Saccharum — Hotel in Calheta

The Saccharum Hotel certainly makes a statement with its stunning architecture and lush greenery — an impressive building that sets high expectations. Unfortunately, the exterior promises more than the experience delivers.|We stayed for 10 days in a mid-range room on the 7th floor with a partial sea view and breakfast included.||Ambience|The hotel looks great, and the rooms are tastefully decorated — nothing extraordinary, but comfortable. Hallways are carpeted, and there are almost no stairs. Everything depends on four elevators, one of which was out of service for the entire stay. The pools and bars are beautifully designed, but the kids’ playroom is rather run-down. Drying clothes on the balcony is not allowed, as it apparently conflicts with the hotel’s image — there’s even a warning posted on the balcony door.||Food|There are several restaurants on-site, but I highly recommend dining at the nearby local spots. They’re within walking distance, much more affordable (meals for two between €50–60, compared to €80 for two at the hotel buffet — drinks not included), and offer a far better experience.||The breakfast buffet is international and covers all the basics you’d expect from a hotel of this size. Nothing particularly tasty, just standard fare — the strategy is to eat a lot rather than enjoy every bite.||We also tried the fine dining restaurant — which, of course, we had to experience. There are three tasting menus, each with multiple courses, and wine pairing is available — though not for non-alcoholic options. Plates are beautifully presented and the food tasted good, but the craftsmanship behind it was average at best. The service didn’t meet the fine dining standard. At €180 per person for a six-course menu with wine pairing, expectations are high. The staff, while consistently friendly, lacked training. Some were the same people who served us at lunch, often appeared disengaged, couldn’t explain the daily soup, failed to recommend wine, didn’t notice if bread needed refilling, or whether plates could be cleared. It felt like they simply weren’t trained for high-end service. If you want to play in that league, you have to deliver.||Lunch was available at the rooftop lounge by the pool — €18 for a single tuna toast. Not enough to satisfy a real appetite, unless you’re ready to spend a fortune.||There’s also a bar with live music in the evenings where you can have a drink and a snack. However, the food there was pre-prepared, poorly plated, and lacked flavor. You’d need a few drinks to truly enjoy it.||Overall, I strongly advise against dining at the hotel. Within a 5-minute walk you’ll find far better food, better prices, and a wonderful atmosphere by the marina.||Spa|The spa is average at best. Despite marketing itself as a wellness hotel, Saccharum only has a small sauna, a tiny whirlpool, an indoor pool, and a steam room. I expected more — a proper wellness area should offer multiple saunas with varying temperatures and a full range of facilities. Access costs €35 per day and isn’t worth it.||That said, the massages and treatments are excellent — prices start at €120, and include spa access for the day. The staff here are well-trained, and the treatment rooms are lovely.||Everything Comes with an Extra Cost|Let me highlight the cost aspect — not because we couldn’t afford it, but because the constant upcharging feels unpleasant. Everything at this hotel costs extra:||Parking on the hotel’s street: €11/day|Garage parking: €12/day|Beach club across the street: extra charge|Spa access: €35/day|Room service delivery fee: €9/order|Laundry: €4 for socks, €12 for a t-shirt|Minibar: all chargeable||Daily €25 voucher (only if you book via the official website): not cumulative, expires daily, and barely covers a snack unless you stick to local bread (bolo do caco)||We spent around €2,500 on the room and an additional €1,000 on hotel services and food — without excessive usage. That’s a lot for what was, frankly, a very average experience.||My suggestion: charge a bit more for the room, but include more services. As it stands, you feel nickel-and-dimed at every turn — which leaves a bitter aftertaste.||Final Thoughts|On a positive note, the hotel’s location is truly excellent — Calheta is an ideal spot to stay on the island. Room service was also very good throughout our visit.||That said, I cannot recommend this hotel — not at this...

I’m so upset that I’m going to post this review to every other platform I find this hotel on. My wife literally almost cried on multiple occasions because of how terrible the experience was and how big a waste of money it was. Imagine spending almost €4,000 to have the worst vacation on your wedding anniversary.

This “5-star” hotel is a 2-star hotel at best. It is beautiful on the outside but the inside is a completely different story. For context, my wife and I travel every month and often choose 5-star hotels for the convenience they offer.

First, the staff is not very nice. We had a housekeeper give us the death stare because she was called to clean our room AFTER the hotel hadn’t come to clean our room in 2 days. Many of them smile at you just before responding in the rudest tone and with attitude. Not very 5-star like.

One elevator was out of service for half of our stay meaning it took forever to get to different floors. We often had to walk across to take another set of elevators.

The food was genuinely awful (except the omelettes at breakfast). All juice was watered down and everything was so inconsistent. Tomato sauce for pasta - watered down. Baked beans - water down. It was fascinating the levels this 5-star hotel went to in order to cut costs.

The worst part about this “luxury” hotel is that they gladly charge you for everything. You won’t know this until you’re there so let me spare you:

For room service you will pay an additional €5 for each time you order. Want some water in your room, you have to pay for the water and the €5. It’s hilarious.

To sit on a lounge chair by the pool you will pay €35 per person PER DAY. Just to have the chair.

To get access to the “premium service” which just includes the REST of the hotel (which you already paid for), you will pay €80 per person per day

After we left a review online on the third day, the staff began calling my cellphone multiple times asking us to come to the front office. I had to tell them to stop calling.

We gave the guest relations manager, Patricia, feedback on what we felt needed to be improved. Patricia, decided to treat us like idiots by pretending to write things down. When I asked her to recount the 6 points she couldn’t remember then. Then the staff tried to bribe us with this “premium access to the whole facility” for the rest of our stay so that we wouldn’t write these reviews - we turned it down.

The “spa” that barely has anything in it will run you €30 per person per day. By the pool in the spa, the tiles are very slippery, my wife and I both almost broke something when we slipped coming out of the pool. The massages were great though - €165 per person.

At dinner you just can’t drink water or any other drink. No no. You have to pay for it on top of the €38 per person buffer (which is genuinely terrible)

We paid €240 for a private dinner on our wedding anniversary. The same hash brown potatoes from breakfast was part of the 7-course meal???!

Expect to spend an additional €1,000+ for the facilities you thought you paid for. At the end of your stay, be sure to check your bill because the hotel automatically asks a 10% tip for every single thing you eat without your permission (and for truly terrible service).

Finally, you will find tiny worms in the toilet and a very slippery tile in the shower that you need to be careful of.

Pros: 3 nice staff Good massages Great margaritas

This is not a 5-star hotel. It did not offer a 5-star experience. I strongly encourage you not to stay at this hotel. Your money will go further somewhere else. If you come to Madeira, stay for 3 days in the main city of Funchal.

Ruined our anniversary experience and this Madeira trip for us. Will never be back.

People will forget what you said and what you did, but they will never forget how you...

Let's discuss the pet-friendliness of Saccharum. We booked a non-refundable standard room where it stated, "When traveling with a pet, please note that an extra charge applies." However after booking, we were informed that pets could only stay in their suites. Therefore, we were not just charged an extra of 30 EUR a night but also forced to upgrade our room with an additional cost of 500 EUR for our stay. Upon arriving at the hotel, we were provided with a document labeled "Pet Friendly," and I'll summarize the two main points mentioned in it.

Firstly, it stated that pets cannot be left alone in the room at any time. Additionally, our pet was not allowed to accompany us to any of the restaurant (including terrace) or swimming pool facilities. However, we were informed that we could hire a hotel pet sitter for an additional charge. Also note that I am referring to a small dog weighing less than 5kg that can be easily carried around.

In summary, in this "pet-friendly" hotel, my wife and I were told that, unless we booked a pet sitter, we couldn't enjoy the hotel's facilities together during our vacation. As experienced travellers with our dog, we found this policy to be incredibly unreasonable and, given the exorbitant charges we paid, it seems to border on legality.

Now, let's discuss the hotel itself. Upon booking, we were promised a card with a 20 euro credit to spend at the hotel, a basket of fruits in the room, and a welcome drink. However, these amenities were conveniently forgotten.

After reading about these in one of the emails we received and discussing it with the reception, we did manage to obtain the first two points - the 20 euro credit and the basket of fruit but we were informed that the welcome drink was nothing more than a jar of water typically found in the reception area.

The room was equipped with stoves, but there was no kitchenware provided, making it essentially useless for any cooking. We didn't even have a teaspoon for making coffee, and there was no bottle opener available for the mini-bar bottles - yes, we asked for it with no luck.

The toilet door was oddly difficult to open, almost seeming broken. Contrary to what we observed in some other rooms (and later confirmed by the end of our stay), we were supposed to have two sets of towels - white and brown - one for showering and another for use in the spa and swimming facilities. However, it appears they decided not to provide these extras for us, leaving us with only the regular towels.

While we did encounter some good service during our visit, overall, our experience was quite disappointing. The most problematic experience was in the Lounge, which, as indicated in numerous reviews, appeared to be severely understaffed. Waiting times there often exceeded 30 minutes, making it challenging to enjoy more than one round of drinks at their bar. Similar things can be found in the breakfast area were some days, us and some tables around, were not served coffee since the service was not doing their job.

Additionally, during my stay, I made use of their gym facilities. Out of the four treadmills available, one was out of service, and another one I used turned out to be broken, displaying a faster pace than it should have. I reported this issue to the hotel staff, but unfortunately, they chose not to take any action to rectify it, as the same issue persisted the next day.

In short, our experience at Saccharum was disappointing. Despite claims of being pet-friendly, we encountered limitations and unexpected charges for our pet. Promised amenities were overlooked or inadequate, and service issues, due to understaffing, added to our dissatisfaction. Our gym experience was also subpar due to malfunctioning equipment. Overall, our stay left us with a negative impression...