jake-cardigan

Jake Cardigan

Having spent the last 11 years working as part of the Archipelago Choice team I have enjoyed many amazing adventures to both the Azores and Cape Verde islands, and I’m always eager to start planning the next!

Past highlights include taking to the seas in a traditional Azorean whaling boat off the south coast of Sao Miguel in the Azores and hiking in the Serra da Malagueta natural park on Santiago in Cape Verde.  I really enjoy sharing my experiences and drawing from them to create fantastic holiday itineraries and ideas for others to enjoy.

Away from the office my main focus is music – I’ve been playing the cello for about 30 years and enjoy performing with several orchestras and ensembles around the Cumbria and Borders region.  My last trip to the Azores was particularly special because I proposed to my girlfriend….And she said yes!

Contact

Jake Cardigan
Destination Specialist
01768 721040
jake@archipelagochoice.com

My favourite accommodation in Azores

A real favourite of ours, the Hotel do Colegio is a friendly, family-run hotel right in the heart of Ponta Delgada.

The building was originally constructed as a grand townhouse in the early 19th Century, when the lucrative orange trade between Sao Miguel and the UK was at it’s height. When the island’s orange crop was devastated in the 1850s (by the same ‘Great Blight’ that almost laid waste to the wine industry across mainland Europe), the house became a successful music school (hence the name ‘ Colegio’), before being sympathetically converted into a hotel. Much of the original basalt stone architectural features have been retained – the décor feels minimal but comfortable, and since the recent refurbishment (in 2017), there’s a really nice balance between city hotel and ‘traditional Azorean’.

There are fifty-seven en-suite rooms (forty-five standard and 12 twelve superior) and two suites – all the rooms have a bathtub with a shower, TV, hairdryer and air conditioning, and free WiFi is available throughout the hotel. The outdoor pool is set in the original quadrangle at the centre of the building – next door to the breakfast room, restaurant and the residents’ bar.

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