The Pousada has a great location overlooking the harbour and marina in Horta. The room was small but very clean and the bed was comfortable.

The restaurant was also OK but the entire place looked "dated" to me and could use a refresh.

This hotel is converted from an old fort. I booked it because it has the highest ratings in the Tripadvisor website.

When we first got into the hotel, we could smell mildew. The smell got stronger as we were brought into the rooms. I was okay because this is just a bad smell to me. But my wife is kind of allergic to it. She couldn't sleep that night.

This idea of converting an old building to a hotel is great if the interior can be kept hygienic. There is air conditioning but never turned on. Therefore the whole building has been affected with mildew.

The water in the swimming pool looked dirty. The sides were moldy. No wonder there was nobody using it.

There are big iguanas on the floor of the restaurant. The food is not covered. We didn't even eat breakfast there although out room rate included breakfast..

The Do Canal Hotel a few hundred metres away look and smell a lot better. We ended up having our meals there. This deserves the first place in Tripadvisor, in my opinion.

We arrived here in the second half of August, as the season was finishing, which may have accounted for some of the small inconveniences.
Overall, this was an excellent choice. Horta is big with the transatlantic yachting crowd and the Pousada is in the old fort of Santa Cruz overlooking the marina. Traditionally, departing yachtspersons paint their "mark" on the walls and slipways - these are colourful and fascinating. I didn't realise that there are people out there taking 5-7 years to sail round the world!
Our room was comfortable - proper double bed. Twins faced the sea. We got an excellent deal with a Pousada Passport - Room and Breakfast for 4 nights for 320 euros and 20% off 2 dinners. And what a great breakfast! Endless fresh squeezed orange juice, lots of fresh fruit, 3 different sorts of cake, eggs+bacon/sausage. Best we had in the Azores.
The pool is saltwater with loungers around. There seems to be a preoccupation with cleaning it - it seemed to be closed quite frequently. Apart from this recreations were cards/draughts/chess.
There was no permanent barperson - we had to ask at reception. It felt that the restaurant service needed structure and leadership, but it was always willing and cheerful.
The hotel is well placed for all Horta's attractions. Bars, restaurants and car hire are immediately available.
I would echo a previous review - this is the place to go if you want to see whales and dolphins. The scuba diving is good. Fascinating for vulcanologists - there's a great walk round the crater rim and recent volcanic activity off the west coast.
Definitely recommend this.

When we arrived at this hotel we thought we were in the wrong place as the photos in the brochure did not do it justice. The feel of the converted fort was unique. The room was lovely and the large balcony and view of Pico mountain were fantastic. The only problems were the bathroom was very small, there was some noise from boats in the harbour until late at night and the doors to the balcony did not shut to start with (they were fixed by the hotel the same day we reported it). Overall our stay there was great. The location couldn't be better for accessing the town and the harbour. We would recommend a car for touring the rest of the island.