Well deserved

bottle of Portuguese red.

Got up at 4:00 this morning, settled into our room at 17:30

We had good holidays with Pestana, but I'm afraid we'd reached the end of the road. When we arrived at 14:30 we were bitchingly told that we can only check in at 16:00. We then took a ride in the car with the air conditioner running to keep the meat we bought on the way relatively cool. When we arrived back at 15:40 we were more bitchingly told that "we told you only at 16:00". When we asked at 16:05 we were told that they only started cleaning the room at 16:00. When we asked at 16:40 we were told that the previous people made a mess of the toom and they are still cleaning. We were eventually given the keys to the room at 17:10.

Then we realised we need a lock for the safe. No problem, but nobody told us and we had to go back to reception. Then we went down to the pool for a beer and were told we cannot charge it to the room, because we do not have credit. No problem with putting credit to the room, but nobody told us and we had to go back to reception. When C started cooking we realised stuff were missing and broken. 

If we were staying in someone's backroom on a budget, we wouldn't have minded, but we pay a pretty penny for staying with Pestana and this is not acceptable. We have done cheap holidays before where none of the cutlery and crockery matched and we had to buy a proper corkscrew to get to our wine and then it was all part of the fun. When you pay for 4-star catering, it bloody well have to be 4 stars!

Anyhoo, C did his first drive in a left hand drive car on new roads and we survived. I cannot say by how much our life expectancy was shortened, though. 

The room is nice (although smelling like a chlorine pit at the moment) and the weather even nicer.

We're in the Algarve, by the way.