance, we asked them to make us coffee with almond milk. What else did we like? Fruit for breakfast. Every morning we shared a bowl of kiwi and pineapple, and Dorina, a vegan for years, was the most excited about this.
Reception and lounge
The lounge area of the hotel is super cute and cozy. Being close to our room, we spent some time there.
The staff is super friendly and ready to help you with any whatever problem you encounter. We had an early flight the day we arrived on the island and they sent us the hotel minivan. We paid 18 euros (4 persons) and so we had transportation to the hotel. They also called us a taxi on the first day when we didn’t have a rental car. We had to go to another city 30 minutes from Ponta Delgada for a boat trip (which unfortunately, due to the weather, did not take place) and paid 25 euros for the ride.
On our last day, before leaving, we had to fill in the official COVID forms again and we had some questions. The people at the reception were super nice and called the airport to clarify what exactly needs to be completed.
Attention to detail
What we also liked was the fact that the people at the hotel gave us towels the day we went to the natural thermal springs. That way we didn’t have to take it from home or buy from there. Probably the people working in hotels are so used to this because we saw most tourists with the same type of towels. Dark gray more precisely, not to be stained by the sulfurous waters in the natural pools.
Ahhh… And let’s not forget Dorina’s birthday, which happened to be on our 2nd day at Canadiano Urban Nature Hotel. After a full day of exploring the island, we returned to the hotel and the girls found a bottle of champagne in the room. We found the gesture to be very nice and we each enjoyed a glass of champagne. On the balcony, obviously!
We felt very welcomed at Canadiano Urban Nature Hotel, it feels like they are extremely involved in the smooth running of things. Like us, they want everything back to normal as soon as possible. You can make reservations on their website HERE or on Booking.
