Location- right on a cliff overlooking a beautiful black sand beach. Perfect! Rooms, spacious with a private hot tub that was quite relaxing. Breakfast- just the right amount of local products with the included option of made to order eggs and other quality items. Very well prepared!

Everything was great, except there was a mini bar misunderstanding. We purchased wine from a local grocery store instead of using the wine in our room. We received an email asking us to pay for wine that we didn’t consume. A good idea to take a photo of the mini bar before checking out just in case there is a misunderstanding.

The location is everything, the views and direct access to the beach was a major plus. Manicured gardens and super friendly staff made our stay. From the front desk Tiago and Bianca to the restaurant hostess Flavia and everyone, just super cool and professionals.

I am a very family guy, but resorts like this in my mind, does not fit babies around. We had to move rooms from one night because the young baby was screaming next door. We had to move inside from our pool area because of it. And there were at least 3 small babies and some kids, not good if you wanna relax. Also the spa is nothing, a glass metal box, afterthought, which does not fit the vibe of the place. Also no saunas to relax after a long day of hiking.

We loved many things about the Eco-Beach Resort. The help in the lobby and in the restaurant were engaging and polite. Their sustainability philosophy along with the design and materials used in the construction of the facilities was inviting. Breakfast was a meal we looked forward to every day. The fresh fruit and juices were excellent. There was no hesitation when we asked for something to be made a particular way to our liking. The overall atmosphere of the setting was as beautiful as the beach adjacent to the property.

The only thing I can think of that would have been better is more time to stay there.

Stunning property, stunning location and design and amenities. Truly excellent staff, particularly two people who were unfailingly kind and helpful to us and our toddler: Tiago and Ana Rita. The food is absolutely delicious, the cocktails are inventive, and the beach is a short walk down the steps.

The design of the rooms are stunning, but sometimes design seems to be put a bit above living comfort — examples: (breakable) glass bottles of soap and shampoo in the shower, a few more hooks for clothes in the bathrooms would be useful, and the low cast iron (?) furniture with the dim lighting means you will probably stub your toe in the middle of the night. The designer could consider reading The Fountainhead and taking some inspiration from the lead character. But none of this would detract from coming back again and again!

I loved the sleek design. The setting just above the half mile long walking beach was beautiful. We enjoyed the spaciousness of Retreat 2 and the private hot tub. Because the late September weather was extremely changeable we didn't swim in the cool but very beautiful pool, but when the sun shone we enjoyed views from various chaise lounge. Breakfasts were terrific and dinner was mostly very good.

Little things like door locks worked intermittently. The warm and oft-times charming staff made some mildly jarring mistakes. Given that it's billed as an "eco resort" I wonder why the architect made little provision for cross ventilation. When we tried to sleep with the glass doors slid open we got bug bites, but closed we required air conditioning.

We loved our stay at Santa Barbara Eco resort. Located right in front of a beautiful beach that was perfect for our surfers in the family and also for anyone else just to relax. Amazing views and sunset. Breakfast was excellent. I also had one of the best meals of our trip in Portugal at their restaurant. It was a delicious fish for lunch. The staff was amazing and very helpful. Highly recommend this hotel!

Nothing

The Eco vibe is great. Access to the beach is very convenient. Rooms are very nice and the bed is amazing.

The restaurant menu was disappointing. Everything on it is grease, with any clean/fit option (missed that since it’s a Eco Resort). It seems like the chef intentions are beyond his possibilities. At the check-in, they give you a phone so you can talk to the front desk at any moment for any inquiries. They don’t reply, or reply late (5hours later) or they reply something some other guest request. Good initiative, very poor result.

Beautiful location and most of the staff was incredible! When we expressed any concerns, the team would go above and beyond trying to ensure we were completely satisfied. Food was incredible and the shower was awesome!! They provide a cell phone when you check in which you can use to message staff and for navigation around island which was an extremely nice touch!

I had expected ocean views but the rooms are all facing a city, with partial ocean views to the left. Some rooms have much better ocean views than others which I wasn’t expecting - when we did raise this concern, the staff was quick to help make things right but I did feel photos upon booking were a bit misleading. Additionally, there was a miscommunication amongst staff on some of the services we booked - for example I booked a massage for my husband and request only a female masseuse but we showed up and he had a male masseuse. For me, I didn’t mind the make vs female but he was extremely uncomfortable and would have just not booked if he had the information up front.

Comfy beds, great design, comfortable and convenient. Most of the staff was also great (shout out to Tiago, he did a great job at checking us in). The overall place was very quiet which was helped by the road being partly closed (a few reviews mentioned the noise which was not an issue at all during our stay).

A couple of the staff members didn't do a great job, one of the ladies at breakfast kept forgetting stuff or messing up our order, and my partner tried to get a massage but ended up never happening because no one could reach the masseuse.

What an amazing 7 days. The location was a great base to explore the island, the room was fantastic and all the staff were friendly and attentive. A special thank you to Jessica and Sara who always served breakfast with a smile. Claudia for welcoming us each morning. Tiago for such a warm welcome to the resort giving us all the information we could need and Vitor and Raquel for being fantastic and so helpful with recommendations and any of our needs. Would highly recommend Santa Barbara Eco-Beach to anyone wanting to explore the Azores whilst being hosted by such a fantastic team.