Smy Portocolom

“Beautiful hotel with stunning views and wonderful buffet food!”

We have just spent a week at the Smy Vistamar hotel and had such a lovely relaxing time. First impressions of the hotel, absolutely beautifully renovated. Reception area was so lovely. There was a bar in the reception area but it was never staffed. The whole area could be used better than it … more

We have just spent a week at the Smy Vistamar hotel and had such a lovely relaxing time. First impressions of the hotel, absolutely beautifully renovated. Reception area was so lovely. There was a bar in the reception area but it was never staffed. The whole area could be used better than it was as it is just a pass through at the moment, it would be a lovely place to relax with a drink and some chilled music of an evening. Reception staff very friendly and very helpful Rooms - we stayed in a junior suite, our friends stayed in a suite; both lovely rooms but book the suite if you want a little bit more space. Only downside, water and coffee (Nespresso machines in the suites, not sure about the standard rooms) on day one but nothing after that, the water was not replaced during our stay and nor was the coffee and unfortunately, our room was not cleaned for 2 days but I spoke to reception and this was soon sorted. Air con worked great. Bathroom lovely and clean with full size toiletries and the view from our room (706) was gorgeous. Pool area - wonderful! Gorgeous sunbeds and beautiful umbrellas. We never had a single problem getting a bed the whole time we were there. The pool was fantastic, a perfect size to do a bit of swimming or just chilling out of the heat. The pool entertainment of either a singer, saxophonist or violinist was absolutely fantastic! I think its mainly adults but there were one or two children appearing throughout the week. Inflatables etc. were not allowed which I actually think is good as it is mainly for adults who just want to relax and chill not duck and dive out of the way of toys. Pool bar - lovely set up; we ate at the pool bar most days just for convenience as there were no other eating places in the immediate vicinity to the hotel. The menu was ok; burgers were lovely, club sandwich on day one really nice as was the chicken ceaser salad, however, we discovered the food varied each day. There was no real consistency to some of the meals, for example, the second time we ordered the club sandwich it was nowhere near as nice, the bread was hardly toasted. The ceaser salad varied a great deal too, one had lots of chicken and a few croutons, the other had lots of salad, a few bits of chicken and loads of croutons and another day the chicken was coated in a Cajun spice. The other thing that, although seems very small, was quite a frustrating problem by the end of the week and that was the lack of salt and pepper. Most places have salt and pepper as standard on every table, however, we spent so much time trying to track these down our food was often cold or we had eaten it. We were told by a staff member, when we queried this, that they did not have enough for every table. Again, a little suggestion would be a box with condiments in (including mayonnaise and tomato sauce which do seem quite standard worldwide) which could be brought to the tables with the food and easily taken away and transferred to the next tables as and when needed, without having to purchase many more salt and pepper sets. We do love our condiments and again this is something that needs tweaking here, we had to ask the staff every time for tomato sauce and mayonnaise and salt and pepper etc. these were never offered when bringing our meals, it would be so good for the staff to offer these every time. Drinks were really reasonable, a glass of wine around 4 euros, cocktails around 10 or 11 euros. Rooftop bar - absolutely beautiful; the views were amazing and the infinity pool was great, although this appeared to be used mainly for instagram shots! It was lovely to chill in the pool but there was nowhere to sit/lie really, just a few very low beanbag type seats, so really this is purely for aesthetic purposes I feel. The rooftop bar was only open of an evening for drinks or meals (which had to be pre-booked). Unfortunately, there was a little bit of inconsistency with the drinks, we ordered a bottle of wine with dinner in the restaurant and went to the rooftop afterwards for a drink and ordered the same bottle of wine, however, in the restaurant it was 18 euros and on the rooftop bar it was 28 euros for exactly the same bottle. We queried this and were advised it is to do with people being able to eat and use the rooftop bar who are not staying in the hotel, which is completely understandable, but as a guest of the hotel, you should be able to provide your room number and purchase the drinks at the same price as in the restaurant. Just a thought maybe for the hotel to recognise this. Restaurant - we stayed half board and are glad we did as the food was really lovely. Breakfast was great so much choice, omlettes etc. freshly looked and delicious. Evening meals were also excellent with plenty of choice and freshly cooked meats. Absolutely loved the food here! You can hire bikes from the hotel and cycle right around the bay you can also hire paddle boards, both of which are free of charge which is fantastic. The thing that puzzled me however, was you had to pay 3 euros per day to use the standard digital safe that are in hotels worldwide, and that was already provided in the rooms? This is the first time I have ever come across this? There are restaurants within a 15 minute walk of the hotel which were along the marina and really nice especially Sa Llotja which was fantastic! There are a few more restaurants just up the hill from the hotel as well which were nice enough, a Thai restaurant and few other smallish restaurants and a few shops but on the whole this is a very quiet area which we did not mind at all. I know this hotel has only just really opened up after the renovation and there were teething problems, but hopefully over time they will crack the teething problems making this one of the best hotels for a very relaxing, chilled out break in this area. We would definitely go back! Special mention to Justine who was such a delight. Remembered our room numbers each time we went into breakfast or for our evening meal which really makes you feel like a valued guest. Always very smiley and always very pleasant.

less

“For me, Perfect”

I thought I booked a decent Hotel , I was so wrong, this was by far one of the best Hotels I have ever stayed in. Spotlessly clean , fabulous staff, the food was first class and had so many options. I would say the food was glorious. Poolside was a soothing ambience with live quiet music, someti… more

I thought I booked a decent Hotel , I was so wrong, this was by far one of the best Hotels I have ever stayed in. Spotlessly clean , fabulous staff, the food was first class and had so many options. I would say the food was glorious. Poolside was a soothing ambience with live quiet music, sometimes a sax player, sometimes a violinist,bliss, exceptionally clean pools with luxurious sunbeds. My room spacious and very clean. You could find the Lady in charge, I believe her name was Catherine, quietly going round day and night making sure everything was up to her exacting standards. Would I go back? The truth is normally Im ready to fly home , in this case No, I wish I had booked out another week

less

“Beautiful hotel”

Great hotel in a lovely location friendly staff, lovely views from the room and good value for money.

“Beautiful Porto Colom”

Been over 20 years since we visited Porto Colom and what was then the El Vistamar Hotel. To be met at reception by Maria, who was there 20 years ago who remembered us was amazing! The renovation is fantastic- everything was lovely. Our favourite was the new roof terrace and pools! We loved it as mu… more

Been over 20 years since we visited Porto Colom and what was then the El Vistamar Hotel. To be met at reception by Maria, who was there 20 years ago who remembered us was amazing! The renovation is fantastic- everything was lovely. Our favourite was the new roof terrace and pools! We loved it as much as previously and will definitely return! Thank you Nici 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

less