Hi, daveJB! Hi, Eljay!
So hear I am back from Ericeira, and having survived my first days back at work...
I had a really lovely holiday, with fantastic weather: clear blue skies, sunshine and temperatures in the mid- to high-20s. The first few days were quite windy which made it feel cooler (leading to a few in the group getting rather sunburned as they didn't realise how strong the sun was!) but I don't think I ever resorted to a cardigan even.
I paid the supplement for a room with a sea view and it was beautiful: looking out over the bay. I had the window open day and night, enjoying the sound of the ocean! (I had a slight problem to start with as the hotel put me in a room looking out over the street and from which you could only see the sea from right by the window and peering sideways. However Ricardo, our wonderful Tour Manager, quickly sorted this out and got me moved to my proper room.)
The room was large and lovely, and had the bonuses of aircon and a fridge. (Tip: It's MUCH cheaper to buy bottled water from the nearby supermarket than the hotel's from the fridge!) I was also delighted to find they had free Wifi throughout the rooms and public internal areas. Apparently we could also use the health club's jacuzzi and sauna for free although I never got round to that; other health club facilities such as massages cost extra.
As for the food, I'm a bit of a funny eater: not liking fish/shellfish or doing too well with meat that's on the bone. Like you, I'd read mixed reviews about the food so here's my own take on it (others thought differently, but we're all different)...
Breakfast and dinner were buffet-based (which pleased me, enabling me to try different things and mix'n'match) and I felt offered a good range. At breakfast there were a small range (4) of cereals, with milk hidden in one of the silver-coloured urns; cold meats; hot food (sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, omelette, baked beans, pancakes, etc); fruit; yoghurts; breads and pastries. Hints: there ARE toasters (over by the wall) and there IS jam and marmalade (in bowls on the buffet counter at the end near the tea/coffee/milk urns).
For the first course at dinner there were two soups each day, salad and cold meats. For mains there was a good range of hot food, typically including meat (e.g., pork, beef, turkey or duck based), rice-based (plain, risotto, etc), veg, and potato (chips, croquettes, etc). For desserts there was a good range of cold desserts plus some nice ice-cream (over in the corner, near where the toasters are in the morning; do try the Straciatelli!)
Overall: I felt the food was fine and I never struggled to find plenty I enjoyed. My only criticisms are that some of the hot food wasn't as hot as I like (one of the drawbacks of a buffet under heat lamps I guess), and that the restaurant itself could be rather warm.
For the first few days we had to wait until the second sitting at 8:30pm to eat as the hotel was quite full, but it gave us a good time to socialise in the bar beforehand. After the first few days we were able to go in earlier: from 7:00pm, although we usually went in about 7:30pm after time in the bar. 😉
Another comment I read in the forums before going was about how all the (included and optional) days out are together at the beginning of the holiday, with the two free days being at the end. I'd booked onto all of the trips so was wondering how I'd find it. In practice it worked very well: I got into the rhythm of getting up for the trips, and thoroughly enjoyed the two free days at the end of the holiday to unwind before returning to the UK and reality.
The day trips, by the way, were lovely. I especially loved Sintra and Obidos. (Cascais was lovely too, although marred a little for me as I managed to trip over a low stone barrier whilst taking a photo, fall and hurt my shoulder a bit. But even so, I still really enjoyed the day!)
Heck! That's got rather longer than I'd anticipated; hope I've not bored you with my ramblings! Now I need to start thinking about where to go in September... 🙂
Cheers, Mike 😎
