Estalagem Do Mar Hotel

What can you say about the Do Mar? It may have been a good hotel once, but that was probably about ten years ago. Everything about the place looks tired. The décor is dated, the pool area is scruffy, and many of the the furnishings need replacing. Having said that, our ground floor room was very large and comfortable, with a three-piece suite, refrigerator, and a view that was nothing short of spectacular. However, the bathroom smelt of drains, the hair drier was broken, as was the loo seat, and on our last day we discovered water dripping through the ceiling from the room above. We understand that this hotel is offering all-inclusive for the first time this season. This needs rethinking. The hard-working (unsmiling) staff are overwhelmed because there simply aren't enough of them to cope with the new regime, and the facilities to provide a good all-in service are sorely lacking. The food, at best, is average. (There are some excellent restaurants within walking distance, though) If you want a cheap, quiet, holiday in a spectacularly beautiful location you may be prepared to put up with the deficiencies of this hotel, but if you want a genuine four-star experience you won't find it here.

Good place to chill out, relaxing location, good clean air. Hotel staff excellent, food average although lunch time menu better. Good restaurant nearby. Weather unpredictable due to mountains! No night life. But excellent place for a rest. Indoor swimming pool a bonus. If you want to get around Madeira a car is essential, very infrequent bus service.

We booked an all inclusive deal advertised on Travelzoo through Hotelsbooked. Easy Jet flights and transfers were included for £299 each. The hotel is in a lovely setting although if you're looking for a base which provides more to do stay in Funchal. Hiring a car would be a good idea from here, we did go to Funchal by bus but the departure times are inconvenient and travel times vary from 50mins to 2 and a half hours!! The rooms are of a good size but are dated and the decor tired. Each day we tried to close the curtains they came off the rails. All rooms have a sea view but ours had a very small balcony. Take your own hairdryer as the one supplied is of very poor quality and power. There is no fridge or tea & coffee making facilities or mini bar either. Our main problem was the food - quality and selection was atrocious. Breakfast was buffet style but juice was actually squash and cereals of poor quality (bran flakes, corn flakes or chocolate Flakes) A toaster which done six pieces a time was supposed to be used by everyone eating at the time. Lunch was a set three course menu if desired or something lighter from the snack menu. Evening meal again buffet style but one meat, one fish, one potatoes, one or two veg and occasionally a pasta. Desserts all cheap & cheerful - choc mousse, ice cream, blancmange. Expect to wait ages or have to ask for drinks with your meal and dont expect your plates to be cleared between courses. If you wish to catch the bus to funchal for the day they will not provide you with any drink or breakfast before you go as its before serving time. Picnic lunches are available if you're out for the day (sandwiches, fruit and a glass bottle of drink you need a bottle opener to get into!!). On all inclusive you cannot have any drinks in the bar after 10pm unless you pay for them or ice cream during the day. Also if you don't want the 3 course lunch ask for a toasted sandwich and thats fine but ask for chips too and thats a definate NO. I will be contacting Hotelsbooked re this. We met a group of vegetarians who were really struggling with the food. There is no entertainment not even background music. Bar service exceptionally slow. An interesting point in the Berlitz travel guide Estalagem is actually an inn not a hotel and this is certainly not a 4* anything.

We went to this hotel because we were offered a very good all-inclusive deal with Travelzoo. The hotel had a wonderful location right on the sea shore and the surroundings were beautiful, BUT we were unable to use the bar at all because you needed to be able to climb about 14 steps without proper handrails and there was no access by lift. We were lucky and had a lovely large ground floor room complete with 3 piece suite and fridge, but most rooms were just standard size without a fridge or minibar. Not all rooms were accessible by lift. There was no information in the hotel room about the amenities in the hotel and you relied on other guests to tell you about what was available. Both pools were very cold and the shallow end was 1.4 metres, not much good if you are only 5 foot!! The sauna was lovely provided you found out how to turn it on and the jacuzzi was great. The hotel is very isolated and really you need a car as although there are bus stops outside the hotel the buses were infrequent to say the least, the bus to Funchal was at 6.30am, 7.30am and 1pm!! The food lacked inspiration and some became monotonous, the vegetables were so overcooked you didn't need to chew anything apart from the meat which often took a lot of chewing. The staff were generally very helpful and friendly, and with just a few adjustments this could be a really good place to stay.

What a great hotel. Starting with the room bright, airy, spotlessly clean with a fantastic view. I booked the hotel through travelzoo and what a bargain! We went All Inclusve for £349 incl of transfers. The hotel is in a fantastic location with a great range of facilities on site and jsut 300 metres from the bars, restaurants & shops. The pools are lovely and there is no fighting for sunbeds! The quality of the food is 10/10 as is the choice. All the staff were friendly and polite and were always there to help. I seriously could not find fault with this hotel. I will definetly be returning.

Welcoming reception staff,particularly as we arrived very late due to car hire problems. Reasonable room, although it smelled musty, decoration throught the hotel was dated. The bathroom, however, although clean smelled dreadfully of drains. We commmented on this to Reception the next morning who promised to look into the problem. Nothing appeared to have been done by the time we returned from a day out. Again this was reported to Reception who promised to have the cleaning staff look into it. On our return the room smelled very strongly of disinfectant but by the next morning the smell had returned. We had a call from our booking agent who said she would report it on our behalf. Still no result. By this time we had only two days left of our break. It was reported again and after three attempts by us and one by our agent the problem appeared to have been dealt with, on the last night of our holiday! The pool areas were very good with plenty of sunbeds in both areas. Breakfast was mainly good and plentiful and the staff in the restaurant were very good. The A la Carte menu was quite expensive but the Table d'Hote menu with four courses represented very good value at 15 euros per person. The barman seemed to be running out of stock by the end of our visit (no lemonade and no cappuccino). The position of the hotel is excellent. With all the rooms facing the sea there was no traffic noise from the road running very close to the front of the building. Parking spaces were fairly limited and a bit tricky to negotiate.

We stayed here with two teenage/older children in April which is just before high season.The staff were very helpful at checkin, and on reception, even when we changed rooms twice after the first night due to ants in one room and musty smell in the other. The hotel is clean but dated, the bathrooms have been renovated but the rooms have been done 'on the cheap'. The carpets etc are new but it is let down by things like the fittings which are v.dated and curtain rails that do not run. The waves are always there in the background and could become annoying if you are a light sleeper! The views are spectacular,the breakfast is abundant but not top quality,the indoor pool area is good , gym looks a bit tired but the tennis court is in good condition,( the raquets provided are rubbish though). Overall the staff are friendly and the hotel is clean but the whole experience is a bit patchy, not 4 star by any means. Local family restaurants within 5 mins walk are very good quality and value, we ate there every night as there is a choice of 4 or 5. Looking back the hotel offers very good value and if you have a car the island is easily accessible. Just don't expect the Ritz!!

I cant recommend visiting Madeira enough! It was a beautiful island with amazing views, and amazing walks! Just a perfect treasure island setting for you to explore. Staying in Sao Vicente was excellent as it is nice and central for exploring the island by car - do get a car! Some of the roads are a bit scary and narrow, but go slow and be careful and its fine. Estalegem do mar is a very nice hotel, and is excellent value. The things I felt were excellent were the staff - very helpful and nice, the setting and views from the hotel were fantastic, evening meals were lovely and reasonably priced. The pool, sauna and jacuzzi was very nice - and it was good having the option to go indoors or outdoors to swim. The rooms were adequate - not fantastic, but clean and spacious. The beds and pillows could have been more comfortable, and the room could have been furnished in a modern way. There was just the slightest mell of must. The breakfast was nice, but did not have the type of selection expected from a four star hotel, nor the quality...but it was pleasant and the restaurant area is nice for sitting and watching the sea. I would definitely go back however!!!

we stayed here over christmas for 10 days, and on arrival the staff didnt know what they were doing, there was no lift to our area of the hotel (only approx 20 rooms the lift catered for) neither no porter to help us with our luggage. we got into our room and it was so damp. Then came to the indoor swimming pool and jacuzzi which were both freezing, there were exposed wires. The bar man had many roles, the bar man, the maintainance man, head waiter... no man could cope with this many jobs. The internet didnt work once over the 10 days and noone was called to fix it, even tho we did ask. Breakfast no selection of food, same stuff out everyday no jam or spread, and you have to lay your own table. Dinner no vegetarian option and had to choose from 3 different SET meals, no choice. The desert came over on a trolley and they didnt change, the same ones kept coming out day after day. no entertainment, not anything to do at night as you are in the middle of nowhere...there should be some entertainment. THIS IS NOT A 5* AS THEY SAY BUT 4* OVER HERE......MY OPINION DO NOT GO A WASTE OF MONEY

We stayed at this hotel for 7 nights from 28th Feb. 2008. It is situated in the North of the island of Madeira, about 45 mnutes by car from Funchal Airport. There are very few beaches in Madiera and this area is no exception. The hotel room balcony looked across to the towns of Sexial and Porto Moniz. As we were only 30 metres away from the sea, the sound of the crashing surf was rather relaxing. The hotel was classed as 4 star, however, with all that salt in the air it was looking a little tired in places. The view was 5 star, we loved it. Each night we ate in the hotel. The food was good quality, particularly the meat and fish. Some meals were a little bland. A Table de Hote menu was only 14 euros each for 4 courses - great value. The hotel offers significant discounts out of season. The only minor critisisms would be that:- 1/ one of the glass double glazed panels in the window was frosted with condensation; 2/ when you closed the door, you had to slam it. A quiet close system would be best for all guests and 3/ the room was a little musty. Would we stay again, YES definitely. Great value, good food, fantastic location and efficient service.