The Azores

Botanical Garden of Faial

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Attraction | "Natural Park of Faial"

Orchid at gardens Photo - Botanical Garden of Faial, Faial, Azores

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The gardens were originally old farm pastures and orchards at an old Quinta at Rua São Lourenço 9900-401 FLAMENGOS, near to Horta. Started in 1986 it became part of the Natural Park of Faial in 2008.Opening Hours: Summer: Monday to Friday, 9:30 am to 5 pm. Saturday and Sunday, 2 pm to 5.30 pm. Winter: Monday to Friday, 9 am to 12.30 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm. We began our tour with a film about the Island in the Visitor’s centre where there were toilets and a small shop.Although quite small the gardens have several zones for the visitor to wander around and do a lot of work with seed conservation. In the area nearest to the visitor’s centre is a zone with a collection of...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on September 26, 2012

Botanical Garden of Faial
4 Concelho da Horta
Faial, Portugal

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Terceira Mar Hotel

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Hotel | "Hotel in a World Heritage Town"

Bedroom at Terceira Mar Photo - Terceira Mar Hotel, Terceira, Azores

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The Terceira Mar hotel on the outskirts of Angra do Heroismo, which is a UNESCO World Heritage City is in the south of the island of Terceira, which is the third largest island in size in the Azores and the second most populated island, and is also known as the lilac island. It is classed as a luxurious 4 star hotel. We flew from Ponta Delgada on the island of Săo Miguel to Lajes, near Praia da Vitoria on Terceira, which is also an American Air force base. The 20km takes about 30 minutes by coach and the hotel is 10 -15 minutes walk into the town. The 4 star hotel has been designed so all bedrooms overlook Fanal bay and Mount Brazil. Entering from the car park, the reception, bar/lounge and restaura...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on September 11, 2012

Terceira Mar Hotel
Protoes de Sao Pedro, 1
Terceira, Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal 9700-097
351295 402 280

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Hotel Marina Atlantico

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Hotel | "Atlantic views"

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The Azores consists of 9 islands in the Atlantic Ocean between Lisbon and America, belonging to Portugal. Sao Miguel is in the Eastern Group and is the largest of the islands, with the largest town being called Ponta Delgada. Even though the islands are volcanic they are all blessed with plenty of plant life and Sao Miguel is called the Green Island. This was our second visit to the Azores and our first hotel stay this time was in Ponta Delgada at the 4 star Atlantico Hotel opposite the Marina and on the east edge of the town, although described as being located in the heart of it! Admittedly a short walk along the front and you soon reach the shops and cafes. The airport is about 4Km from the town. ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on September 8, 2012

Hotel Marina Atlantico
Av. Joao Bosco Mota Amaral
Azores, Portugal

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Hotel do Canal

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Hotel | "Friendly Faial hotel"

hotel do Canal, Horta Photo - Hotel do Canal, Azores, Portugal

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Whilst exploring the Azores we stayed in Horta on the Island of Faial for a few days at the 4 * Hotel Do Canal which was opposite the ferry and had magnificent views of Pico mountain when the cloud cleared from the top! Ten minutes from the airport and a ten minute walk along the front to the Marina and town also close to the beach and Whaling museum. There was some parking near the hotel. The hotel is in the Bensaude chain and has just over 100 rooms.The large reception area had some seating and 2 lifts and stairs to the upper floors and extended into a lounge area, outside seating with water feature and a small bar and the restaurant.Our bedroom had a minute balcony and overl...Read More

Whilst exploring the Azores we stayed in Horta on the Island of Faial for a few days at the 4 * Hotel Do Canal which was opposite the ferry and had magnificent views of Pico mountain when the cloud cleared from the top! Ten minutes from the airport and a ten minute walk along the front to the Marina and town also close to the beach and Whaling museum. There was some parking near the hotel. The hotel is in the Bensaude chain and has just over 100 rooms.

The large reception area had some seating and 2 lifts and stairs to the upper floors and extended into a lounge area, outside seating with water feature and a small bar and the restaurant.

Our bedroom had a minute balcony and overlooked the church. The carpet was deep red around the edges of a natural, gold, teal and red check, it looked quite luxurious and with plain white bed covers, gold throws and bright cushions made the room very attractive. There was a red leather stool at the writing desk which had drawers and a fridge built in, and TV on top. There were two dark mahogany wood bedside tables and lamps above the bed and also standard lamps. A small round table had fruit and water on when we arrived which was a nice touch. There was a tray with kettle, cups and saucers, tea, coffee and sugar but no milk, but we discovered at the end of our stay that you could get milk from the bar. Perhaps a small jug in the fridge at the start would have been good! A case stand had a cupboard underneath and there was a double wardrobe and a cupboard with a safe, shelf and drawers. A wooden suit stand may be useful for business guests but we didn’t use it. The wall mirror was not above the writing desk so doing hair and applying make up wasn’t easy.

The bathroom was medium sized with a black marble floor and washbasin unit and white tiles with a black strip of narrow tiles. The shower was over the bath, bidet and toilet were standard and a useful stool. Plenty of toiletries nicely displayed a new shower curtain and the largest fluffiest white towels of our holiday.

There were dark wood tables and linen napkins and cloths. There was a boat style central unit for the buffet where the food was attractively displayed. Lunch was priced at 19€ and Dinner 25€. There was soup for dinner, or Pasta, choice of meat and fish dishes and desserts, cheese and biscuits and coffee. There was always a good selection of nicely cooked food and we were impressed with the friendly service.

There were two more lounges upstairs, one with a bar and snooker table and access to an outside balcony with wooden chairs which overlooked the square and ferry port and the other lounge had plenty of comfortable seating and a TV. You could pay for wifi at 3€ an hour although it was available free in the Business centre.

The Jacuzzi was in an upstairs area on the opposite side to where our room was and partitioned off from a few Gym machines, the highly polished floor looked a bit dangerous for people getting out of the Jacuzzi and there were no towels or changing rooms that I could see. But as we were out most of the time this wasn’t a problem.

Verdict? A very nice hotel, good food, comfortable room, pleasant staff. Would I return? Yes please, I loved the Azores.

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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on August 25, 2012

Hotel do Canal
Largo Doutor Manuel De Arriaga
Horta, Azores, Portugal
292 202 120

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Cha Porto Formoso Tea Factory

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Attraction | "Cup of cha?"

Cha porto Formosa Photo - Cha Porto Formoso Tea Factory, Azores, Portugal

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Did you know that tea grows in Europe? Well I didn't until I went on holiday in the Azores. Friends all said "Where are the Azores?" so I'll start by briefly explaining where these wonderful islands are situated. The Azores consist of nine islands found in the Atlantic Ocean between the continents of America and Europe, Sao Miguel is the largest of these islands and is about a two and a half hours flight from Lisbon. Not quite the middle of the ocean, but a good distance from Portugal, so it came as a surprise to see tea growing. The temperate climate and rich volcanic soil results in lush vegetation and the growth of tropical plants - I can recommend the pineapples!We were touring the isl...Read More

Did you know that tea grows in Europe? Well I didn't until I went on holiday in the Azores.
Friends all said "Where are the Azores?" so I'll start by briefly explaining where these wonderful islands are situated. The Azores consist of nine islands found in the Atlantic Ocean between the continents of America and Europe, Sao Miguel is the largest of these islands and is about a two and a half hours flight from Lisbon. Not quite the middle of the ocean, but a good distance from Portugal, so it came as a surprise to see tea growing. The temperate climate and rich volcanic soil results in lush vegetation and the growth of tropical plants - I can recommend the pineapples!
We were touring the island and were on the lookout for another tea factory mentioned in the guide book, which we knew the bus tours visited, so were delighted to find the smaller factory first, which was very quiet! Factory is not the word which springs to mind when I come to think of this beautiful place where we enjoyed a really interesting hour or so.
There was a lay-by to park in and only a couple of other cars, the large white house, looked all shut up, but that was perhaps to keep out the hot sun. We suspected it was closed but on investigating decided it was open , as the notice said Monday to Saturday 10.00 - 6.00, so walked through the gateway and along a cool tree lined drive towards some buildings, the usual blue hydrangeas and agapanthus were blooming everywhere. A farm worker chatted with a young girl wearing an apron with the name Chá Porto Formoso, and as we neared them, she came forward and greeted us in English, inviting us to see the factory. ( Are we so obviously British?!)
We entered an old building with a few bench seats, some artefacts and modern audio - visual equipment, we were offered a short video, explaining all about the factory and tea growing and given a choice of languages.
We learned that the first tea plants were brought to the Azores from Brazil in the 18th Century, but at that stage were only grown as an ornamental plant. In 1878 two Chinese experts were brought to Sao Miguel to teach the art of Tea cultivation, as part of the promotion of agriculture in the Azores. This resulted in a new interest in tea and there were several small producers. The Porto Formoso Tea Factory was founded by Amâncho Machado Faria e Maia and operated between the 1920's and 1980's. The current owners took over in 1998 and undertook restoring the factory as part of the heritage of the island.
It was soon over and I would have been happy to sit longer in the cool and enjoy more information about tea, but off we went on the tour. We saw the tea on trays in a rack in various stages of drying, and went through the other rooms were we heard the machinery working for a short time, listening to the guide was almost impossible! The botanical name of the tea is Camellia Sinensis and it is the China variety. The Azores doesn't suffer with blights or disease fortunately but the tea still need special care, especially when pruning and disbudding so as to produce good quality leaves. The process is very traditional and includes various stages where the leaves are withered, rolled and either oxidised or fermented and then dried, selected and packaged.
The factory produces black tea of the Orange pekoe, Pekoe and Broken leaf varieties. Orange Pekoe is obtained from the end bud and first shoot of the leaf. It is tightly rolled, black and results in a rich infusion with a delicate scent and flavour. Pekoe tea comes from the second leaf and has a less pronounced scent and flavour and lastly, Broken leaf - is just that! It comes from the particles of different leaves and is less aromatic but more delicate in flavour.
Some of the old machinery was shipped out from Britain over 80 years ago, and was carefully tended by the man working the machine. We ended our visit by going into the tea room and shop, were we enjoyed a lovely cup of Chà (pronounced shar). I was pleasantly surprised as I sipped my tea, a lovely delicate scent and flavour, I found it quite refreshing and we bought some lovely packages to bring home. The 80g packet was very reasonably priced - I think about 2 euros.
The garden had a lovely view over the fields of tea plants and down to the village and sea, there was a covered area, with tables were you could also sit and enjoy your tea and admire the view.
And the cost for this visit? It was free. They were happy to share the information all about tea growing in the Azores, I was amazed. A factory tour, free parking and a cup of tea, and not to forget the use of a toilet and wash room!
Traditional flavour of Azorean tea and hospitality at its best, a truly great find, if you go to the Azores then pay them a visit and enjoy a cup of Chá.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on July 26, 2012

Cha Porto Formoso Tea Factory
North Coast
Sao Miguel Island, Azores
00 351 296 442 3

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