Estalagem da Ponta do Sol Hotel

We stayed at this hotel for the first two weeks of July, after reading nothing but positive comments on TripAdvisor. Our experience was one of "yes, but ...": What we liked: 1. Yes, the hotel offers excellent service: there is a free shuttle from and to the airport, and when the hotel van is not available, they even pay a taxi company to replace it. The shuttle is also available for several excursions (except on Sundays). There is a nice small library with books you can freely take to read, a computer with free internet and a large television. The room had facilities to make tea or coffee (freely available) + an empty refrigerator you could use. 2. Yes, the location of the hotel on top of a cliff overlooking the small village and splendid sea view all over the hotel is superb. We also liked the hotel architecture and design touches all over the place. And even fully booked, we never had a problem finding a sun bed. 3. Yes, the staff is extremely friendly and always there to help you, without being intrusive 4. Yes, the restaurant has a good kitchen What we didn't like: 1. Although our room had a splendid view, just outside our terrace, there was a drain pipe (a double pipe goes from room 512 to room 507, with a water exit just at our terrace), which quite disturbed our sight. Even more: after a few days in this room, we suddenly started having cockroaches in our bathroom, one on Sunday, two the day after. We mentioned this at the reception and on Tuesday they sent a company to spray the room. These people informed us that they come in through the drain pipe and then spread over the bathrooms. After their visit, the problem was solved and the hotel offered us a bottle of wine at dinner. Also, these rooms are located above a technical room: at 7h30 in the morning, a motor started humming, which lasted all day long to stop at 22h30 in the evening, this was also quite disturbing. And as this is a concrete building, we found acoustics could also be better between rooms: when from the fifth night on, one of our neighbours decided to have the airco on all night long, we had to live with this slightly humming sound as well together with the other sounds (showers, toilets, walking around ...), not to forget the two hotel dogs barking in the middle of the night. We decided to sleep with open window door, so the sound of the sea dominated which was better to sleep. If we would go back, we would ask one of the rooms 504 tot 506!! Finally, about the room, as indicated by others, rooms (furniture, carpet and bathroom) are somewhat worn, although this did not disturb us. The hotel will however have to consider this if they do not want to degrade in the coming years. 2. We booked only breakfast and decided each day whether to eat à la carte or to take the half board. It was our impression that the food of the à la carte menu was of a better quality than the half board. Liking of food is of course very personal, to our (Belgian) standards, dinners were 'okay' though not superb, and breakfast buffet, though there was quite a big choice, there was nothing really 'outstanding' to look forward to, so that after a week we really started missing our home breakfast. Also, the restaurant only has a small terrace with 4 to 5 tables, so that there is hardly opportunity to eat outside, which is a shame on holiday. Inside, there's always airco, and often outside it was more pleasant than inside. 3. We would not advise this hotel for children: it is ideal for couples (the setting is quite romantic), children only have the swimming pool to play outside (and 1 billard table inside, or computer games on the internet in the library). 4. You like it or you don't: majority of the guests are German (50%) or Dutch speaking (30 to 40%) All in all, we were not unhappy and had a nice holiday and yes, we would advise the hotel to others. Ponta do Sol seems to have a good climate (although in the village there's really nothing to see or to do!).

The 25 Feb 06 review below pretty much says it all but to add/ reiterate a couple of points. This is fantastic value for a genuine design hotel (minimal rooms, infinity pool, lightbox restaurant, etc.) in an exceptional location overlooking the Atlantic. Bed & breakfast with a full, elevated, cliff top seaview plus airport transfers for €83 per room per night is a genuine bargain. By rights, it should be twice the price and were it on an island that had a reputation for a slightly younger clientele, slightly cheaper flights (though GB´s flights were competitive) and perhaps also a better guaranteed sun record, it would. The one reason for there not being a higher quantity of glowing reviews here is. perhaps, that 90% of the guests are German speaking (although English is the first language of the hotel) with the remainder largely Portugeuse. Do note that Ponta do Sol itself has little to divert. Whilst the hotel does offer a range of free transfers to Funchal (20 mins) and for walking the levadas, a hire car is recommended for those staying anything more than a handful of days. The staff are great but not intrusive. The pool honesty bar is beyond reasonable (coffee €1, beer €2). The restaurant is above average with a superior breakfast buffet. Altogether, highly recommended.

we returned here after having such a lovely holiday feb 06. it is still great. the one main improvement is that the lift is complete that takes you from the foot of the hill/car park to the reception, so no more steep climbs, unless you want to streatch your legs! we ate out more this time. we ate in the 2 cafes/bars in the little shopping centre by the roundabout on a number of occasions and were very pleased with the good value and variety of food on offer.please note that the portions are very generous and that you probably only need a small or medium portion! we will be returning here again i am sure.

This design hotel is very nice situated on the cliff with a wonderfull view from every room. The service is friendly, the rooms show some wear and need a thoroughful cleaning above all the bathrooms, the drawers and under the beds. The two hotel dogs are very friendly but for the dog -- seems nobody responsible. So be careful in the dark not to stand in such a dog souvenir. The hotel guests are compared with other hotels in Madeira young and come above all from German speaking countries. See my other opinions for casa branca, porto santo,bela vista.

The Estalagem da Ponta do Sol is a beautifully designed combination of the traditional and contemporary. Each corner you turn brings you to another thoughtfully planned spot to sit and watch the world go by or gaze at the ocean. The decoration (black slate floors, huge red rugs, pure white walls and stunning oversized monochrome prints) is a great backdrop but the very best thing about the hotel is the warmth and friendliness of the staff. They always managed to be around when we needed them but never intrusive. The two impeccably behaved small dogs that live in the hotel (generally curled up asleep in the sun in the hotel lobby), made us feel right at home! Our stay was incredible value - we booked direct with the hotel via e-mail. We had a fantastic room (again all monochrome with wonderful high ceilings and a full wall of patio doors leading to our balcony overlooking the ocean). We would recommend paying the bit extra for the full sea view as you will get fabulous sunrise or sunset photo opportunities from your balcony. You will also be able to see how much more sun you get in Ponta do Sol compared to Funchal. The hotel has a well stocked library (where people have donated plenty of holiday novels), together with free internet access. On cooler days a log fire was lit in the bar. If you're feeling active, the two pools & small gym mean that you don't have to stray too far. It takes approx 20 mins to drive into Funchal - the hotel can arrange a lift there and back most days - but hiring a car is good value for touring the island. The hotel arranged a hire car for us at short notice (Seat Ibiza for 39 euros a day, delivered to the hotel). An extensive breakfast buffet sets you up for the day - a wide range of fresh fruits, cereals, breads, pastries, cheese, ham & hot dishes. For dinner (in the spectacular 'glass box' at the edge of the cliff), choosing from the a la carte menu isn't much more expensive than the fixed price deal and everything was beautifully cooked and presented. If you're still relaxing at the hotel during the day, the lunchtime salads are great! There's even an honour bar by the pool so you can get drinks whenever you want. We had a wonderfully relaxing break and intend to return soon. The new lift that brings you up the cliff to the hotel will be an added bonus when your legs are weary after a days sightseeing!

We stayed here for 3 nights in November 2005. We wanted to be out of the way of the Funchal tourist stream and Ponta do Sol is definitely that. The island is so dense though that there are only a few places that are completely isolated. Yet, despite the density and aggressive building techniques that force homes, gardens and even farms onto incredibly steep plots of land, the island has a calm feeling overall. The Estalgem Ponta do Sol is perched on a cliff, over a cliff. The old Quinta serves as the reception/bar/reading room. It mainly lacks any old world charm, but the outside attempts to reflect what it once looked like. The restaurant addition has pretty good food for lunch and dinner. The breakfast is worth it. The restaurant addition (integrated into the main old Quinta) has an elevator that takes you to a sky bridge which brings you higher up to the main cliff. On this site they've built two parallel, two-storied hotel buildings. Each room faces out and most seem to have great views, although I would ask for a room closest to the pool in low season, maybe a bit away during the high season as that area could possibly be quite noisy (however, with kids it might be the most convenient). We stayed in the further building, on the ground floor closest the pool. It was amazing. We felt like we were on a cruise ship high above the ocean. Rainbows every where. Stunning. It's probably 1,000 feet down. There are some nice grounds in between the two buildings where there is some grass and some gravel parking areas (parking is kind of precarious no matter where you do it, but we actually found parking up here was easier if you can find the road and gate. The parking closer to reception is one lane with parking on the side of a 30 degree incline. Nerve wracking if you're not used to it). The grounds lead to a pool with an infinity edge (although I believe for safety and liability reasons they erected a thin aircraft cable wire around it. Kind of ruins the infinity effect). Below that is a large building with an older style that has a warm pool, hot tub, gym, sauna, game room (with self-serve bar) and a large patio that overlooks the municipal beach and swimming/fishing cliff below. It's truly spectacular with 180 degree views up and down the coast. The rooms are pretty good. They are spare, modern and seem to have been installed with care and budget in mind. It shows some wear here and there, which may have as much to do with the salt air as with lack of attention. Still the staff was quite nice and, while they didn't quite bend over backward (which can be a bit much) they were helpful when we needed it. We'd recommend it for couples, singles looking for solitude (although in high-season maybe it's more fun) and families with maybe teenage or grown children. I think definitely it might be a bit of a hassle for families as it is quite an austere setting despite the pool/game room, etc. It's more of a "grown up" place, but if there were a group of families there, they could easily make it there own and have a blast. There just isn't much for kids to do without having to be driven somewhere, although the town is a short, but very, very steep walk downhill (and back). Good luck! Oh yeah, there are hotel doggies to greet you. They are cared for and fed by the staff/owners. If you're allergic you might want to know, if a dog lover it's a special treat to be able to play with them.

For the fourth year in a row we had the privelege to visit Madeira again, and as always we stayed at the hotel "Estalagem Ponta do Sol"! We fell in love with the hotel from the first day on our first visit, and we have kept coming back. The hotel has never let us down! The hotel has the most beatiful location on top of the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the charming little village Ponta do Sol. The hotel is the perfect blend of relaxed comfort and style, with a casual, warm, friendly atmosphere. The rooms are big and bright. The outdoor pool-area is great, and there's an indoor alternative, too! The grounds are kept spotless. Flowers everywhere. The architecture is modern, minimalsistic and very attractice. The food is also excellent. Full breakfast, and tasteful dinners! We always stay with half board. No need to eat dinner anywhere else - besides there are really no alternatives in Ponta do Sol. ( 30 minutes drive from the capitol Funchal). The hotell staff is just the best, they are one of the hotels greatest assets, which says a lot about theese people! The hotel is highly recomended. Top value for money! We will keep coming back! Says two happy norwegians.

We couldn't get over this place. The location and design of the hotel, bar, rooms and especially the pool areas are gorgeous. And amazing value for money. The restaurant was a bit pretentious (over fussy food) so if you can eat out a couple of times in Funchal do. But, as we were on a budget, it was fine for us. And if you're there longer than a weekend, you'll want to hire a car, as there's not much nearby (but everything is close-by, by car...)

I booked my honeymoon hotel with 'Estalagem Da Ponta Do Sol' in Aug 04. They were easy to deal with via email and everything was sorted in a few days. We were picked up from the airport with no charge for this service, The hotel is aprox 40mins from the airport. It has stunning views of the sea and coast line, however they were building a marina below the hotel and this caused some noise. They were two main faults with the hotel, the Jacuzzi was broken the entire time we were there with no sign of an attempt to fix it and the indoor pool was never heated the whole time we were there as well. There seemed to be a severe lack of service enginners to fix anything if it was broken. We booked in on half board and the food was adequate . It was usually a choice of A salad or soup for starters, with a fish and meat main course and ice cream or tart for dessert, we soon moved on to the A la cart menu. The rooms air conditioning was hardly able to handle the heat outside of 39c at times. The staff were excellent and friendly at all times and they deserve a five star review, however they have been let down by poor management. There is little or nothing to do in or around the hotel so if u want to lay by the pool all day then this hotel is for you, if not you really need to hire a car for your stay here and get out and about.

This was a honeymoon booked at the last minute. March 2004 .We were glad that we did.Hotel is in a quiet village/town about 20 min away from Funchal. When I say quiet I mean it! The town has no bars or restaurants within walking distance from the Hotel. Not that this was a bad thing just wanted to ensure that people are aware!The Hotel was perfect in many ways for us. It gave us peace and quiet that we wanted in a beautiful surrounding ( no kids allowed ). Hotel is based on a minimalist style which really works well as it is perched on a cliff side. It had everything that you would expect from a four star Hotel and more.The food was good and the hearty breakfast selection sated everyone s appetite! It is an impressive selection that could last you for the whole day if you were lazing by the pool after a late breakfast!Pool outside is not heated but is set on a beautiful location where you can be in the water and gaze out across the sea and stunning coastline. Inside they have a smaller pool which is heated to just above body temperature and was heaven, could not keep the wife out of there! Not large but ok for a small swim! Plus gym, steam room and Jacuzzi if you are interested.Next to the pool was a bar that served snacks if you did not want to have a large lunch in the restaurant. Again stunning views whilst you drank a cold beer and watch the sun set in the evening.The restaurant in the evening served both A la carte or set menu if you are staying on half board, all served with silver service and excellent ambience, views over the sea to die for. Food was very good and the service by the waiting staff was second to non. Always attentive and willing to help with any requirements that you may have, spoke great English, German and French it seemed! Only one comment is go for half board or  flexi dine ( fixed days half board & a number of days B&B ). Food a la carte can be expensive every night and the flexi dine system allowed us to eat out for three nights around Madeira.Last thing is a car is essential if you want to see the island for yourself and get out at night for restaurants & bars! If you want to relax and go on guided tours then there is a vast array of companies providing whatever you require. We hired one for three days out of our seven night stay and this was plenty to see the island North, East, West & South !What else? Island made for walking so if you like sandy beach this is not the place for you! However Hotel had everything to make the beach redundant if you wanted sun only!