This was my second stay at Casa de Cidades, my first being in 2018 for 7 days, with this trip being 9 days. I should say that Casa de Cidades is not your typical hotel. It only has 4 rooms (each with complete ensuite facilities) and the owners (Pedro and Maria) also live there. The main floor of the house is shared with all guests enjoying a wonderful included breakfast at the dining table. Pedro and Maria are proud to serve a traditional breakfast featuring fresh products from the Azores, from cheeses, cold-cuts, fresh fruit, yogurt, granola, breads, jams and preserves, etc. It’s such a personal and enjoyable experience to sit at breakfast and meet the other guests, share travel tips and stories, and plenty of laughter. That’s truly what sets Casa de Cidades apart. It’s like being at home with friends and family. Pedro is a wealth of local information and supplies maps/information on local sights, restaurants, etc so you’re ready to explore the island. If you’re driving a rental car, there is paid parking 50 meters away, but also a large free parking lot about 200 meters away up the hill. For my wife and I, Casa de Cidades feels like a home-away-from-home and a little bit of our hearts will always remain behind! Obrigado Pedro and Maria!

Breakfast is available from 8:15 to 10:15 a.m. Like most travellers, we are eager to get out and start our day exploring the wonderful island early. My only niggly complaint is that we would have like to have breakfast earlier. Say 7:15 am start so we could have been out and gone by 8 am.

The BnB hosts, Pedro and Maria, were simply lovely and thoughtful. Pedro was exceptionally responsive to my pre-arrival questions and assisted on several special requests that I had. The building is nicely restored, comfortable and quiet. It is centrally located to shops and restaurants and has free parking nearby. The daily breakfasts are tasty and fresh featuring Azorian products. Pedro is an ambassador for Sâo Miguel island, each day he kindly offers to assist guests with their touring itinerary, providing detailed and well researched information about what to see, do and where to eat. All in all an exceptional stay. We will recommend to friends as well as look to stay again in the future.

The location is right in the heart of downtown. We had an easy access to attractions and food. The hostesses were very friendly.

It’s an old well maintained house but we had three things we didn’t like. First: the windows really need a mosquito net, because there are a lot of mosquitos. Second: It is difficult to park because it is in downtown area so you have to prepare to pay extra for parking. The good thing is that there is a public parking lot very close to the house and it is not that expensive. We paid around $12 for 12 hours. Third: The breakfast. It was very basic and the same every day. We slept there for four nights.

Casa da Cidade is run by Pedro and Maria, who are warm, delightful hosts. It was like staying in a very comfortable, characterful 19th century Azorean home. We were made most welcome, nothing was too much trouble. Pedro is a fountain of wisdom on local information, with a wealth of information on the sights of Ponta Delgada - a most charming town - and the restaurants. His recommendations for eating out led us to some outstanding local restaurants, such as Boa Vista and Tasca. Maria's garden is exceptionally pleasant, and we breakfasted every morning out in the open - Maria's jams and conserves were wonderful. Both Pedro and Maria speak excellent English. Tours of the island of Sao Miguel can be organized with local drivers at reasonable cost. Casa da Cidade is located ideally, in a characterful quiet historic neighbourhood, a short walk to the sea front (whale watching is a must) and shops, restaurants and supermarkets as well as the main attractions of the town. We plan to return!

Absolutely nothing to criticize at Casa da Cidade, but visitors to Ponta Delgada should note that many shops and restaurants are closed on Sunday, so you'll need to confirm opening times. Pedro's list of restaurants is most helpful.

This is a lovely place to stay - the location is ideal for anything in town, with parking very close if you have a hire car. The hosts are amazing - they have detailed maps of the island and excellent knowledge of everything you can do. They both take the time to talk you through your plans and make suggestions each morning. The breakfast spread has a small but good range of locally-sourced, fresh food and the best homemade granola!

Our room was a little warm at night - but there was hotter weather than the island is used to when we visited, and we had a very good fan that helped.

Breakfast was awesome with something for everyone including local specialties. The location was excellent with regard to parking, waterfront, and restaurants. The hosts are outstanding people and a lot of fun to talk to. They went to special effort to make our anniversary special. Pedro also did a fantastic job of preparing maps with points of interest and restaurants for the entire island.

While the open air was great for sleeping, I awoke the final morning with at least 50 mosquito bites. There is no air-conditioning so open windows are needed. Perhaps some window screens would solve the problem? Other than this one small issue, our stay here was perfect.

Beautiful house made to feel like a home from home by the wonderful hosts (including their lovely dog). Location is absolutely spot on for a central base in Ponta Delgada from which to explore the island. All prior planning went swiftly out the window thanks to Pedro’s wonderful maps of the different areas of the island which ensure nothing gets missed with so many hidden gems that made the trip even better. Breakfast out in the garden each morning was the perfect way to start the day

Absolutely nothing

The hosts, Pedro and Toninha, are the best! They make us feel at home, guided through the best places of sao Miguel (Pedro gave us amazing maps each day of the area we were interested in), and spoiled us with delicious breakfasts. The place has a lot of character, and the beautiful photos made by Pedro, gives you a hint of how beautiful Sao Miguel is. Be aware of the dog, it's ready for a lot of love and greetings all the time, and will definitely try to convince you to share your breakfast!

Nothing!

Pedro and Maria were fantastic hosts making you feel at home. They were happy to provide detailed information about the whole island, carefully recommending sites, routes, hiking and restaurants. Adelicious beakfast was set up beautifully with all local foods and enjoyed outside in the garden if the weather permitted. This also gave us the opportunity to meet some wonderful travelers. Our room was very comfortable for 2, spotlessly clean, beautiful traditional furniture, extremely comfortable bed, good wifi, contemporary bathroom with good shower, and the room overlooked the garden. Pedro's professional photographs of the Azorean landscapes adorn the walls giving the house a gallery feel. We thoroughly enjoyed our 3 night stay. It's very easy to get in and out of town with a car as parking was nearby. The town was easily walkable from Casadacidade. If you want the experience of living in a beautiful Azorean home with great hospitality, this is a wonderful opportunity.

Having to leave!

So you get there, fresh off the flight from Lisbon and parked (unbeknownst to you, illegally) along the narrow street. Pedro, in all his Ernest Borgniney congeniality, ushers you into the parlor. Have a euro for the meter and cast the luggage aside my friends, actual and metaphysical, and let’s get you settled. Maps and an amiable dog appear, the latter a canine instantiation of Pedro - but desirous of belly rubs and your leftovers. A town full of restaurants, shops, and stories is revealed to you across the garden table. Ask about Furnas, ah but the island will be unveiled day by day and map by map - don’t get ahead of yourself . Up the gently curving stairway, skeleton keys prefer some artful jiggling. The rooms? Oh, the rooms are quite nice & clean. Views of the garden. A warming towel rack. Fickle Azorean breezes against the tall windows. Breakfast is fine too; sweet breads and such. Pumpkin jam. Local cheese. Coffee. The salient features here are the people (and dog), their relaxed competence, local wisdom, and friendliness. So, sure -- come for the central location, the breakfast, the clean, quiet and well appointed rooms. None of that is likely to disappoint. But that's not what you'll remember.