Pestana Sao Tome

The location is very good, close to the city center. Beds are comfy and cleaning staff did a very good job + in general the hitel staff is very nice and welcoming

Hotel looks outdated. Food was average, under expectations, both breakfast and dinner buffet. Internet was OK-ish, overall on Sao Tome island is bad. For basic staff should be fine, but if you upload or download big files you'll run into issues

Excellent and friendly service, English-speaking and with a smile.I'm going to return in a few days ..

Cleanliness.Room was very spacious and comfy.Facilities, in general.

The food was not as diverse and you would expect from a Pestana Hotel. Drinks very expensive.

I had a great stay at Pestana São Tomé. The pool was amazing, perfect for relaxing with a beautiful view. The bed was very comfortable, ensuring a good night’s sleep. The staff were kind and welcoming, making the experience even better. The breakfast was okay, but there’s room for improvement. The hotel is in town, so you can walk if you like. There is also a very nice restaurant nearby called Pirata, which serves excellent food.It is a beachfront hotel, but not ideal for swimming since it is surrounded by rocks. However, if you’re adventurous ?, you might find a way through! From the hotel, I could see a sandy beach where the local São Tomé people were swimming.Overall, it was a nice stay, and I would still recommend it

My only small complaint is about the TV channels—there weren’t many choices, and no news channels, which was a bit disappointing since I like to watch TV.

A nice and quiet place a little bit out of the center (20min walk). It has its own beach and infinity pool. Breakfast is scrumptious and they do a good job offering a transfer to the airport and keeping your luggage stored for example if you decide to visit Principe. On our last day we were offered a late check-out for no extra cost which we appreciated very much. Very friendly and helpful english speaking staff. We will definitely visit again.

Nothing major to complain about.

The location, the view.The pool and rooms

Unfortunately no beach, the dinner was relatively very expensive.

Nice hotel in the middle of the city

The rooms are old and furniture are already degrading. Needs to be renovated

Breakfast was ok, but there could havebeen more drinking options. Nice garden area and a well equiped gym. Dinner could have been more exciting

Room was comfortable and well appointed, clean and well maintained. Staff were friendly. Breakfast buffet ample and good quality.

Property is aging, many signs of wear and tear. Agréable staff but information sharing is minimal in response to questions.

Lovely hotel with friendly and helpful staff who speak English. Great swimming pool, great view. We got water every day in the room and a welcome plate of fruit. Local entertainment on Friday night. Little tourist stand in the lobby reasonably priced compared to outside sellers - very handy!

Hotel restaurant food was monotonous with the same selection every day. Selection of drinks in the bar very limited - no sugarless sodas and not many alcohols. Locals beer was unavailable throughout the week which is a shame.

The breakfast is awesome! It's a buffet style with several options. The staff is nice, kind and always willing to assist you. The hotel location is good with great ocean views and a very nice pool. It has the potential to be an awesome hotel, but the room service needs improvement for the price you pay.

The room condition was not good. The bathroom had mold; the bath window was not clean. The closet had no doors. Everything else was clean but one can tell that the cleaning ladies have not been trained to properly clean a room. In the previous years, the hotel offered shower caps, and other amenities, not anymore. For a five-star hotel you expect more than what is offered. The price doesn't match the service.

Location , view, kindness of the staff

The food is terrible , the service very limited . The rooms are old and humid

Breakfast excellent. Drinks and meals expensive

We could have had a double bed instead of 2 single beds together

Expectations are key; this hotel doesn't feel like it would be a 5* in other parts of the world. However, after doing a lot of research and staying in a couple of different hotels in Sao Tome and Principe, this is likely the best hotel in the country. Bear in mind though, the selection of hotels if not extensive. Pros: The pool and coastal area is pleasant. The staff were mostly friendly. A few were very friendly, including the restaurant manager and one or two check in staff. A free transfer is included to and from the airport. We stayed in two different rooms and both were clean - I didn't come across any bugs which are common in this part of the world. The food was decent - not spectacular but ok and didn't cause any upset stomachs. Hygiene at the buffet was fine.

Only a few staff spoke English. On our first check out (we stayed on two separate occasions), the hotel wanted to charge us the room price again, despite us already paying on check in. I think this was an honest mistake, but it took around 20 minutes to resolve, which was irritating and far from efficient. We also had a flight to catch, which made matters more stressful and frustrating. Even though the payment issue was resolved, the shuttle bus to the airport took a long time to arrive and we didn't have long to spare once we got to the airport. During our second stay, they had a set departure time for the airport shuttle which was the opposite extreme - far too early, meaning we waited at the airport for 2 hours, even after check in. It's great that they offer a free shuttle but it would be better if they timed it better with flights (there aren't a lot).Some lobby areas were very hot, as were corridors leading to the rooms. The interior design is a bit dated and not quite in keeping with the level of luxury one would expect from a 5* hotel.The buffet was very expensive for what we got. The rooms were fine, but more of a 3* standard in terms of design and facilities. The shower is not walk in and some of the furniture looks dated. Only one bottle of water if provided per person per stay, which isn't enough considering the temperatures. In our case, one of the bottles of water provided was actually not fully sealed, which was a bit concerning since tap water in Sao Tome is not drinkable.Finally, despite confirming in advance that they accepted Mastercard and Visa, it transpired on arrival that they only accepted Visa. I half expected this, as it does state on their main page, but receiving confirmation of the opposite only for this to be contradicted is again frustrating.I think the staff have the right intentions but efficiency is subpar and this makes straightforward matters arduous, drawn out and at times exasperating.

The breakfast was a buffet style and was better and with more variety than most European or American 4+ start hotels. Good quality food, good use of local foods, very attentive service. I liked how they used some of the local chocolate syrups and preserves, as well as fruits and coffee. Excellent view of the sea for a bonus!We also had shows every evening, including a local live band and a youth orchestra playing local music. Both were great!The starts of this hotel however were the staff. The front desk was efficient, they were ready for the check in, they had the bill ready for the checkout, and they were always smiling and eager to help. The bartenders and maids were also friendly and proactive, very proactive, same for the towel person at the pool. And Bruna was fantastic! she was all over the place, talking to guests and helping in any way possible from getting taxis to organizing tours, making dinner reservations at local restaurants, etc. In summary, customer service was in line with or better than most 4+ star hotels in Europe or the USA.

Perhaps they can add more of the local fresh juices. They had a couple but could do better.

The staff were sweet and the management is trying hard to bring positive influence such that the hotel staff could be come competent at service. Wifi works most time, though it was out for a few hours during my stay. I was upgraded which was appreciated, but was also only because thee were no other rooms with functioning AC, fans, in the category I booked.

This is outdated in terms of facilities and mindset. The one restaurant is average to below average. The bar is below average. Any service at all beyond a smile and nice words is difficult. The staff need to be trained better and management needs to do better at supervising and ensuring standards are kept high. At this price, the hotel was very overpriced. It should be less than half of the charged price for all sort of reasons from weak wifi, to (lack of) bed/room comfort, to malfunctioning AC in most rooms, nonfuctioning fans in all rooms, to the outdated everything (elevator, communication, transport), literally everything that a hotel is supposed to do from pickup to hosting to checkout. It’s old and low quality, mitigated by the fact that management gets it and is trying hard to improve the very old facility, broken room furniture, bad service, etc.

The staff was sweet and tried to make my stay nice.

It’s supposed to be one of the nicest hotels in São Tomé, but it was outdated and depressing. It would have been charming if service was good, but service was very bad. Everything I coordinated prior to arrival was forgotten (or ignored) once I arrived. Instead of a driver, a bus was waiting. I was told we’d leave soon, but I ended up waiting an hour for all the other passengers crammed into an old, uncomfortable bus. When I checked in, I waited longer than anyone on the bus apparently because the worker helping me was new. I waited 3.5 hours as the hotel tried to find a room that was even close to what I had booked. They said they couldn’t find one so I had a room on a lower floor with no fan and broken lights. This was the best of the three they had placed me in over the 3.5 hours. The hotel staff were nice, but just didn’t seem to grasp the concept of follow through, doing what you say you will do. After several hours I finally received a couple waters and a couple extra pillows, a far cry from what the hotel committed to providing weeks before when I booked.The bed was not a king, but two twins. The twin beds were old and sagging. The hotel promised to replace the two mattresses with a single mattress but they failed to address it. So, sleep was very hard during the stay without a fan and without a comfortable bedThe hotel told me to leave for the airport two hours before my flight, but this was wrong as I was refused entry to the airport for arriving too early.

Very good location close to the seaThe hotel and facilities are all very nice Easy at arrival with the shuttle bus and for departure

Great location, in the seafront, and great swimming pool

Pestana Sao Tome stands for a 5* hotel. However, it does not deserve that distinction. The rooms need an urgent upgrade (our room had no safe; the lockers of the two doors that lead to the balcony were broken; the closet was falling apart; lunch at the restaurant had limited quality)

The staff were friendly and helpful, and the room was very clean.

The hotel could really do with a renovation. The rooms, aircons and furniture all need updating. The hotel is comfortable, but very expensive for what it offers