Hotel Dom Pedro Baia Reviews

The room we've got was excelent (including the seaview). The hotel is on a walking distance from the village Machico. Due to the recent renovation, the confort was really at high standards. The staff itself was really competent.

A good base if you want to see another part of Madeira.

The hotel is let down by the food quality. It is far better to eat out in the local restuarants.

Staff are lovely and the hotel is very handy for the airport.

The location to the beach and transport links was better than expected. The staff were very accommodating, and there was plenty going on. The room we stayed in was a double with an amazing view from 8th floor. Large windows with lovely views across Machico bay. Simply furnished with wicker furniture, and terracota tiled floors. Food above average for the 'all inclusive' type of hotel with good choice, even for vegetarians. Fish dishes are the mainstay but a wide coice of cakes available for desert. The hotel offers entertainment every night and room to dance. You have to sign for all drink bought, as part of the all inclusive deal, but it did not seem to hold up orders that much and I very rarely had to queue. Overall is was a good hotel, reasonably satisfied.

Stayed in Don Pedro for a week in September on All inclusive basis. The hotel is Very clean, in a very good location in Machico Madeira. There was enough food on offer to cater for everybody’s needs, & due to the varied Nationalities staying there, the selection on offer was very good. The hotels position & location was excellent for a walk onto the beach & into Machico. The evening entertainment was varied and also good. Did not take advantage of any daytime activities/facilities, but I would expect that these would have been good. I would visit again. The overall impression was good.

The hotel restaurant was okay, with a decent selection of hot and cold food. Breakfasts are extremely busy, the food on offer soon gets repetitive. Lunch and dinner were better, with a selection of rice, pasta, potatoes, a meat dish, a fish dish, a vegetarian dish, various salad and breads, and good choice of deserts. However, food quickly became repetitive and choice was limited- once again not 4 star quality in my opinion. But both my girlfriend and i ate well all week!

The swimming pool area is small but a nice place to spend a day sun bathing. Other hotel facilities are average- pool table, ping pong, darts. A little old fashioned.

However, the hotel cannot be faulted on its location. It overlooks the beatfiul bay of Machico, which is literally on your door step. Walk out of the hotel and you are a few steps away from the sea. Great views and scenery, and a few minutes walk from the lovely man-made beach and harbour. The airport is less than a 10 minute drive away from the hotel which was great.

This is a really old hotel but a very good one nevertheless. The hotel offered very good leisure activities, also the competence of the staff in their ability to communicate in other languages was well above par, in fact it was excellent. The staff had been very well trained in how to handle guest complaints. The atmosphere and the furnishings in the dining and bar areas were above average. There was a good assortment of food and drinks. The leisure activity offer was certainly sufficient. The quality of the pool was very acceptable. Kids facilities are good. The amenities and the furnishings in the room of Hotel Dom Pedro Baia were quite pleasant.

A quiet place, not much in the way of nightlife but there are enough bars, restaurants and shops to keep you entertained. Stayed in the Dom Pedro Baia Club Hotel which overlooks the beach of Machico Bay, it’s an old hotel but the rooms are clean and comfortable just make sure you get a room with a balcony. Food is ok but the choice is fairly limited. Leisure facilities are excellent and there’s a separate pool for children. The resort is surrounded by lots of nature, it offers a superb base for walking. Would return to Machico on the basis that it’s be best place to stay to explore the east side of the island.

Very impressed with this hotel and Machico. Ideally located to explore the east side of the island and very friendly staff. Food is fantastic, local traditional dishes always popular and with reason.

Our party consisted of four (53, 65, 67 and 80). We stayed in the Club Rooms on the ground floor as they were the only ones with a balcony and tea/coffee. Absolutely fantastic views over Machico Bay. We were also delighted to find out that a man-made beach with sand from Morocco had been built during September 2008. What a brilliant bay with a yacht/fishing marina, man made beach suitable for kids and proper surfing for body-boards or surfboards - all split into three equal areas. Well away from the noisy and built up area of Funchal. With quick and efficient staff at the hotel and basic but a reasonable buffet choice to enable everyone to eat and drink all day - we could not have asked for better. Drinks would have been expensive if we had not gone all inclusive. Our 80 year old was given a birthday cake on a reserved dining table and also a bottle of champagne in her room. Well done this hotel. We would all love to go back!

Hotel was clean & staff very friendly who worked there socks off a credit to the hotel.Food was plentiful although the main course was limited with just 1 fish & 1 meat alternative,not ideal for children though, but you could request chips if they didn't like main meals,desserts are out of this world though.Room was a fair size but was in dire need of air conditioning most nights uncomfortable to sleep.Entertainment wasn't the best just singers covering a variety of tunes, being polite.We were lucky to be there when the festival was on as the second week the town resembled a ghost town,not the ideal place for children or if your looking for a lively resort so nice if you like peace & quiet.Pool was fine & pretty easy to get a sunbed.Buses were frequent into Funchal where there is a better choice although the journey could be a bit hairy.Would go there again but only if they invested in air con & only for a week when the festival is on(1st week in August).Would recommend going there but only for a week.

Like many others, we saw the Dom Pedro advertised as a newspaper special offer from Atlantic Holidays. We went at the cheapest time available, in early December.

The transfer at the airport was very efficient, bags seemed to be off the plane before the passengers and we were soon at the Dom Pedro in the early afternoon. As others have commented, the hotel is strung out along the length of the main road with some shops, coffee shops and restaurants on the other side. There's not much else in Garajau so for most things you'll need to get the bus into Funchal. The hotel reception has all the bus times and they're very frequent and cheap. Stay on the bus until it gets to the terminus (near the cable car) then you'll know where to get it from to go back to Garajau.

The rep from Atlantic was very efficient and there were plenty of tours available. I'd recommend the Island tour (take the meal option, with it). We also went on a half day leavada walk.
It's worth visiting the spectacular Eira do Serrado viewpoint to see the 'Valley of the Nuns'. You can get a bus there from Funchal - you can't miss where to get off because the bus makes a special detour to get there and then returns back the way it came. It carries on down to the Valley of the Nuns and you have plenty of time to see the views before catching the same bus back again.

The room we had was very nice, with a patio facing the pool. There was a TV but the only english programme available was Sky News which got a bit repetitive after a while. I understand that some rooms have self catering facilities instead of the TV.
Breakfast was buffet style, a good selection of cereals, hot food, fruit, toast etc. It was about 5 minute walk to the breakfast area from our room (in block 5), a pleasant stroll through the gardens.
There were a good selection of restaurants nearby. Our favourite was the Vista Mar which is down the bottom of the hill and turn left. The food was excellent, particularly the espetada, and we got a complementary glass of Madeira at the end. The food at the Neptune was also good value and a bit different from the norm. The hotel bar has a 'happy hour' early in the evening and the jug of sangria was good value. The supermarket over the road has wine and beer if you prefer to drink in your room.

December is a nice time to visit Madeira. It's not too hot, never really shorts weather, nice for getting around and seeing the island which is spectacular. The Christmas lights in Funchal are a 'must' so make sure that you go in one evening. There are plenty of eating places in the Old Town near the bus terminus.

We liked Madeira and will definitely return with some stout boots to do some of the levada walks - maybe in the spring. The island is spectacular, the people friendly. Atlantic Holidays were also very good, one of the best we have ever travelled with, and as far as we are concerned they offer a standard of service to which most other holiday companies should aspire.

A beautiful island with very friendly people. The staff at the hotel were helpful and efficient. The all inclusive menu was varied, usually with one fish dish per meal, though plenty to choose from. Bar staff were efficient and pleasant, and the evening entertainment varied and on the whole good. It is worthwhile taking the organised trips available, though another good option is taxi hire for the day at around 80 euros. We had an excellent driver ' Number 1 precedent' who showed us places that we would have never got to by the mini buses used for organised tours. The weather in October was excellent, with just a couple of rain showers overnight, and daytime temperatures adequate for sunbathing, but not too hot to walk around.

October is maybe not the best month to visit the gardens in Funchal, as most of the floral displays seem to have died back, but still well worth a walk round. Overall, definetly worth another visit to do all the things we couldnt fit into a fortnight. Maybe next time the Big Game fishing will get a look in and a better chance to go whale watching.

Atlantic holidays are one of the most professional and organised outfits that we have travelled with. Their reps are locals fluent in English and seem to have everything covered. We booked a couple of trips with the rep - the full island tour which is excellent, Madeira is very scenic and the trip includes a bottle of good wine and a very good three course meal. The boat rip on the Santa Maria was worth it for the novelty value, but like most boat trips there is little cover from the sun unless you shelter below deck.

The resort of Garajau is dominated by the Dom Pedro hotel which is a series of six blocks, each 3 stories high. The hotel pretty much runs the length of the main street so that the view from any of the restaurants on the opposite side of the road is the hotel walls. Shame really because the sea views from the room balconies are nice.

I agree with the sentiment expressed by others about the hotel. On th up side, you can't fault the cleanliness ans security and the staff are excellent. we didn't see any flaking paint, but the hotel is obviously of it's time and could do with modernising - particularly when it comes to air conditioning. Temperatures in the day were around 28c but we had one or two sticky nights in the room that could only be relieved by opening the balcony windows. Problem is you then get eaten alive by mosquitos. Nine bites each in one night - we managed to get this down to two per night by dowsing each other in mozzy repellant. Found a couple of cockroaches in the room despite being on the third floor. And yes, as reported elsewhere, a few wealthier residents at the back of the hotel own packs of dogs which can be a noise nuisance in the middle of the night if you have the doors open.

The only other negative is the amount of traffic outside the hotel. The population of Madeira is 100,000 and everyone seems to have a car - essential I suppose as the island is so steep that lugging shopping up and down hill in the sunshine is a non starter. We played a game whilst sitting in the restaurants betting on how long a vacant parking space would last - 15 seconds at the most, more normally 5. The fumes are noticeable in the rush periods.

To sum up, Madeira is great, people, food, wine, Atlantic Holidays. The hotel is fine if you get a good deal but if you want a guaranteed good nights sleep after a day in the sun, look elsewhere.

We fancied a bit of late winter sun, so at the last minute found this holiday on the net via Atlantic Holidays. We were a bit sniffy about the concept of a package holiday, having been ";independent"; travellers for years now. We steeled ourselves to put up with a bit of tackiness, pressure to go on trips etc, and timeshare touts, in return for convenience and value.

How wrong we were!
We were met at the airport by a couple of friendly, polite Atlantic staff who got us on the right coach without fuss - none of the hassle we have on our usual holidays.

Dom Pedro was either the first or second drop-off, so we were soon in our room at the hotel. Wow, what a view! We had expected a concrete jungle, but our room looked out over colourful gardens, over tiled rooftops and through palm trees to the blue sea beyond. Things were looking up.

We had read several internet accounts of rooms being distant from the main part of the hotel. Well, yes, the Dom Pedro is a bit strung out - though that means that all the rooms as far as we could see have a sea view. But even the furthest room was no more than 4 minutes walk from the main block. NB Garajau itself is a bit drab - not a resort then, merely a location for the hotel. this is the only real negative I can think of.

Next on the agenda was the ";welcome"; talk from Rita Abreu, one of the two airport greeters. We readied ourselves for a hard sell, but thought we would go anyway, just in case.
I have to say we learned so much in that 40-odd minutes - how the local and island bus system works, how much to pay for a taxi, tips on must-sees. And Rita was cheerful and enthusiastic about her island throughout. Looking back, it was an essential foundation for our holiday in Madeira. And the time-share bit from Ritas colleague was all of three minutes long, with no pressure at all.

Some commentators have suggested the food was lacking. Maybe Sue and I have a less-developed palate, or lower expectations, but we enjoyed our breakfasts every morning immensely, especially when we sat outside on the morning-sun-swathed sheltered terrace.

One last bit of sniffines (you would think we had learned by now but no). On one of tha later evenings we were too tired to go to Funchal, so wandered into the hotel bar to find that Madeiran folk-dancing was about to start. We sat as far back as possible, fearing Butlins-type antics. How silly. The dancers were obviously thoroughly enjoying themselves, as did everyone who was plucked to join in.
Very colourful, very lively, great fun.

Our musts: hire a car and tour the island, but only if you are a confident driver. We hired a motor-bike too - even better. Levadas offer spectacular but easy walking - though beware if you lack a head for heights. And they are not cluttered with the safety rails you would find in Britain.
Swimming in the volcanic rock-pools as the sun set at Porto Moniz was surreal.
The volcanic caves at Sao Vincente are atmospheric and well-presented. The Whaling Museum at Canical was refreshingly non-PC.
The restaurants of Funcahl were charming

Madeirans are happy, relaxed, and lovely people.

We have many other places we want to visit. But we will return to Madeira. And when we do, we will book with Atlantic Holidays and stay at the Dom Pedro.

This was our first holiday on the island of Madeira. We'd read about how it was especially suited to the over 50s (quiet, civilised, respectful, laid-back) and so we decided to try a week with Atlantic Holidays.

We actually bought the holiday about 4 months previously through Last Minute.com and got a pretty good price (£280 each). But a word of warning: unlike other holiday companies who ask for a deposit up front and the final balance 8 weeks prior to departure, Last Minute debited my account for the full amount immediately and without a word of warning. Nice little earner, guys!

To summarise: the organisation of the flights, transfers and tours was excellent (well done Atlantic); Madeira is a great little island to visit if you like steep hills, steep cliffs, steep and beautiful gardens, friendly people, top quality food and wine, great shopping, good weather and rocks instead of beaches; as for the hotel, well,it was barely average for a 3 star, but nothing more (and keep a look out for cockroaches).

We flew out and back with First Choice from East Midlands. Punctual both ways, and reasonable legroom. Meals were ropey though, not a patch on Excel.

Madeira is awe-inspiring. After endless hours of flat grey Atlantic ocean below us, suddenly there was Madeira rearing up steeply out of the sea. And it is bursting with life. So many houses jam-packed one on top of the other up the agonisingly steep hillsides! It rains here and the villas all have tiled roofs and tiny gardens bursting with flowers.

Dom Pedro Hotel is a linear development that runs for about a quarter mile alongside a busy road. Allow at least 10 minutes to get from your room to the restaurant and reception areas! The rooms are, well, similar to the reception staff..tired is the best description. We found a cockroach in the room and they did respond rapidly the next day with a thorough disinfestation. But why wait for problems?

We ate only breakfast in the hotel, eating out for all our lunches and dinners. Probably a good thing as many of the other guests to whom we spoke didn't rate the dinners very highly. There are at least 5 good restaurants all within easy walking distance of the hotel. Try the one at the very top end of the long row of shops opposite the very top end of the hotel.... their suckling pig with black beans was awesome.

It rained on and off for our first two days and after that, the sun shone almost all day; hot enough for sunbathing too. Not like the Canaries though, more of a pleasant summer's day in the UK but in early December!

You must tour the whole island to appreciate the sheer variety of its appeal. We went on four trips altogether; expensive but well worth it, they were organised by the Atlantic rep. The guides were incredibly knowledgeable and informative - especially Lena, the blonde bombshell with a wicked sense of humour. The best tour covered the whole island including the fertile and heavily populated arable eastern end, the wild and windswept north, the stark and rocky west and the warm, mild south-west with its tiny and rather pointless man-made beach of imported golden sand at Calheta(most of which was washed away in a storm shortly after it was laid).

Here's our top 5 trips:-
1. Tour of the island
2. Cable car from Funchal to Monte and the tropical gardens
3. Xmas lights in Funchal
4. Porto Moniz on the island's north coast
5. Lunch up in the mountains at a restaurant near Encumeada

Madeira and Britain are both islands. But there the similarity ends. The local Madeirans are incredibly proud of theirs - something rarely seen in ";rip-off Britain";, not surprising though. They love their capital, Funchal, and all their villages are spotless. Unlike British local councils, the Madeiran versions find the money for fantastic Christmas lights and scrupulously clean streets.

Yes, that holiday was well worth the cost and yes we shall be going back this year to walk a levada or two (you can't cover everything in a week)! Oh and the other reviewers are absolutely right about the bus drivers; they love the challenge of taking a rickety bus at 50 mph around narrow hairpin bends at the very edge of cliffs that drop vertically hundreds of feet onto the jagged rocks below. The solution? Close your eyes and be grateful that Madeira is civilised enough to operate a decent, reliable public transport system. Or hire a car and take the motorway route into town.