Praia Art Resort in Castella

We stayed at Praia this past week as travelers from the US. There are not many (if any) travelers from the US visiting this property, which makes it feel more authentic to the area but more difficult to navigate if you’re not comfortable with using translation apps. Very minimal English is spoken at the resort - which is okay with us, but could be intimidating to some. Our room - 301 - was amazing. The set up is perfect for a couple. Gorgeous, private yard with a pool and another gorgeous sitting area in the back (that we didn’t even use!). The unit has 2 full bathrooms, the bed is very comfortable and the closet has amazing space to open your bag and unpack. On the downside, the room does feel very dark and there is minimal lighting especially in the bathrooms. The lights don’t feel well placed, especially with no lighting in the shower at all. Towels were minimally stocked - only 1 per person. And no towels were given at all for the pool. We had to steal them from the beach every day. This just feels sloppy. If the unit has a pool, towels should be stocked and refreshed. This trend continued at the resort pool. There were no towels at all at the resort pool. Additionally, the pool is not set up well. There are only 4 (massively uncomfortable) pool loungers. The rest of the pool is set up with dining tables. Given there is no restaurant or service at the pool, other than breakfast, we did not get this. It made using the resort pool awkward and annoying. One thing we absolutely loved is that you get a lounge bed assigned to your room at the beach. There is no fighting over space and everyone has their own bed. It’s great. We’ve never seen this at a hotel and loved this feature. The food and service is the reason we are giving this hotel such a low rating. The hotel is isolated from town. Nothing is walkable except a few small stores in the neighborhood. There is no hotel shuttle at all, which we strongly feel should be an option to get into La Castella and the neighboring towns. The cabs are expensive (20 euro to go 3 miles into town!). La Castella is an adorable town with many restaurants and a gorgeous castle. The locals were so friendly - shout out to our fave restaurants Tippico & Piccante and Donna Carmela. Amazing food and the locals were so friendly! The surrounding neighborhood is like a family resort. It feels run down and isn’t very well cared for. There are really no sidewalks and walking around is difficult with speeding cars and trucks blowing down the streets. We like to walk and hike around our hotel in the mornings and this resort was not set up for that at all. In addition to the isolation, the restaurant hours and food options are not convenient for international guests. The breakfast is open 7:30-10:30 and then nothing is available until 12:30. The restaurant that opens at 12:30 is the only restaurant on property and it is very formal with a limited menu. After it closes at 3:30, there is nothing else avail