Hotel Porto Mare - PortoBay

First of all, the garden was extraordinary. Jardim botanico da Madeira was nothing compared to this. The pool was although a little bit cold, but beautiful with the palm trees, and the night light. The snacks at the bar next to the pool were surprisingly good. And you have to try the poncha at the other bar during happy hour. The stuff was extremily attentive and kind. The breakfast was delicious, and the restaurant looked great with the pool next to the tables. We loved to start our days there. Our room was with oceanview. First thing in the mornings was to step out onto the balcony to get a view and taste of the ocean and the garden, and to listen to the parrot chirping. The interior design was cosy and really nice. The only thing wich came to our minds was the absence of a cool, signature scent at the hotel lobby. There are pharmacy and shops, plenty of bars and restaurants in walk distance - Il Basilico is the very best -, but if you'd like to get in to the center, I would recommend car or bus.

3 different pillow sizes,breakfast, cleanliness of the hotel, location,quality of the bathroom products . Room view. Music every evening was fantastic. Bed size massive.

Everything! From the number of pools, to the facilities that you can use (crazy golf, tennis, table tennis, spa), to the friendliness of the staff, we as a family loved every minute of being here. Breakfast in the morning had a great selection from cereals, hot food, meats, cheeses and pastries, so you can fill up before heading out to explore Funchal and Madeira as a whole. There is a bus stop outside the hotel that the number 1 and 2 stop at and will take you into the centre of Funchal. Not only could you eat at the hotel (we enjoyed the Portuguese buffet night), there are lots of options a stones through outside of the hotel. We loved staying here so much that we are planning a repeat visit (which we rarely do!) next year.

well maintained property, very comfortable beds with great bed linen, beautiful garden

We stayed here during covid in 2021 booked through a 3rd party booking service. We felt more welcomed then and we even got an upgrade at the time. This time because we loved it so much we booked again. Unfortunately I booked a standard room which was different from the one we had last time. We asked at reception kindly if we could upgrade and pay the difference. The receptionist looked puzzled and even annoyed at an innocent question - we didn't ask it to be free and we were willing to pay. We were dismissed quickly and we felt really awkward about it... Everyone else was nice, some staff at the breakfast don't seem to speak Portuguese and that can be a bit annoying since we are in Portugal and my older mother for example doesn't speak English... The room is ok, carpets make it a bit hot and personally would prefer wooden floors for hygiene. The toiletries are fantastic from Rituals. The pools are fantastic, clean. The outdoor smaller one is quite cold but the weather was cloudy ao maybe that was why.