“We'll be going back (again)”

This is a charming hotel. There are 10 rooms in the hotel, eight of which have a sea view. the view is stunning. sitting out on our balcany we watched dolphins and whales out to sea 500 metres below, glad we brought our binoculars. Continental brekky is included in the price and we found this very reasonable and filled us up till late afternoon. Lots of toast and fresh fruit salad. The restaurant is very good, the food and service is of a very high standard. beef on skewers, tuna steak, pork in red wine and garlic. Delicious. The hotel is abour 1 hour from the airport and you will need to hire a car to get about. It is situated on the main road between Santana and Sao Vincente, bot of which are worth a days visit. There is a small swimming pool and sun loungers. All of the people at this hotel during our stay were walkers so during the day they were all out plodding along the lavadas and we had the pool and the sun loungers to ourselves. A very quiet hotel. In the evening, after we had a good meal in the resteraunt we retired to the games room to watch the TV (German) or have a game of pool. There are also a few books that you can read that people have left behind.

“Wonderful location”

Beautiful views of the sea, the mountains and the surrounding woods. Charming cottages, very peaceful. As long as you have a car, this is the perfect place to explore Madeira from. I highly recommend it.

“STUNNING LOCATION!!”

The hotel is charming...the cabanas' style is unique (therefore offers you more privacy then the usual rooms) ...the staff is extremely friendly...the breakfast is various and generous...the food's quality is very good...but nothing is as stunning as the view of the northern coast: spectacular!!! It is the best location for people who like tranquility and peace, who really love the fragrant aromas of the flowers, the vibrant colors of the lush vegetation, the astonishing view of the Ocean...for people who just want to relax somewhere off the beaten track.

“quiet break”

This hotel is perfect for the traveller interested in the flora and fauna of Madeira. Most of the other guests were on walking breaks either independent or with organised groups. We were there in the school easter holidays the weather was unpredicatable, (it was overcast and rainy at times) so if you were not on a walking holiday there was not a lot to so in the complex. A hire car was great and we saw lots then.

“Good Value Lower Priced Accomodation”

We found the hotel very clean and the staff helpful.You do need to have independant transport to enjoy a stay but the road from the airport is mainly easy driving.The restaurant menu is limited but good value and tasty.The situation is spectacular and the surrounding agricultural community well worth exploring.Unfortunately the bed was very hard but this doesn't appear to be unusual for hotels of a similar standard in Madeira!If you do not want to pay a fortune for your hotel this one provides peaceful accomodation in very pretty grounds and is a perfectly comfortable base for the north side of the island.

“Not that impressed”

We found the hotel overpriced when compared to others of a similar standard in the island. Basicaly you are paying for the privaledge of staying in a circular concrete box with a conical roof in which the facilities were adequate. The location is good & the gardens well kept. The service from the staff was excellent, but the food was poor & overpriced.

“An interesting place to stay.”

This hotel is somewhat quirky in design with most of the guests staying in round houses in the grounds. The location means that the views are spectacular. The place feels like it has seen better days and felt distinctly out of season in November. The restaurant is OK but for us ran out of steam after a couple of evening visits. There is nothing else within easy distance from the hotel so we tended to have a meal out at lunchtime and then snack in the evening. The bar has a good range of food and drinks should you want to do this. During the day, the bar and shop operate as a fairly popular tourist attraction which may not be to everyone's taste. Its about an hours drive to Funchal (45 minutes to the Airport) and the drive is relatively easy once you get to Santana. The location is good for exploring the North coast although the drive to the west is quite challenging as the tunnel builders haven't reached this part of Madeira yet. We saw some spectacular scenery that we probably would have missed if we had stayed in Funchal.

“Lovely north coast”

We were pleased to be on the spectacular north coast away from the congestion around Funchal, but the road is narrow and difficult, especially for British drivers. The hotel was nice but needed to repair a lot of water damage to all the buildings from moisture/condensation build up. The climate is always humid, but there was no ventilation anywhere and evidence of mildew and plaster degradation was widespread. Everything was very clean but there was still a smell of mildew in all the buildings. Being winter it was quite chilly and there was no central heating anywhere. Our room had only a portable electric radiator which was not sufficient even though we left it on constantly. Perhaps because of all the moisture the bed constantly felt clammy. The food in the restaurant was very tasty, well-prepared, and well-presented. This would be a great place if they fixed the moisture problems and if one could see the view from the rooms.

“OUT OF THE WAY AND MIDDLE OF NOWHERE”

This hotel is away from everything. If you travel to this hotel you will need to hire a car, as the local bus service only runs a few times a day, and journeys are long and tiresome. Taxis are expensive. There is little to do anywhere close to the site so be prepared for lots of travel. The hotel is fine, friendly and the food good. The onsite bar is good but closes at 10pm, the pool is tiny and the boiler was broken when I visited, and so was cold. The place is fine if you want to get away from everthing, but if you are looking for facilities nearby, then do not bother as you will be disapointed.

“Very dissappointed”

The hotel apprears to be 45 km from Funchal (that was a surprise!), and the only way you can travel is to hire a car, other than if you are prepared to spend approx. 2.5 hours in the bus to Funchal and the last bus leaving Funchal at 6pm. So most of the nights we were stuck with the hotel restaurant where the food (but not wine) was ok but the restaurant was unpredictable in terms of been kept open because of not having customers.