Inn & Art Madeira — Restaurant in Santa Cruz

This review relates to the villa operated by the hotel.||||Probably the worst property we have stayed in over 20 years of independent travel. ||||We left after 40 hours, due to:||||Overwhelming smell of sewage throughout the property.||Insect infestations (including cockroaches) in ensuite & kitchen.||Lizards living in lounge||Exposed heating pipes in lounge lagged in asbestos type material||Use of swimming pool caused red marks on body after 10 minutes - we were advised this was because of excess chemicals in the pool.||||Also:||The outside furniture is corroded and threadbare.||The patio areas have a covering of green moss in places (in mid summer) - this is a slip and health hazard.||||What is not clear and has no mention is that the property is approached by a road with a 1:3 gradient and entrance and exit from the garage is only for a very confident driver to attemp. There is a similar gradient on the path from the garage, which is the only point of off road entry to the property. Access for anyone with even a remote mobility problem is well nigh impossible.||||We raised our concerns with the hotel as the villa owner was not available and asked for alternative accommodation. All that was offered was a 1 bedroom flat next to a building site - this was not acceptable considering the prime rental rate we were paying for 3 bedrooms so we moved to other accommodation.||||When we raised these issues with the owner afterwards (she was not available during our stay) she admitted there is a drains problem - but claimed it is outside. She recognised the insect infestations because she has a Pest Control contract - which is not effective.||||Six months polite and reasonable negotiation for some recompense has failed.We have no responce to correspondence except to inform us that it is our fault for not liking the property and suggesting we are depressed. ||||This property has a prime rental rate attached to it and it is simply not fit for purpose. There are many attractive properties available on Madeira at a fraction of the cost of this one. Our second week was spent at a delightful modern property that cost around a third of this villa.||||Our sincere advice, based on 20 plus years of independent travel, is to avoid Villa Atlantic View...

I flew from Manchester to Madeira in late April 2017 on a Thomson package holiday.I stayed at the Roca Mar Hotel. My room was very nice with fantastic sea views.I did bed and breakfast as I like to eat out on a night .The hotel was very nice and is part of another hotel linked to it next door. The town is Canico de Baixo which is a quiet area to the east of the capital ,Funchal.Ideal if you enjoy a peaceful holiday.There are a few restaurants around all of which are averagely priced.I ate at the Fados ,a family run restaurant which was excellent but at the top of a very steep hill but worth the climb.Others I tried were the Traineira ,Reis Magos , about a 10 to 15 minute walk from the hotel along the coast. The hotel had a separate restaurant to the main one which was very good but I can not remember the name.There was a good late night bar in a small complex close by as well.|I would recommend hiring a car as there is not much to do in Canico de Baixo. I got one for 4 days , I was going to take it for 3 but the weather was poor most of the time so I took it for an extra day.|On the 1st day I drove along the coast heading west through Ribiera Brava and eventually arriving at a very picturesque village called Jardim Do Mar,I would like to stay here when I come again.The 2nd day I drove up Porto Moniz on the North West coast which has volcanic pools you can swim in.I also visited Cabo Girao ,believe me youve got to see this,its the highest sea cliff in Europe with glass walk way around the edge,not for the faint hearted. I also spent half a day in Funchal and went up in the cable car and came back down on the Tobogan,a fantastic experience . A bit pricey though. The Tobagans dont go all the way back in to Funchal town , there are Taxis but they are expensive . I haggled with them and got a better price.There is a botanical garden at the top of the cable car run which looked nice . All in all I really enjoyed Madeira all though the weather was poor, its a very mountainous island ,the roads are good and well signed and there are numerous tunnels.There are many micro climates as well. I think they all got together while I was there.|I think there are only 2 beaches on the Island and they are man made.So if you love beach holidays...

We decided to dine at the restaurant for our last night in Canico before everyone left to go home. We made a reservation for 8pm, and were happy to get one. We had just dined at a hotel right down the road the night before, and had a fantastic experience. We were hoping to have another one here. Sadly it was not the case. We arrived at 8:02, and were abruptly seated, and before we could look at the menu immediately asked what our orders would be. When we asked for more time, we were ignored for a good half hour. Other tables that arrived after us received their drinks, and were able to put in their food orders. When he came back, it was like we were an inconvenience to our waiter. He got flustered when we asked about the items on the menu for more details. We then waited for a very long period of time for our food. When it came out it looked good, but was average at best which was disappointing. I should note we waited an almost an hour and a half for our food and drink. The duck risotto had no flavor, the Shrimp Diablo (on a stone) were not flavorful at all, and couple of them tasted as though they had gone bad, which made it so that not all of them were consumed (you were only given 5), the salad was subpar, the shrimp sautéed in garlic butter was the only good dish, the octopus tentacles were literally fried octopus tentacles in a basket with no flavor at all. The best part about the meal was the wine which was a nice house rose. I am not sure if it was because we were Americans, or why this happened, but I would strongly suggest never going to this place. It's not worth it, not even...