Orca Praia

The hotel is a little way out of Funchal, but I found this actually added to the attraction of the place. It is built into the cliffs with the reception/bar at the top and the rooms below. The restaurant is on the -9th floor and swimming pool one lower still - although there is still a walk once you get off one of the three elevators. Not perhaps a place for those with walking difficulties. There is a courtesy bus to Funchal and plenty of taxis around. The car park is relatively small and built on a slope so parking can be tricky. Rooms are spacious and have large balconies with splendid sea views. The bathroom/shower is large and there is plenty of hanging space. Cleanliness is not a problem here. Meals in the hotel are done on a buffet style. For breakfast there is the usual continental items but there are also a choice of hot items...bacon, spicy suasage, eggs of different styles etc. I suppose if you were to be really picky, you could say that the main meals in the evening were similar each night but they were very good value at between 40 and 47 euros for two people including a bottle of wine. I did hear a couple of complaints about the staff, but I can honestly say that I personally found them helpful and courteous. There is some free entertainment in the bar most evenings but I must say that I found the resident singer??? not that good.

We had a very enjoyable stay in the Orca Praia. The rooms are spacious, clean and serviced daily. Public areas are also of a good standard. Restaurant (buffet service) was very good with many choices including salads and some fresh fruit. Staff are courteous and friendly if not over-attentive. Location is very scenic and quiet with all rooms sea-facing and with balconies. Pool looked very clean though we did not use it and believe the water was cold. Sea bathing is possible on the beach. Only adverse points are quite a few steps down to the pool & beach and climb up from reception to road. No problem at all to normally fit people. Local service buses are efficient and cheap and run a regular service, though intervals of 1 hour or so are usual for the main bus company (There are others). Tickets to Funchal can be obtained at hotel. Currently 1.5 euro return (half what you pay on the bus). Walking to Funchal is possible, but is about 4 miles so not for most people. Madeira is an excellent holiday destination, particularly for those enjoying walking and scenery (which is spectacular everywhere). Don't miss the white-knuckle ride to the Nuns Valley on the local bus with the driver rounding 1 in 4 cliff-sided hairpin bends at high speed. Actually the standard of driving is excellent - much better than in the UK - with good manners and courtesy shown regularly.

Loved the location, clinging to the cliff only a stonesthrow from the ocean. The hotel staff were friendly and helpful. Food was adequate but had I been staying for a second week I would have eaten out frequently. The fresh fruit market in Funchal was excellent but no one from the hotel appears to visit it. What a difference to boring breakfast fare some of the first class fresh fruit would have made. Wine was fairly priced(<10 Euros for Vino verde and Mateus Rose) The swimming pool area was well kept, good for swimming and catching all day rays. Evening entertainment in the hotel was cringeworthy, so there were always seats free. The hotel was located about 6Km from Funchal Centre so a decent curtesy bus service would have been popular. The sevice provided was too difficult to book, too infrequent and I never saw it used. The local buses pass the hotel driveway, were frequent, fast(scarily so) and cheap(Euro 1.5 return with pre purchased tickets). Car Hire, arranged through reception, was also fast and efficient(Euro 69 for three days, including all insurances etc) Overall I had an enjoyable stay. Should I return I would stay B & B only and eat out. Highlight was the sea view and gentle wave noise(all rooms equal). Hope this review helps anyone staying at Orca Praia.

We stayed at the Orca Praia Hotel with our 8 year old son for the May half term in 2006. Not only were we given one of the biggest hotel rooms we had ever had (normally when you are a party of 3, they cram an extra bed into a room for 2!) but were very pleased that there was another enormous separate bedroom. The balcony was magnificent - 35 feet long with views out across the Atlantic. You could fall asleep at night listening to the sea. Beware of the mosquitoes however if you leave the door open - they are quite ravenous. The food was good wholesome fare. There was a homemade soup every evening, an extensive colourful salad bar and wonderful homemade casseroles and meat dishes and local fish with plenty of fresh vegetables, potatoes, rice or pasta. Drinks are bought to your table by very friendly English speaking staff. Nothing was too much trouble for them. Glad to report that no tummy upsets at this hotel at all. The hotel room was immaculate, the maids must work very meticulously. We would admit that the hotel is a little out of the way if you wanted to go for an evening walk. We hired a car for most of our weeks stay. Evening entertainment is a bit basic. The lounge is set up like a cross between a nursing home and an airport departures lounge, all the chairs in dead straight rows. One evening there was a lovely local Madeiran folk show, very colourful with audience participation, another evening a magician and another there were some dancers. Most evenings a man is tinkering away on a keyboard and drinks are bought to your table. There was a nice array of cocktails and our son enjoyed the biggest pot of hot chocolate every evening he had ever seen. I believe Madeira appeals to older people but this is the first hotel we have ever stayed in where you didn't hear loud music at night or people arriving back in the small hours making a lot of noise in the corridors ! We would definitely go back to the Orca Praia, it was one of the best holidays we have ever been on !

Was sad to hear that another member had a bad experience of this hotel. We went in December 2005 and thought it was spot on for the price we paid. £607.00 Half Board for 2 adults and 1 child. Originally, our son was not going to accompany us but due to family illness, he had to come to Madeira. The staff calmly put a spare bed in our room and then because our room was near the lift, I asked to be moved and they moved the bed to another floor-no problem. The staff are great and very accomodating. The room was, I agree, "a bit dated" but IMMACULATE. Really comfortable beds, bit stingy on the pillows but you could have more if desired. The maids work like billyo!! The tip was well earnt. So quiet at night except the sound of the sea, well worth it, even if you are away from Funchal. Frequent buses and inexpensive taxis. we even walked it a couple of times, along the Praia de Formosa. The pool was'nt the best I've seen but it was immaculately kept and did it's job-as a swimming pool! Food, I agree, a bit samey but not one stomach upset all week and with a five year old that's not bad going!!! The hotel does seem to cater for the German contingent but at least food was fresh and hot. Stayed at a 4* Thomson Platinum Hotel (expensive holiday) recently and the food was NEVER hot and very boring. Lots of salad, veggies and good desserts. Waiter/resses work hard and you can order drinks and wine at your table Entertainment one hour per night but original and low-key. The dancers were lovely and made our son join in and he loved it. Just what you need if you want to escape the stresses of modern living. We had a great week, did'nt want to come home and would go back. You can book this hotel direct through Med Hotels I've since found out, at a really good price.

Location, very isolated on the extreme outskirts of Funchal with just one small restaurant and a cafe close, everything else required a taxi or bus to reach. The Hotel provides a courtesy bus into Funchal Mon-Fri which is a must. We went on a half board basis and the food wasn't what we expected for a 3 star+, breakfast basic choice and dinner we preferred to go without. The worst food we have experienced on any holiday.There were minimum facilities to occupy you if you stayed at the hotel during the day and the Hotel was understaffed. Rooms were a nice size but need updating, large terrace area all rooms with a sea view.The best thing we can say about this Hotel was that the staff were friendly and helpful and rooms and linen were kept clean. Would not return.

The rooms in this hotel cannot be faulted; they are spacious, most have a huge balcony that gets the sun all day. Wonderful for December / January sunshine! They are also cleaned thoroughly. Perhaps a little hilly for those who may experience walking difficulties. The food is adequate, if not exciting but the staff are friendly and amenable. The hotel is a little way out of Funchal but the nos 1 and 24 bus service provide an excellent service outside the hotel. The hotel also has courtesy bus service however, it must be pre-booked and we could never plan that far ahead. Some lovely walks around the hotel but again, it can be hilly. Yes we would go there again

Orca Praia, Great pool, lovely, spacious clean rooms. Courtesy bus into Funchal. Terrific sea views. Promenade being built on beachside of hotel, heavy plant machinery used from 0800-1900, we got used to it. Resident organist in bar, Roger Fernandes, he has Van Goughs ear for music, he is awful and can empty the bar quicker than a police riot squad. He will start playing something that you can identify for several notes and then launches into his own arrangements which bear little resemblence to anything you have ever heard before. He relinquishes his place reluctantly to other shows, which are few, he then almost elbows the performers out of his way to get back to his organ. Food is poor and is served by a woman complete with white hat dishing out the grub, school dinner style. Superb hotel but completey lacking in atmosphere.

Madeira is a beautiful island & Funchal a truly charming city, the hotel... lots of potential but as with the review placed in April '05 there are still a number of serious issues! The promenade (due for completion JUNE 2005) is far from finished & this makes the small black sand beach very unattractive with large diggers, rock drills pounding away and long periods of noise. The work starts promptly at 8am through to 7pm (Mon-Fri), 8am - 5pm (Sat). The work men can at times have a long break 1pm to 3.30pm is not uncommon. The bedrooms are large and all face the ocean, are extremely clean c/w with TV, hairdryer & small sitting area along with a full bathroom. Dinner in the evening is rather a 'taste-less' event with lots of 'chewy meat' with 'mashed' vegetables (the one saving grace is the fish which is the exception to a otherwise dull evening meal!), Breakfast was a better meal offering a varied aray of: Bacon, eggs, rolls, cold meats, yogurts & fruits. Evening entertainment at our time of travel was 3 times a week (usually only for 30 minutes). The hotel is approx 4.5 miles out of Funchal.. There is a courtesy bus (pre book) & an extremely good local bus service 1.15 Euro (children free) which runs into Funchal as part of a wider network of services to the rest of the island.

We took our holiday in early April 2005 and this is how it really was: Good points: Each room is large and spacious, spotlessly clean (with a his and hers sink in the bathroom) - and best of all - a spectacular, 180 degree, South –facing high view of the ocean. The weather is good! Uh-oh….now for the rest. The food is really disappointing. There are three counters; a salad section with great big, challenging onion rings cut up into everything and downright weird things like pork sausage sliced up into cold pasta – a meat section where a white-apron-wearing dinner lady dollops oxo-cube- inspired sauces (the slightest hint of anything flavoursome removed, lest it offends the tourist’s palette). Overcooked vegetables sit at one side of the counter – big carrots and mushy green beans. Lastly, there is an extremely tasteless sweet section containing various trifles, ice creams and treacle cake (I think). Drinks, including mineral water, are added to your bill, (don’t touch the house red – it tastes exactly like vinegar). Breakfast is marginally better with scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. Remember to bring your own Marmite, as the staff have never heard of it! (Only joking) Now for the other bad news: there are extensive building works going down on the beach directly in front of the hotel and swimming pool area. They had only just started when we where there, but it was very noisy – diggers and cranes gauging out huge areas of the beach and laying concrete foundations for something or other. Diesel fumes waft over the swimming pool area while you are sunbathing and clanking and motor sounds start from 9am till 9pm. I wouldn’t expect it to be finished by summer 2005. So think carefully about coming here if you want peace and quiet. You definitely won’t find it here. Workmen also carried out repairs on the window frames in nearly all the rooms after recent flooding. This was still going on when we left. It involved machine-drilling concrete from the patios and was deafening! One more thing; the staff are a little sullen and grumpy. Perhaps this had to do with a tanned fellow with short white trousers, who appears now and again with two subordinates in tow, carrying clipboards? I presume he’s the hotel manager, or some other head honcho. He berates the staff in a loud voice, (in front of the guests) waving his arms up and down, snarling at them and quite clearly making their lives a misery. They scurry like rats from a barrel when he appears, poor people. Okay, stay cheerful…but you have been warned! Kev