Hotel PortoBay Serra Golf — Hotel in Santa Cruz

We have selected this hotel with my wife as its location is further from city life, so that it is not so busy. It fulfilled our expectations almost to 100% , room was cozy and clean, personnel was nice and very helpful in any of our questions.

Anyhow there are some points to peak out: It is a 4* hotel, I have visited lot of 4* and even 3* hotels with better service.

Breakfast - there was always several foods to choose from, but the offer was everyday the same. Some light exchange for example the eggs (mashed, omelette, scrambled) would do alot. Same applies for the sausage - always the same type. If you are not staying longer than few days, you should be fine. Anyhow, the food quality is very good, so nothing to claim about.

Pool - we have chosen the hotel because of the claim of heated indoor pool, however when we had been there, we used it only once, as the water was cold, around 23 degree, despite onthe table written 28.

Sauna - during our stay the sauna was out of service, so if you are considering the stay here, please ask first at the information desk of the hotel about current status if you are looking for pool or sauna as a wellness after some hiking.

Cleaning service - we were one day surprised when we came from breakfast around 9am and the cleaning service girls were already clenaing our room, so we had to somehow sneak in to be able to pick up some of our stuff for hiking, but anyhow had to wait till they finish so that we can go to the bathroom and dress up for the hike.

This is standard in most hotels I have been to, to start after the breakfast time ends (mostly 10am), so that guests in most cases already left the rooms.

Overall, the experience was fine and we will happily return back on our next...

A great pre Christmas stay with our grown up children. We took the suite which served us very well especially due to the living space and small kitchen. Our son is coeliac and the excellent catering staff accommodated this easiily. A special mention for the chef and his team, we ate in the restaurant on two of our six evenings in Madeira and they were the best meals we ate. Thank you. Breakfast was delicious with a good mix of cooked and fresh options. Pastries, jams, bread and fruit were all good quality and welcome before busy days of walking. The beds were very comfortable and being a tall family they were plenty long too which is always a big plus for us. Nice to have pool towels, robes and slippers in the room. We enjoyed the pool, sauna and billiards room too. All the reception and waiting staff were very welcoming and added to our fabulous holiday experience, as did housekeeping who beautifully cleaned and freshened the suite each day. The village which is just a 5 or 10 minute walk is charming and and good for lunch supplies, make sure you don't miss the Sunday market. This really was a perfect stay for us. Thank you to the entire team at...

Old, yet interesting hotel to stay in.

The hotel must have been glorious in the 70s, probably for rich golfers coming from the main land. The building is impressive when you first enter. The guests were mostly middle class senior people...

But the glamourous days are over. Now it is seriously outdated with old carpets in the rooms, old marble that lost its glamour and was untreated for a while, old radiators for heat, and tons of details that make me a bit sad and reminds me that time consumes everything. The swimming pool is well maintained and is excellent, not too big but well balanced chemically and decent enough. The gym is tiny but usable. The hotel offers spa treatment abd massage. According to my partner , she was very professional, friendly and good.

The staff are ok, one was rude but otherwise they were responding well to requests. Breakfast was really below average, don't expect a wow, but dinner although expensive, was very good.

I think the hotel, being so outdated, does not justify the...