Hotel Santa Cruz

One of our classic ‘last minute’ decisions to grab a few days away after Christmas and before the new year really started up…it was through Jet2 and have to say it was seamless. The hotel information on the net is pretty accurate and we went for a double room with sea view..and that’s exactly what we got. The room was very comfortable, daily room cleaning, aircon, and had a small but functional balcony with chairs and a table. We went bed and breakfast as we like to check out local restaurants but the breakfast had a varied offering from fried, continental, cereals and with tea, coffee and a range of fruit juices. Service all round was good and the staff attentive if a little ‘serious’ at times. Parking is available (underground) and whilst a little pricey at €7 per day was spacious and not overcrowded. The hotel is literally a stones throw from the beach and village centre where there are a large number of local restaurants and bars serving up great meals at fair prices. Around €10 - €20 for a main course. Being there still in the post Christmas period the decorations and light were still all up over the island and Santa Cruz had some wonderful lighting and animated displays…it was a great time to visit. Be warned Santa Cruz is close to the airport but it did not interfere in the slightest with the enjoyment of the stay. In fact if you get a tracking app. you can sit with a glass of wine and monitor the incoming and outgoing flights! There is really little prolonged noise and you shouldn’t complain as that’s probably how you got there! The hotel has a small indoor pool, gym and spa bath and a large outdoor pool. All very clean , well maintained and safe. Funchal is about 15 minutes drive or the hotel has a courtesy bus although we didn’t use it so can’t really comment on it. Overall the Vila Gale was a great place to stay and we would (will!) go there again.

The hotel was quite smart, good sized, comfortable room, we had a lovely sea view balcony, room was well serviced. Pool good size, lovely aspect, but very cold. Lovely position in small town of Santa Cruz, just minutes from the airport, flights more of an attraction passing over, than an annoyance. Hotel courtesy is an excellent bonus, bookable, takes you into Funchal and brings you back. Staff were lovely and accommodating. Food and drink were not very good, wine at dinner, both white and red not very palatable, only one cocktail available on All Inclusive, “ Cocktail of the day” I think they made them up! Food was very mediocre, eggs for breakfast fried in an inch of oil, many items on buffet constantly running out, big queues at grill area, desserts very sweet and sickly. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were terrible, there were obviously lots of weekend guests, and a party of umpteen school children, not enough staff to cope, queues to get into dining room, food on buffet running out very quickly. Bar snacks were superb, opted for these rather than the lunch.