| Holiday-Truth Readers Reports |
A & L Burgess from Thetford travelled to Porto Santa Maria Hotel with
Firsr Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the Porto Santa Maria Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment |  |
| said: This was our honeymoon. We booked a junior suite - well worth the money.
Separate lounge area with patio door on to the balcony which had its own sunbeds, table and chairs and seaview. The hotel was spotlessly clean and the breakfast was nice with a choice of continental or cooked.
Location great - plenty of shops and local restaurants right on the hotel's doorstop. The hotel staff were very friendly. There wasn't much entertainment in the evening but we didn't mind that as we ate out in the evenings at the local restaurants. Most evenings we had a 3 course meal and bottle of wine for £30. Although we are young (38 and 39!!)
I would not recommend Madeira as a family or young person's holiday. We wanted a week in which we could totally relax.
Click here for more information on this hotel, resort and region
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D.and M. Wilson from Falkirk Scotland travelled to Porto Santa Maria Hotel with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 03 2006 |
rated the Porto Santa Maria Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: My wife and I had a wonderful stay at the Porto Santa Maria Hotel.hotel last week. We found the hotel service to be near perfect. We had an excellent, well -appointed room with a fantastic sea view on the second floor, though most of the rooms appear to have a reasonable outlook anyway. Watching the liners come and go from the balcony is fascinating. The room was cleaned scrupulously each day and the hotel staff were friendly and polite. The breakfasts were more than adequate but sometimes if you were there at a busy time, you had to hang around a little for a table, especially if the weather was poor and the tables on the terrace outside not in demand. When the hotel management became aware that we were celebrating our wedding anniversary and a “big!” birthday, we were delighted to find that they had arranged a lovely bunch of flowers in the room and a bottle of wine to celebrate. In addition, they had noted the birthday date and delivered a birthday cake to our room that day! This is the kind of surprisingly thoughtful service that guests really appreciate.
The hotel clearly is in the perfect spot in Funchal, in the old town, with good facilities all around, and no hilly climbs involved. Much better than in the “hotel zone” though we did visit the Cliff Bay there, a sister hotel of the Porto Santa Maria. (This too was impressive, with lovely gardens and sumptuous lounges, even if the lunch was a bit over-priced).
There is an amazing number of high quality restaurants all within a 2 minute walk of the Porto Santa Maria. I would strongly recommend our favourite the Portao for overall service, atmosphere, quality and value, just round the back of the hotel towards the Fort. The chef there is also the owner, and it shows in the quality. We also had a super meal at the Estrela do Mar, near the gate entrance to the hotel (our second favourite), not the cheapest, but a good selection and great quality. Other good ones are O Tapassol and O Regional . If you want a Chinese meal, Grande Muralha was really nice. We were a little disappointed at the fairly standard fare and table congestion of the A Maralha, right at the hotel gate.
You certainly won’t go wrong staying at the Porto Santa Maria.
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Kathryn & Stuart from Trowbridge, Wilts travelled to Porto Santa Maria Hotel with
Independent
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 12 2005 |
rated the Porto Santa Maria Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment |  |
| said: We spent New Year 05/06 at Porto Santa Maria.
The hotel is one of the very few Funchal hotels which is not situated in the tourist area. This is a huge advantage because the tourist area is much further away from the town centre and seems to have no real character. Almost all rooms face the sea. They also have a basic kitchen which is good. Hotel was very clean and although the staff could have been politer, they spoke every language possible. Breakfast has a large selection, lunch is leftovers from last night's dinner and dinner is a large buffet or a la carte. We stayed in for dinner a couple of nights because it was convenient but preferred eating out. Lunch is better at one of the numerous cafes (great for people watching!) or at the hotel pool bar.
One bit of advice - don't take travellers cheques. The hotel charge 10% commission and although the guidebooks say banks are cheaper, the only bank in Funchal that changes them charges a flat rate of 26€. Each room has a safe so it's cheaper to take cash.
At 25 and 32, we sometimes felt out of place as it seemed we were the only people under the age of 50. We were travelling with my parents who have stayed there before so we expected it. It could've been a disappointing surprise if we weren't warned. Wouldn't recommend Funchal to young couples or families because of the slow pace of life and lack of action/facilities and beach.
If you can, go for New Year. The whole city is lit up with Christmas lights much better than anything you'd see in the UK and at midnight there is a fantastic display of fireworks all across the city which we watched from the hotel roof.
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Ken from Bristol travelled to Porto Santa Maria Hotel with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 11 2005 |
rated the Porto Santa Maria Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Excellent hotel with very helpful and friendly staff, I found it was the little extras that made the difference like an alarm in the bath if you needed it, but lets hope you don't. Sheets seemed to be changed everyday, sweets left for you. The whole hotel just made you feel relaxed.
The indoor pool and Jacuzzi were great and there is also a nice sauna that you have to book in advance (1 hour) at a cost of 4 Euro.
If you want a hotel to relax in and on the level with most of the attractions in Funchal this is the place for you.
We have stayed in the Hotel area before but this location is much better.
We found some nice places to eat just outside the hotel, avoid the ones on the main square apart from the Chinese which was very good another is in one of the smaller streets Gaviano Novo not very big but will cook it as you want it even with no Garlic another one to try but a bit more expensive is the one on the corner if you walk up with the Gaviano on your left, very nice steak with local entertainment.
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S Seagrove from Iver Heath travelled to Porto Santa Maria Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 04 2005 |
rated the Porto Santa Maria Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This must be one of the best hotels we have stayed in. A four star which could easily be 5 star.
Location in the old town is excellent, quiet but surrounded by really good restaurants and bars and within easy walk to the centre of Funchal.
The hotel itself is beautifully decorated, rooms very spacious (go for a sea view).
Staff friendly and courteous, couldn't do enough for you.
Exceptionally clean and excellent breakfast.
Can't wait to go back.
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Rhian Hughes from Porthmadog travelled to Porto Santa Maria Hotel with
Style
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2004 |
rated the Porto Santa Maria Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I have nothing but praise for this hotel. Ideally located in the old town only a few minutes walk from the restaurants and very quiet.
Go for the junior suite well worth the extra, enormous balcony with sun beds, sea view, king size bed, kitchen, lounge, great bathroom, toiletries and beach towels supplied.
Both indoor and outdoor pools were warm and clean. Well equipped fitness room and a large jacuzzi.
The breakfast was buffet style, all you could eat, fresh fruit salds fruit juices coffee cooked breakfast even bucks fizz!
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Roger Hooton from Swindon UK travelled to Porto Santa Maria Hotel with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2004 |
rated the Porto Santa Maria Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: A good hotel in excellent location (in the Old Town), which is only short walk to shops and even shorter to some good restaurants. I recommend the Chinese just around the corner with its excellent fresh produce and service!
Porto Santa Maria Hotel is modern, unpretentious and represents good value for money. The rooms are large enough, and above all exceptionally clean, Unfortunatly the beds were as hard as a rock! Do not book a room with out a sea view as the hotel is situated right next to the sea and the outlook is just great!
The indoor and outdoor pools are clean, well maintained but are very shallow with no deep ends. The buffet breakfast is very good and you will be spoilt for choice (mind you, there is always some idiot who wants something not provided).
The drinks and food served are not at rip off prices and I believe that the staff could be on the friendlier side. All in all a very good hotel to stay at which caters for adults who want a quiet place to unwind and soak up the sun
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Lilian Ritch from Edinburgh travelled to Porto Santa Maria Hotel with
Thomson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Porto Santa Maria Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This is an excellent hotel, all staff very friendly and helpful. The pool area was was so relaxing and very clean. We really cannot think of anything to say against this hotel, we believe it is one of the best we have stayed in anywhere and will certain think of going back sometime.
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John Burgess from Richmond, Surrey travelled to Porto Santa Maria Hotel with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2004 |
rated the Porto Santa Maria Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This is the only large hotel in the 'Old Zone', and is much better placed that the hotels in the hotel zone at the other end of Funchal. 2 minutes walk to the Bus Station and Cable Car, 3 minutes walk to the Market. It is very peaceful as the road does not go past the hotel. The room was wonderful. We booked a Junior Suite and had an enormous bedroom with a King-size bed, living room, kitchen area and bathroom with bath, shower, toilet and bidet, plus free toiletries replenished every day. Beach towels are provided also. There was a bottle of Champagne on ice in the room when we arrived, and a bouquet of exotic flowers were delivered to the room, courtesy of the Hotel. The hotel has great indoor and outdoor pools. Breakfast is served in the dining room, but you can eat outside on the terrace if you prefer. The staff were very friendly and helpful, and organised our car hire with no problems at all.
All in all a fabulous place to stay
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Julia Soffe from Portslade, East Sussex travelled to Porto Santa Maria Hotel with
Eclipse
on a couples holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2003 |
rated the Porto Santa Maria Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel - Porto Santa Maria, Funchal.
This is a superb hotel in a great location, close to the town centre, markets, and cable car. Great views from our balcony, we especially liked watching the cruise liners coming in to Funchal Harbour, just along the shore.
Our room was excellent, and we especially liked having a fully equipped kitchen area, great for preparing a snack to eat on our balcony at lunch time.
You could do full-on self-catering if you wanted to. The indoor pool was excellent, with a great jacuzzi, but if I had a small criticism it was the outdoor pool, which was quite small and shallow at both ends, with a rather gritty surround, which stuck to your feet.
Breakfasts were great, but evening meals not always quite so good. We will certainly go back to this hotel, but perhaps next time bed and breakfast, and eat out in the evenings, as there are plenty of good restaurants on the doorstep.
We went up to where most of the other hotels are situated, but were very glad we chose this hotel, the location is far better.
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