Our trip: early June 2026 · Last updated: October 26, 2026
We stayed in five places in five nights on São Miguel, on purpose: the island is small enough to drive across in about an hour, but each side has a different feel and different weather. If we had to pick only one, it’s Pico do Refúgio. If we had one night to splurge, it’s Octant Furnas. Here’s every bed we slept in, in order, and who each one is for. (The full story is in the Azores Chronicle.)
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At a glance
| Stay | Where | Vibe | Best for | Would we go back? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pico do Refúgio | North coast, near Rabo de Peixe | 400-year-old farm, eight country houses, pool | A slow, central base for the whole trip | For a whole week |
| Octant Furnas | Furnas valley, east | Hot-spring hotel with thermal pools and spa | One splurge night | Yes |
| DoubleTree by Hilton Lagoa | Lagoa, south coast near the airport | Modern, rooftop bar and pool | A last-minute night, points stays | For a night, not a week |
| Caloura Hotel Resort | Caloura, south coast | Clifftop resort with its own tide pools | Ocean views and swimming in the sea | Yes |
| The Homeboat Company | Ponta Delgada marina | A houseboat in the city | The last night before a flight | Yes |
Pico do Refúgio
Google Maps: Pico do Refúgio ↗
Our favorite, and the one we’d book for a whole week next time. It’s a 17th-century farm on the north coast that has been a pirate lookout, a militia fort, an orange estate and a tea factory. It opened as country houses in 2013 and also runs an artist residency, so there’s real art everywhere.
- The rooms: eight one-bedroom houses, lofts and apartments, each with a kitchen, spread across the farm. Some are in the old tea factory.
- What we loved: the farm-to-table breakfast (the yogurt, honestly), a host who grew up on the island and sent us off with a list, a pool and sauna, a grill area, and a breakfast house full of art looking out over the grounds.
- Location: right in the middle of the island, so nowhere is far. You need a car; there’s nothing within walking distance.
- Know before you go: there’s no reception desk. They message you on WhatsApp with your house and hand over keys in person, and they were completely flexible when our flight was diverted.
See Pico do Refúgio on Booking.com →
We gave it its own post, because it deserves one.
Octant Furnas
Google Maps: Octant Furnas ↗
The splurge, and worth it for one night. Furnas sits in a valley with the largest concentration of thermal waters in Europe, and Octant pipes that water into its own pools.
- The pools: indoor and outdoor thermal pools, plus small dipping pools, with a thermal spa, sauna and hammam. The water is brown and very warm. You can see steam from the springs from the outdoor pool.
- What we loved: robes and loungers by the pool, a welcome tote and straw hats, the breakfast spread, and the hotel restaurant A Terra’s Cozido à TERRA, stew cooked in the hot springs.
- How we booked: through Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts, using the travel credit. That got us noon check-in (standard is 3 p.m.), a food and drink credit, and a 4 p.m. checkout, which turned one night into almost two days.
- Know before you go: it’s about 50 km from the airport, so plan the drive. Thermal water is known to stain light swimsuits, so pack a dark one.
See Octant on Booking.com →
Full review in its own post.
DoubleTree by Hilton Lagoa
Google Maps: DoubleTree by Hilton Lagoa ↗
Easy, comfortable, and exactly right for a night we hadn’t planned. Hilton’s first hotel in the Azores opened in 2024 in Lagoa, about ten minutes from Ponta Delgada and close to the airport.
- The rooms: 101 rooms and suites, modern and quiet.
- What we loved: the Mistico rooftop bar and pool, and one of the best breakfasts of the trip, served downstairs in a restaurant locals come to on its own. You can walk down to the water and a great sardine mural.
- Why we ended up here: we finished golf at 6 p.m. with no hotel, and it was the easiest option. It’s also a good use of Hilton points.
- Know before you go: it’s next to a tech park in a residential area, not a beach town. Great for a night, not where we’d base a week.
See the DoubleTree on Booking.com →
Caloura Hotel Resort
Google Maps: Caloura Hotel Resort ↗
The one for ocean people. An 80-room clifftop resort on the south coast, in a protected area known for having the island’s best microclimate.
- The tide pools: a private path through old basalt vineyard walls leads straight down to natural volcanic pools in the sea. I could have stayed there all morning.
- What we loved: spotless rooms with sea-view balconies, a peaceful vibe, and a breakfast room with panoramic windows. The morning we were there, everyone had binoculars out for whales.
- How we booked: we walked in that morning to look around, liked it, and booked online for the night.
- Know before you go: it’s a bigger, quieter resort, not a village stay. Baixa d’Areia, a small sandy beach, is a short walk away.
See Caloura on Booking.com →
Full review in its own post.
The Homeboat Company
Google Maps: The Homeboat Company ↗
A houseboat in the Ponta Delgada marina, and a fun way to spend the last night. You’re steps from the city gates and the marina restaurants, and about 15 minutes’ drive from the airport.
- The boat: a small houseboat with a kitchenette, a hammock on the upper deck, and breakfast delivered to the boat in the morning.
- What we loved: the marina itself, feeding our breakfast leftovers to the fish and a duck, and being able to walk to dinner and bars in town.
- Know before you go: check-in is a little unusual since there’s no front desk, so read their instructions ahead of time. Breakfast is simple.
All five stays on one map
Open the full map in Google Maps ↗ and save it, so every pin is on your phone when you land.
How we’d split the nights next time
Moving every night let us see the whole island, but it meant a lot of packing. With a week, we’d do it this way:
- Four nights at Pico do Refúgio. It’s central, so day trips to Sete Cidades, Ribeira Grande, Lagoa do Fogo and Ponta da Ferraria are all easy.
- One night in Furnas, at Octant, to soak and to do Furnas, Gorreana and the Ribeira Quente waterfall without rushing.
- One night at Caloura or in Nordeste for the south and east coasts.
- The last night in Ponta Delgada, close to the airport.
Book your rental car with a no-show policy you can live with. Our flight was diverted for two days, our booking was forfeited, and the replacement car cost about €500 more. Most cars are manual, so request an automatic early if you need one.
Bonus: if you get stuck in Lisbon
We did. The Lisboa Carmo Hotel is a 45-room boutique hotel on a steep cobblestone street by the old Carmo Convent, with views over the rooftops to the river. Best customer service of the trip, the cutest wallpaper, eggs and coffee made to order, and a desk team happy to hold your bags all day.