I had an amazing and relaxed weekend in Patio Horse & Lodge that I wanted to give myself for an upcoming round b-day. Everything except my camera worked gorgeously!

The luck was on my side that I happened to be around in the time for the best rides in the beach& Capelinhas and for the so called jungle path. The views in Faial are so beautiful that even when the best season for the floral bloom has passed, the views made me fall in love with the island.

The rides were well organized and horses lovingly treated. You can see how they love what they do. I rode a lovely mare called Callan both days, who had a nice combination of sensibility and quirk for an experienced hacker. Enough spice and brain all in one package :P

The days started with a great informative briefing by the owner Victor which got me all exited of the things we would see that day :) Our guide Laura took good care of us and was always making sure we are comfortable and told us about the surrounding things.

I stayed in a lovely double room with a view to the patio and to their pretty pretty private house, such a pretty sight especially in the morning when the light started to lurk behind the house and light the day. From the patio there is a lovely view to the sea and down the village, which is a great place to relax after the rides or in the evenings to see the day finish.

The rooms have lovely spacious bathroom with a shower, it is very recently built, so everything is modern, but still very nice in charasterstic pieces like the fireplace on the common room and the lovely, powerful big horse pictures in the wall. Common spaces were very clean, and the beds very comfortable. I personally didn't mind the voices of a farm life outdoors, I rather like to hear the life outside. It was never distracting or disturbing to me.

Their lovely cook Carla doesn't only cook excellent meals, she is always very happy and friendly, chatting as much she has time from her duties. All the staff made me feel very welcome and appreciated. In the evenings our guide Laura joined us for dinner and soon later Victor too, which only adds up the feeling of being appreciated as a guest when they are very social living their life with their guests too.

All in all, I had a very lovely b-day weekend at Patio, and I will come again in the future! Thank you Patio for an excellent, relaxing weekend with You!

I had one full day ride booked with Patio as part of my holiday itinerary. We rode through beautiful farmland and woodland before being met for a delicious lunch (with wine) at the top of the trail. My husband, who is a non-rider, was driven out to join us for lunch and so he could enjoy the day too. We later rode down to the east of the island, enjoying phenomenal views of Pico.

My horse, Boneca, was gentle and courteous. She never pulled or ran away with me, and she had excellent steering and brakes. We quickly learned to trust each other. All the horses were in superb condition, as was the tack. Saddlebags were provided.

It rained heavily at one point and Patio supplied us with huge protective coats, so we could continue our ride in complete comfort.

In fact, I had SUCH a nice day, as we were passing in a taxi the day after, we called in to see if I could join another ride on my week in Faial. I could! So I joined another all day ride covering 24kms from east to west of the island. Marvellous!

I very much liked our guide, a young German woman called Laura, who did her work calmly and without fuss. She helped me with with tacking, tethering, getting on and off. She always checked to see that all was well on the ride, and stopping to rest and water the horses.

I wish we had stayed at Patio lodge - it looked so lovely and staff were so friendly and helpful, but we were staying at a hotel in Horta.

Patio has 20 horses to suit all levels of rider, and all those I met were gentle and calm, willing and trustworthy. I highly recommend Patio!

Congratulations and THANK YOU to Victor and the whole Patio team for running such a lovely business and giving me two days with Boneca riding on such glorious trails.

Wonderful place to stay. The staff is very kind and courteous – they do their work with heart. The Lodge is cosy and the room has everything you need. The horses are very well treated and in a good state. Discovering the beautiful and interesting island Faial on the back of a great horse is an adventurous and indescribably beautiful experience. I can recommend PÁTIO with a good heart.