Calheta Holidays

Overall, we feel like Vila Baleira is not really a 4* hotel. The rooms are fairly outdated - particularly the bathroom. We were a bit disappointed with the cleanliness, particularly as we could tell the floor wasn’t swept or mopped throughout the duration of our stay. The bed was comfortable enough, however the road outside is very noisy, and so if you are a light sleeper you will struggle. Our key card consistently failed to work for our room, to the point we had to be let in with the master key and there was mention of potentially moving us to another room. The next day none of this came to fruition, and it felt like staff didn’t really care. The excuse given was that it has “magnetised”, which we understand can happen but continued to occur no matter where the card was kept during the day. Although this sounds like a minor inconvenience, we found it really frustrating that we were having to go up and down in the lift multiple times a day just to get into our room. The breakfast was disappointing for €15 pp/per day, and so despite having already paid for this we had breakfast at cafes instead (which were nicer and cheaper). So that was a waste of money for us. The pool was nice enough, however there were not enough sun loungers for guests and you very often ended up sitting at tables, which was frustrating. The location was good - it was within a reasonable walking distance to lots of restaurants, cafes, shops and supermarkets. It also has good underground parking.

Really good apart-hotel, the room had good cooking equipment. The mattress was a bit on the hard side. There's a minimarket at the hotel but there's also a Pingo Doce a few minutes' walk.

Very nice new unit, air conditioning works very well, roomy, well-stocked kitchen, and a lovely private patio with sun loungers and a million dollar view of funchal and the ocean far below. Has a washer and dryer that do not dry to north american standards, you have to leave clothes out on the patio, but that is like every place we have rented in Portugal so far. A high end dining road with numerous restaurants including a Michelin two star, but also with more reasonable options, is a block away and walkable. I would stay here again.