Estalagem Da Ponta Do Sol

“Highly recommended; delightful hotel, delightful people.”

I have just spent five delightful days at Estalagem da Ponta do Sol, and can highly recommend the hotel. My room was comfortable and spotlessly clean, with a dramatic view over the ocean from its clifftop perch. There is a lift from the hotel down to ground level. Breakfast and dinner were very g… more

I have just spent five delightful days at Estalagem da Ponta do Sol, and can highly recommend the hotel. My room was comfortable and spotlessly clean, with a dramatic view over the ocean from its clifftop perch. There is a lift from the hotel down to ground level. Breakfast and dinner were very good, in a pleasant glass-walled restaurant with nice views over the village and ocean. All the staff were welcoming, cheerful, efficient and eager to please. The hotel provides a free shuttle to the start of various local levada walks, and free pick-up from the finish where necessary. I did three of these walks; they were delightful. Free shuttles are also provided to Funchal, Ribeira Brava and Calheta on most days. There are also several buses to and from Funchal, and an Uber car cost me 23 Euros one way. Less energetic, sun-worshipping guests are catered for with a very nice pool area. The grounds are beautifully landscaped, with plenty of comfortable seating around the gardens. There is a gym, and various spa offerings. I did not try these. There is a Friday-night 'musical' event of the techno/electronic type which may not appeal to everyone. I timed my stay to avoid this. Ponta do Sol is a pretty little village, with a cobbly beach and a few restaurants, but it will not occupy too much of your time. The village is however a good base for levada walks and exploring the western part of Madeira. I divided my holiday between Ponta do Sol and a Funchal hotel, and found this a good arrangement.

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“Cliff top splendour”

This hotel setting is incredible however be prepared to walk for ages and take up to three lifts to get to your room! Reception is after the lift from the car park entrance and is manned by good friendly professional staff. Breakfast is up one floor from there and was ok without being exceptional. … more

This hotel setting is incredible however be prepared to walk for ages and take up to three lifts to get to your room! Reception is after the lift from the car park entrance and is manned by good friendly professional staff. Breakfast is up one floor from there and was ok without being exceptional. The second lift takes you further up the cliff(with lovely gardens) , across a walkway and onto the third lift to the room. The room was a good size, functional,as was the bathroom. Both could do with a little tlc. Two single beds, pushed together, made the double. They were firm but relatively comfortable. Porto do Sol is very nice with a great array of good restaurants. We ate twice at the Caprice ,which was excellent. Parking is in a small narrow car park and is not nearly enough for all the guest rooms. Roadside parking is also available but on a road frequented by large truck traffic, through the day. Finally the views across the ravine and down to the sea are what makes this hotel stand out as do the sunsets which were amazing.

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“Almost perfect”

We had a the loveliest week at the Estalagem: super friendly staff, beautiful setting and gorgeous food made for incredibly relaxing surroundings. The 'garden view' room had a side sea view and despite being a light sleeper, I slept really well for the first 6 nights (there was some road noise and … more

We had a the loveliest week at the Estalagem: super friendly staff, beautiful setting and gorgeous food made for incredibly relaxing surroundings. The 'garden view' room had a side sea view and despite being a light sleeper, I slept really well for the first 6 nights (there was some road noise and the sound of the waves). I agree with other reviews that the interior looked a little worn in places (bathroom floor & furnishings, cracks in wooden floor) and some of the furniture appeared a little cheap (lamps, thinly disguised plastic chairs, balcony furniture). However, this didn't really bother us too much. When "Purple Friday" was announced we were initially curious despite the fact we don't particularly enjoy techno. But the reality of the event and how it was managed had more of an impact on our last day than we would have considered reasonable. Our last dinner was fairly noisy & chaotic with people getting lost on their way from reception to the pool area and the (otherwise lovely) kitchen struggling to cope with demand. Even the poor reception dog was visibly distraught and tried to hide at the kitchen door. A brief visit to the party tent was followed by a rather sleepless last night due to noise from the bar below late into the night and a sad goodbye the next morning to a pool area littered in fag ends. It was just such a disappointing end to an otherwise perfect stay which left us puzzled as to why the hotel hosts these curiously ill-placed events. I imagine that the degree of bother will largely depend on which rooms you're in - those facing the pool get a lot of the party action, those facing the bar get the later noise. Presumably the top building with SE facing rooms (4xx/5xx) is relatively unaffected. I'm still not sure what my overall verdict is. It was a perfect holiday until the last day. Would we visit again? Probably not on a Friday night if Purple Fridays are still on.

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“Stunning setting and design let down by poor service and a lack of attention to detail”

Stunning setting set in the cliff side and fabulous architectural design let down by poor service and the place being generally rundown. The hotel could be fabulous but when we stayed it was a mediocre experience with surly service and a lack of attention to detail. Rooms are fine (great sea view f… more

Stunning setting set in the cliff side and fabulous architectural design let down by poor service and the place being generally rundown. The hotel could be fabulous but when we stayed it was a mediocre experience with surly service and a lack of attention to detail. Rooms are fine (great sea view for those that have them) but basic and not very clean. Bathrooms are disappointing with very basic product. Everything just felt fun down and unloved. Poor broken beds by the pool with old cushions, for example. Cheap furniture elsewhere. Service was poor. We booked three sea view rooms six months in advance only to be told on arrival that one room was not available due to ‘a mistake’. No apology. And generally lack of inclination to help. Bright spot: an excellent breakfast.

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