Porto Santa Maria Hotel Reviews

I could not rate this Hotel highly enough . We have just returned from a two week fabulous holiday from the Island of Madeira . All previous reviews I had read before I went are absolutely correct, the hotel is in a great position in the old town . There was one thing I was slightly disappointed about was our ";sea view "; room , which you do pay extra for . Our room did lie slightly back from the sea front and out view was somewhat resticted . Also a good tip about the pool side bar , the prices for drinks etc are very expensive , go to a local supermarket and stock on those goodies , snacks , beers , and pay half the price .

My highlights of the holiday was a catamaran trip ( saw a huge school dolphins and two whales) , and the other was a guided walk to the highest peak on the Island .

Our first and last visit to Madeira. The hotel was first class with very clean and spacious rooms with towels and beds changed every day (and sweets left on your pillow). We had paid extra for a sea view which was well worth it. The breakfasts were excellent - English breakfast, cereal, toast, rolls, yoghurts, fresh fruits etc. The staff were very helpful and polite although we had to wait one hour before we could get into our room on arrival. We ate out of the hotel and found some very good restaurants and one or two not so good.

The thing that spoiled our holiday was the weather. The sun came out about 10am and disappeared again about 12am. We had about 4 days sun in total in 2 weeks - very disappointing.

Madeira is a very quiet place with not much to do at night. There is nothing for younger families and very little for young or middle aged couples. The whole place seemed to be full of the older generation.

As stated the hotel was excellent but we wouldn't recommend Madeira to anyone under retirement age.

Exellent holiday,1st visit.Weather could have been kinder,but February is a little early.The local eateries are very good,otapasol,El Gordo,Gavio Novo has limited table space but what a meal,and the staff are all up on practical jokes.If you find the portions to large,then visit MandJCaldeira,this is located down the promanade to the Beatles boat,put your back onto the boat and facing you across the main road is a wide pedestrian walk way,it is the first restaurant on the right,in blue,here you can get Half portions that are really good value.
I doubt that you could get a better location,or hotel in Funchal.the evening walks are on the flat and very relaxing.

This holiday lived up to our expectations, slightly ruined by the 4 hour delay leaving Bristol and the restricted sea view that we were allocated (ground floor side room). That did not detract from having a wonderful time. Overall, the hotel is excellent both in cleanliness, serviceability, facilities and friendly staff. There is a free internet facility in the foyer, regularly used by the Brits! We made good use of the pools and jacuzzi.

Although 2 weeks BandB, we did eat in the hotel on 3 occasions. Although the food was plentiful, you would get better outside, where you will find about 10 restaurants literally outside the hotel gates. Our favourite was Le Tapassol but I could not fault the food wherever we went. We experienced one reps trip but I personally would recommend others, incl. Strawberry World. Much cheaper and tend to travel on mini-buses instead of coaches. Also think about taxis!! We hired one for a morning and it only cost 45 euros (90 for the day) and they will take you anywhere at your leisure. This is the price, whether it is for 1, 2, 3 or 4 people. We have bought a time share (not from a tout). The hotel is one of four on the island and the timeshare element is at the Porto Mare complex. It is part owned by Thomas Cook. After some research, a bit of advice and thinking time, we signed on and I don't regret it for one moment.

If you like a relaxed atmosphere, then this hotel and location come highly recommended.

Hotel is wonderful, couldn't find a fault with it at all. Locals are very friendly and drivers are very patient and actually slow down when approaching pedestrian crossings! Lots of resaurants to choose from right outside the hotel and can recommend Le Jardin, O Tapassol and O Regional. Situation of the hotel helped to make this a good holiday as it was 'on the flat' and within walking distance of all attractions within Funchal centre.