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Vila Gale Santa Cruz
Rua Sao Fernando 5, Santa Cruz, Madeira 9100-173 Portugal
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Avg. €146 /night, 11/11 - 11/12
€157
per night
€135
per night
€113
per night
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4.0
#2 of 5 hotels in Santa CruzLocation
Rooms
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This beach hotel in Santa Cruz (Madeira) is situated directly beside the sea. Funchal is just 15 minutes away, while Funchal airport is only 5 minutes from the hotel. The promenade and the aqua park are also nearby. There are also stony and pebble beaches in the area. The hotel, which was built in 2006, has a total of 262 room on 4 floors, where we feature 4 junior suites suitable for families. The hotel offers a fully air-conditioned environment with spacious lobby, lifts, 24-hour reception, hotel safe, three bars, two restaurants and parking facilities. It has congress centre (890 m²), room and laundry services, as well as a kids club and games room. All rooms with en suite bathroom, balcony, air conditioning, individually adjustable central heating, direct dial phone, clock, satellite TV, CD / DVD player, radio, safe deposit box, hair-dryer, fax / modem connection, minibar, electronic security lock and 24 hour-room service. It offers an outdoor swimming pool for adults and children, indoor swimming pool (for a fee) and spa facilities with Jacuzzi, sauna, steam room / Turkish bath, Vichy room, a gym, studio for classes, 4 massage and treatments rooms, physician's office. The nearest golf course is only 10 minutes away and the hotel provides a golf desk and clubs closet. A breakfast buffet is served each morning. Lunch and dinner may be eaten from a buffet or a la carte. The following are all accepted as methods of payment: American Express, MasterCard and VISA. There is a transfer service to Funchal available.
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Property amenities
Paid private parking on-site
Free internet
Fitness Centre with Gym / Workout Room
Pool
Free breakfast
Beach
Evening entertainment
Car hire
Parking
Wifi
Fitness / spa changing rooms
Sauna
Hot bath
Pool / beach towels
Infinity pool
Pool with view
Indoor pool
Outdoor pool
Heated pool
Bar / lounge
Restaurant
Breakfast buffet
Snack bar
Poolside bar
Table tennis
Business Centre with Internet Access
Conference facilities
Banquet room
Meeting rooms
Spa
Facial treatments
Foot massage
Full body massage
Massage
Salon
Steam room
Baggage storage
Concierge
Sun loungers / beach chairs
Sun umbrellas
24-hour front desk
Dry cleaning
Laundry service
Ironing service
Room features
Air conditioning
Housekeeping
Private balcony
Room service
Safe
Minibar
Flatscreen TV
Room types
Ocean view
Suites
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Modern
Mid-range
Languages Spoken
English, French, Spanish, German and 1 more
Location
Rua Sao Fernando 5, Santa Cruz, Madeira 9100-173 Portugal
Name/address in local language
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Grade: 74 out of 100
74
21 Restaurants
within 0.5 kilometers
1,560Reviews133Q+A100Room tips
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We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
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Detailed Reviews
Just leaving Vila Gale Hotel in Santa Cruz after 11 nights celebrating Christmas and New Year. The hotel is spotlessly clean and the staff are really friendly and cannot do enough to help you. The food is good and the local wines and spirits in the AI are a better quality than one gets elsewhere. The A La Carte restaurant is available and if you stay for more than 7 nights you get one free visit. We didn't.use the spa or gym so we cannot comment on them. Of special note should be Sandra and Duarte who look after the bar. The restaurant Managers are always attentive and welcome everybody every meal time. We thoroughly recommend this hotel. Regarding Santa Cruz, this sleepy little village is also spotlessly clean with lots of little cafes and bars if you need a change from the hotel. We will probably come here again .
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Date of stay: December 2019Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from VilaGaleHotels, General Manager at Vila Gale Santa Cruz
Responded 3 Jan 2020
Dear Mr. Trevor, Thank you very much for choosing the Vila Galé Santa Cruz Hotel for stay in Madeira Island. We were very pleased to read your message about our hotel and team. Your comments are very valuable for us and for our future guests. We look forward to having you back again. Yours faithfully, Luis Caldeira (General Manager)
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We stayed five nights and liked the room - would have preferred a proper big bed not two singles pushed together though. Fridge and air con both worked well and were quiet.
We were all inclusive. There was a decent range of hot and cold food available, at times items on the buffet were Luke warm which was disappointing but the show/grill kitchen was reliably good for fresh hot meat and fish. Staff usually attentive with drinks at dinner and constantly cleaning used tables. Some of the feta/mozzarella cheese was definitely silk tofu as the texture and flavour was not right. Could do with having more vegetarian and vegan options. Not having to pay extra for Magnum ice creams or vodka/rum/whiskey/pop/wine/draft lager was a good call with the all inclusive deal.
The outdoor pool was cold especially when the sun wasn't out, as it is often in shade and wind and isn't heated. There were a lot of sunbeds and umbrellas but these often move in the wind! The children's small pool slides were fun though. Could do with staff clearing the area of plates/glasses/rubbish more though as plastic glasses blow over easily and I fished used face masks out of the pool more than once.
Massage at the hotel spa was decent, no issues with any staff or equipment, if I could change something it would be to have a later shuttle bus back from Funchal than 5.30pm - maybe 9/10pm to reduce drink driving and taxi fares.
We were all inclusive. There was a decent range of hot and cold food available, at times items on the buffet were Luke warm which was disappointing but the show/grill kitchen was reliably good for fresh hot meat and fish. Staff usually attentive with drinks at dinner and constantly cleaning used tables. Some of the feta/mozzarella cheese was definitely silk tofu as the texture and flavour was not right. Could do with having more vegetarian and vegan options. Not having to pay extra for Magnum ice creams or vodka/rum/whiskey/pop/wine/draft lager was a good call with the all inclusive deal.
The outdoor pool was cold especially when the sun wasn't out, as it is often in shade and wind and isn't heated. There were a lot of sunbeds and umbrellas but these often move in the wind! The children's small pool slides were fun though. Could do with staff clearing the area of plates/glasses/rubbish more though as plastic glasses blow over easily and I fished used face masks out of the pool more than once.
Massage at the hotel spa was decent, no issues with any staff or equipment, if I could change something it would be to have a later shuttle bus back from Funchal than 5.30pm - maybe 9/10pm to reduce drink driving and taxi fares.
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Date of stay: September 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Free car park on site often busy. Bring strong clips/clamps for your sunbed towel. Bring your own...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Vila Galé, General Manager at Vila Gale Santa Cruz
Responded 5 Oct 2021
Dear Guest, Thank you very much for choosing the Vila Galé Santa Cruz Hotel for stay in Madeira Island. We are really sorry for the situation and we hope that you are better. As soon as you informed us the situation the room, the reception provided another room and asked you if you are well and if you needed any support. It was replied that it was not necessary. We look forward to having you back again. Yours faithfully, Luis Caldeira (General Manager) Yours faithfully, Luis Caldeira (General Manager)
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Got back from a nice holiday at the Vila Gale on Thursday night. I agree with BradleyBirmingham's review but need to add this hotel would be much better to go back to a B&B/Half Board type resort as at times staff found it difficult to cope with the sheer volume of All Inclusive guests. The hotel is run well, the staff work extremely hard but at times it was difficult to find a clean laid table in the dining room. Also you could wait in a queue of around eight people at the pool bar as the poor lady serving drinks had to also place and serve the snacks at the same time which was time consuming, everyone said the food was cold so the Management need to look into a different system in this area. Entertainment at night was a bit hit and miss, you never knew what you were walking in to ...either a pleasant surprise of real singers or an evening of piped music.
Bedrooms were clean and ours was spacious but we did have to ask for our sheets to be changed after being there a week. Whenever we left our towels in the bath they were changed but people did say they sometimes had to call reception to get their towels replaced as the maid had forgot.There are only three drawers which was not really enough, there weren't any in the beside tables as normal which was strange. Free safe and fridge in the wardrobes which was good but tea and coffee making facilities in the room would have been a bonus but not sure how this works on H&S.
My wife had a massage in the Spa and was happy with it and the price was very reasonable.
The poolside was swept and mopped daily as far as we know and clean beach towels are provided by the hotel reception. Everyone goes off about the Brits but other Nationalities at the resort seemed to take and do as they wanted including parasols from other people's beds around the pool and barging around in the dining room to get what they wanted. One person even supplied afternoon entertainment for the ladies by appearing blind drunk and naked on his balcony! Vila Gale cannot be responsible for who books their hotel of course but it is something to bear in mind when choosing somewhere to stay.
All in all we had a lovely holiday and a good rest after the naff year and a half we've just had. We met some fantastic friends to have a chat and have a laugh with which made our holiday one to cherish and remember.
Would we visit Madeira again? ...Never say Never
Bedrooms were clean and ours was spacious but we did have to ask for our sheets to be changed after being there a week. Whenever we left our towels in the bath they were changed but people did say they sometimes had to call reception to get their towels replaced as the maid had forgot.There are only three drawers which was not really enough, there weren't any in the beside tables as normal which was strange. Free safe and fridge in the wardrobes which was good but tea and coffee making facilities in the room would have been a bonus but not sure how this works on H&S.
My wife had a massage in the Spa and was happy with it and the price was very reasonable.
The poolside was swept and mopped daily as far as we know and clean beach towels are provided by the hotel reception. Everyone goes off about the Brits but other Nationalities at the resort seemed to take and do as they wanted including parasols from other people's beds around the pool and barging around in the dining room to get what they wanted. One person even supplied afternoon entertainment for the ladies by appearing blind drunk and naked on his balcony! Vila Gale cannot be responsible for who books their hotel of course but it is something to bear in mind when choosing somewhere to stay.
All in all we had a lovely holiday and a good rest after the naff year and a half we've just had. We met some fantastic friends to have a chat and have a laugh with which made our holiday one to cherish and remember.
Would we visit Madeira again? ...Never say Never
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Date of stay: August 2021
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Vila Galé Hotéis, Proprietário at Vila Gale Santa Cruz
Responded 15 Aug 2021
Dear Mr. Manners, Thank you very much for choosing the Vila Galé Santa Cruz Hotel for your stay in Madeira Island. We were very pleased to read your message about our hotel and team. Your comments are very valuable for us and for our future guests. We look forward to having you back again! Yours faithfully, Luis Caldeira (General Manager)
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We stayed at this hotel for a week room 1023 room covid rules throught hotel masks/hand sanitisers was a standard room good size wardrobes large enough nice comfy beds mini fridge and in room safe (no charge) no tea/coffee facilities unable to find out if this was available so packed my own kettle.
Bathroom clean and good size shower over bath if I had one negative about Bathroom it would be get rid of bath put in walkin shower.
Restaurant had reduced menu due to covid what was served ok would of liked food to be hotter. Drinks ok but did not agree with having to pay for cocktail of the day (we were Al inclusive).pool clean but too cold for me sunbeds clean don't no if in normal time's if there would be enough beds there's a snack bar at pool side. All staff polite and friendly
Bathroom clean and good size shower over bath if I had one negative about Bathroom it would be get rid of bath put in walkin shower.
Restaurant had reduced menu due to covid what was served ok would of liked food to be hotter. Drinks ok but did not agree with having to pay for cocktail of the day (we were Al inclusive).pool clean but too cold for me sunbeds clean don't no if in normal time's if there would be enough beds there's a snack bar at pool side. All staff polite and friendly
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Date of stay: July 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Vila Galé Hotéis, Proprietário at Vila Gale Santa Cruz
Responded 27 Jul 2021
Dear Guest, Thank you very much for choosing the Vila Galé Santa Cruz Hotel for stay in Madeira Island. We were very pleased to read your message about our hotel. Your comments are very valuable for us and for our future guests. We look forward to having you back again. Yours faithfully, Luis Caldeira (General Manager)
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
I know this hotel since it was opened. The quality has been the same, the most high quality for a 4 stars hotel. The staff, most of them since the beginning, are very professional and at the same time, kind.
This 4 star hotel is almost a five star, it is located in an ocean-side with swimming pool and astonishing views. It is in the village of Santa Cruz, 3 kms from Madeira Airport and 25 kms from Funchal, the Capital City of the Island. They offer a daily scheduled free service between Hotel-Funchal-Hotel at different times during day. Most every night they have shows at the bar and several entertainments.
A buffet restaurant offers local and international cuisine.
Great quality breakfast.
This 4 star hotel is almost a five star, it is located in an ocean-side with swimming pool and astonishing views. It is in the village of Santa Cruz, 3 kms from Madeira Airport and 25 kms from Funchal, the Capital City of the Island. They offer a daily scheduled free service between Hotel-Funchal-Hotel at different times during day. Most every night they have shows at the bar and several entertainments.
A buffet restaurant offers local and international cuisine.
Great quality breakfast.
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Date of stay: December 2019
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Â The beast ones are the full ocean view
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from VilaGaleHotels, General Manager at Vila Gale Santa Cruz
Responded 3 Jan 2020
Dear António, Thank you very much for taking your time and share your wonderful experience on TripAdvisor. We were very happy to know that you enjoyed our Hotel. We look forward to welcoming you back soon. Kind Regards Luis Caldeira (General Manager)
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Hotel is a great short hop from the airport. It is lovely and clean with great amenities….once you work out what and where they are.
The hotel offer a transit bus to Funchal, but you have to book on arrival as it fills up quickly. Taxis are 30-40 euro or the local bus can be taken for around 5euro return. Just ask staff where the bus stop is.
After breakfast ends the bar or bar cafe opens to serve drinks and snacks and service is good as is the food.
There is an al a carte restaurant which all inclusive board allows one visit during stay, but turned out was fully booked so we did not get the option. Fellow residents who were lucky said you had to pre-book your actual meal but on the night we’re waiting for around an hour for food to be served. The restaurant is open everyday but only open to all inclusive on Tuesday / Wednesday at least according to reception.
Overall information is difficult to get. None of the above is clearly explained in the hotel and as previous reviews indicate reception staff do not furnish with any information other than what is asked.
Spa facility is good, no need to book indoor pool which is a nice alternative to the cold outdoor pool. Spa treatment is popular so book early.
We had no real issues with the buffet restaurant which was clean and had good selection on offer. One night only on Easter Sunday was there a blip in usual service with a lack of crockery and slow delivery of drinks but this was remedied with a visit to the bar later and a couple of rounds of bingo which was a nice bit of fun.
A highlight of the week was a folk dancing group during dinner with local dress and instruments. Fantastic.
Funchal itself is a good place to visit. We did a good and cultural tour which seemed to be more food and drink than culture but the guide was great as were the places visited and was a good intro to Funchal.
Also a great visit was the toboggan ride after going up the Funchal cable car.
Must say have not really noticed the planes much unless outside but this is a small island and not Gatwick so no constant flow of traffic and room windows do a good job of drowning out the noise.
Great stay tho and a good base to tour the island. Enjoy
The hotel offer a transit bus to Funchal, but you have to book on arrival as it fills up quickly. Taxis are 30-40 euro or the local bus can be taken for around 5euro return. Just ask staff where the bus stop is.
After breakfast ends the bar or bar cafe opens to serve drinks and snacks and service is good as is the food.
There is an al a carte restaurant which all inclusive board allows one visit during stay, but turned out was fully booked so we did not get the option. Fellow residents who were lucky said you had to pre-book your actual meal but on the night we’re waiting for around an hour for food to be served. The restaurant is open everyday but only open to all inclusive on Tuesday / Wednesday at least according to reception.
Overall information is difficult to get. None of the above is clearly explained in the hotel and as previous reviews indicate reception staff do not furnish with any information other than what is asked.
Spa facility is good, no need to book indoor pool which is a nice alternative to the cold outdoor pool. Spa treatment is popular so book early.
We had no real issues with the buffet restaurant which was clean and had good selection on offer. One night only on Easter Sunday was there a blip in usual service with a lack of crockery and slow delivery of drinks but this was remedied with a visit to the bar later and a couple of rounds of bingo which was a nice bit of fun.
A highlight of the week was a folk dancing group during dinner with local dress and instruments. Fantastic.
Funchal itself is a good place to visit. We did a good and cultural tour which seemed to be more food and drink than culture but the guide was great as were the places visited and was a good intro to Funchal.
Also a great visit was the toboggan ride after going up the Funchal cable car.
Must say have not really noticed the planes much unless outside but this is a small island and not Gatwick so no constant flow of traffic and room windows do a good job of drowning out the noise.
Great stay tho and a good base to tour the island. Enjoy
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Date of stay: April 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Vila Galé, General Manager at Vila Gale Santa Cruz
Responded 18 Apr 2022
Dear Client, Thank you very much for choosing the Vila Galé Santa Cruz Hotel for stay in Madeira Island. We were very pleased to read your message about our hotel. Your comments are very valuable for us and for our future guests. We look forward to having you back again. Yours faithfully, Luis Caldeira (General Manager)
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Well let's start with the good things.
1. The food was actually pretty good (although not much choice) but it was tasty and even the wine was good.
2. The hotel was spotless and they were very tough ensuring people wore masks whilst in the building.
3. Great location - close to the airport
And the not so good bits:
1. Some of the staff were less than friendly. Michele, one of the bar staff was actually quite rude. A new til system meant they spent more time playing with that than serving customers.
2. The rooms are very orange and very 1990's. They need modernising.
3. The pool bar closes at 6 when it's still hot and sunny. You then have to go to another bar inside and are told off because you need to go and get a t-shirt. Why close the bar so early?
4. The room used in the evening has to be the most dull room I've ever been in. Stone silence with people playing with their phones and watching football. Even some music would have been nice. We sat in there once and never again. Ended up on our balcony having drinks. It was dire!
5. If you order lunch at the bar, nobody tells you it's ready so it ends up going cold as there was not enough staff.
6. The tables outside were always filthy with ash trays full of cigarette ends.
So, sorry Vila Gale, I won't be coming back. I know we have Covid-19 and 10/10 for the hygiene piece but the staff need to cheer up and abide by your slogan "Always close to you" and you need to seriously up the game during the evenings.
1. The food was actually pretty good (although not much choice) but it was tasty and even the wine was good.
2. The hotel was spotless and they were very tough ensuring people wore masks whilst in the building.
3. Great location - close to the airport
And the not so good bits:
1. Some of the staff were less than friendly. Michele, one of the bar staff was actually quite rude. A new til system meant they spent more time playing with that than serving customers.
2. The rooms are very orange and very 1990's. They need modernising.
3. The pool bar closes at 6 when it's still hot and sunny. You then have to go to another bar inside and are told off because you need to go and get a t-shirt. Why close the bar so early?
4. The room used in the evening has to be the most dull room I've ever been in. Stone silence with people playing with their phones and watching football. Even some music would have been nice. We sat in there once and never again. Ended up on our balcony having drinks. It was dire!
5. If you order lunch at the bar, nobody tells you it's ready so it ends up going cold as there was not enough staff.
6. The tables outside were always filthy with ash trays full of cigarette ends.
So, sorry Vila Gale, I won't be coming back. I know we have Covid-19 and 10/10 for the hygiene piece but the staff need to cheer up and abide by your slogan "Always close to you" and you need to seriously up the game during the evenings.
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Date of stay: May 2021
Value
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Vila Galé Hotéis, Proprietário at Vila Gale Santa Cruz
Responded 1 Jun 2021
Dear Guest, Thank you very much for choosing the Vila Galé Santa Cruz Hotel for stay in Madeira Island. We were very pleased to read your message about our hotel. Your comments are very valuable for us and for our future guests. We look forward to having you back again. Yours faithfully, Luis Caldeira (General Manager)
Read more
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Day 2 of our ‘holiday’
My partner wasn’t well enough to come down for dinner but he was very much the lucky one. No one greets you and you have to wander around dirty tables stacked with plates in the hope of finding a clean one. Then, when I did find one, I was rudely told to move for no reason whatsoever. The food choice is shockingly bad: very limited and uninspiring options and what I had was bland and cold. I took my husband some dinner to the room and whilst he had a different dish to me, it was exactly the same level of bland.
Breakfast was the same mess. Dirty tables, no drinks served and bland food.
I finally managed to obtain some pool towels at reception after my husband was initially turned away for being there too early. Staff at reception were rude and it felt like they had given up.
We sat by the pool in plastic, dirty looking sun loungers praying that the bar would open soon..... it opened 45 minutes late. No entertainment is provided apart from some awful music which luckily is on low so you can barely hear it from most parts of the pool. The wi-fi is absolutely terrible. The signal is never good and it regularly kicks you out so it is effectively unusable.
There is an outside giant chess set which looks like a covid nightmare. Never cleaned once in the day.
Very rarely does someone come to collect glasses from the pool. Every table is laden with dirty ones and it’s really unappealing.
Everyone seems to have the same sense of despair at the nightmare we have all paid for.
This hotel surely is only rated so highly because of reviews from over a year ago as the recent poor ones are the accurate ones. The only entertainment is playing ‘bad review bingo’ and sadly we have noticed nearly every bad thing mentioned already.
Good things? The wine is better than normal hotel one which is good as, trust me, you need a lot of it if you’re staying here. Here’s to another standardised ‘nothing’ response from the hotel.
My partner wasn’t well enough to come down for dinner but he was very much the lucky one. No one greets you and you have to wander around dirty tables stacked with plates in the hope of finding a clean one. Then, when I did find one, I was rudely told to move for no reason whatsoever. The food choice is shockingly bad: very limited and uninspiring options and what I had was bland and cold. I took my husband some dinner to the room and whilst he had a different dish to me, it was exactly the same level of bland.
Breakfast was the same mess. Dirty tables, no drinks served and bland food.
I finally managed to obtain some pool towels at reception after my husband was initially turned away for being there too early. Staff at reception were rude and it felt like they had given up.
We sat by the pool in plastic, dirty looking sun loungers praying that the bar would open soon..... it opened 45 minutes late. No entertainment is provided apart from some awful music which luckily is on low so you can barely hear it from most parts of the pool. The wi-fi is absolutely terrible. The signal is never good and it regularly kicks you out so it is effectively unusable.
There is an outside giant chess set which looks like a covid nightmare. Never cleaned once in the day.
Very rarely does someone come to collect glasses from the pool. Every table is laden with dirty ones and it’s really unappealing.
Everyone seems to have the same sense of despair at the nightmare we have all paid for.
This hotel surely is only rated so highly because of reviews from over a year ago as the recent poor ones are the accurate ones. The only entertainment is playing ‘bad review bingo’ and sadly we have noticed nearly every bad thing mentioned already.
Good things? The wine is better than normal hotel one which is good as, trust me, you need a lot of it if you’re staying here. Here’s to another standardised ‘nothing’ response from the hotel.
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Date of stay: August 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Go somewhere else
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Vila Galé Hotéis, Proprietário at Vila Gale Santa Cruz
Responded 6 Aug 2021
Dear Guest, First of all thank you for your comments that will allow us to improve our services. We are sorry for the inconveniences caused during your stay and we can assure that all your comments are going to be deeply analysed and every issues that you mention will be sorted out. We thank you for the time taken to post your review and hope that we can speek during your stay with us. Best Regrads Luis Caldeira
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Under the circumstances Vila Gale Santa Cruz is a great place to go if you want to chill out, sunbath and just take things slow. Make sure you get a sea view upgrade as its definately worth the extra. The small staff did what they could do make the stay as good as possible with the current limitations. Food was what you'd expect from a European all inclusive plus the grill which had good options. One night I didn't really like anything, I had the kids selection which was either Chicken, Pizza or Fish Fingers. Great range of puddings. Bar was great, make sure you have euros if you want to play pool as they charge 7 Euros per hour for Pool bools. Entertainment was sparse which is to be expect during the current situation, but the singer was very good and was nice to see the Traditional dance, singers from Madeira. Pool was lovely, but for those who said it was cold, its just not heated. Went to Funchal one day, there is a free hotel mini bus which takes about 20 mins, but you need to book it in advance. About 5 minutes from the airport, but at the moment be prepared for a very long checkin on the way home. Unfortunately the kids area wasn't open, so can't comment on that.
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Date of stay: June 2021
Value
Rooms
Service
Room Tip:Â Get a sea view. other view is of a worn down building. Sea view is fanatasic.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Vila Galé Hotéis, Proprietário at Vila Gale Santa Cruz
Responded 21 Jun 2021
Dear Guest, Thank you very much for choosing the Vila Galé Santa Cruz Hotel for stay in Madeira Island. We were very pleased to read your message about our hotel. Your comments are very valuable for us and for our future guests. We look forward to having you back again. Yours faithfully, Luis Caldeira (General Manager)
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This hotel has to be the worse hotel I’ve ever stayed at. Food is stone cold and hardly any choice whatsoever. Complained to manager on 2nd day but nothing really improved. The first few days the fruit consisted of 2 slithers of melon or orange or pineapple in individual dishes so if you wanted to make a fruit salad you had to practically take all that was there as there was only about 4 dishes of each. After my complaint the dishes got slightly bigger with 3 slithers of fruit instead. There was a cooking station which done a meat or fish but it was just plain, bland and boring. Then there was a tiny hot food section which was all side dishes and one chicken dish. Only 6 tiny dishes in total to feed whole hotel which was left to get cold as no heating under it. Photo shows the entire hot food section and a dessert which my thumb is bigger. Salad was minimal too. Supposed to be different theme nights but every night was the same apart from fish night when that’s all there was so no alternative for anyone who is allergic to or doesn’t like fish. Only one 4 slice toaster for breakfast which took forever. No teapots were ever put out so you had to ask every day for one. You would of thought that seeing there was loads of us asking for one they would of put some out but no. Enough of the food as it makes me feel sick thinking of it hence why we ate out in the village lots of times. The hotel needs to pay a visit to a Riu hotel and see how it’s done.
Hotel and Tui still advertise free shuttle bus to Funchal but sadly it’s not being used. Covid was the excuse even though everyone had to have a negative test to go there. The hotel were happy for you to use public transport though and mix with anyone on the bus then return to the hotel. Makes no sense at all.
Spa facilities non existent apart from the pool even though that’s still being advertised too. Again covid!
Also still advertising nightly entertainment but guess what? Yep that’s right none whatsoever. Yet again covid excuse gets used. Just one bar in the evening which had very quiet background music because the TV was in in there!
Rooms are average size for 2 people but carpet in the room which is not at all practical in this sort of hotel.
Pool absolutely freezing, needs being heated a little to take the edge off. It’s no wonder no photos show anyone in the pool. Even the kids foot deep pool was freezing.
I certainly wouldn’t recommend this hotel to anyone at all and would never return.
Hotel and Tui still advertise free shuttle bus to Funchal but sadly it’s not being used. Covid was the excuse even though everyone had to have a negative test to go there. The hotel were happy for you to use public transport though and mix with anyone on the bus then return to the hotel. Makes no sense at all.
Spa facilities non existent apart from the pool even though that’s still being advertised too. Again covid!
Also still advertising nightly entertainment but guess what? Yep that’s right none whatsoever. Yet again covid excuse gets used. Just one bar in the evening which had very quiet background music because the TV was in in there!
Rooms are average size for 2 people but carpet in the room which is not at all practical in this sort of hotel.
Pool absolutely freezing, needs being heated a little to take the edge off. It’s no wonder no photos show anyone in the pool. Even the kids foot deep pool was freezing.
I certainly wouldn’t recommend this hotel to anyone at all and would never return.
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Date of stay: April 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Vila Galé Hotéis, Proprietário at Vila Gale Santa Cruz
Responded 31 May 2021
Dear Guest, Thank you very much for your comments about your experience in Vila Galé Santa Cruz Hotel. We apologize if we couldn't be up to some of your expectations but let us express our gratitude by thanking you for sharing your comments with us. Your comments are an important tool and only help us to continue our constant pursuit of service improvement by solving those and continue trying to exceed expectations. On our own behalf and on that of the Vila Galé Santa Cruz Hotel team, we hope we have the honour of hosting you again in a near future. Kind regards Luis Caldeira (General Manager)
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Rooms are not equiped in non-slip mats. It is better to call or mail to hotel reception. They will know answers
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"We travelled with Jet2. No Jet2 Rep visited during our stay - we did notice a Tui lady in reception."Read full review
"I would consider bed and breakfast if I stayed again. There are traditional restaurants nearby. Reasonably priced with a choice of menu's "Read full review
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PRICE RANGE
€104 - €175 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
vila gale santa cruz hotel santa cruz, vila gale hotel santa cruz, santa cruz vila gale, vila gale madeira
LOCATION
PortugalMadeira IslandsMadeiraSanta Cruz
NUMBER OF ROOMS
262
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect nightly room rates, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Vila Gale Santa Cruz
Which popular attractions are close to Vila Gale Santa Cruz?
Nearby attractions include São Salvador Church (0.2 km), Municipal Market of Santa Cruz (0.1 km), and Aquaparque Madeira (0.5 km).
What are some of the property amenities at Vila Gale Santa Cruz?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include an indoor pool, free breakfast, and an on-site restaurant.
Which room amenities are available at Vila Gale Santa Cruz?
Top room amenities include a minibar, air conditioning, and a flat screen TV.
What food & drink options are available at Vila Gale Santa Cruz?
Guests can enjoy free breakfast, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge during their stay.
Is parking available at Vila Gale Santa Cruz?
Yes, paid private parking on-site is available to guests.
What are some restaurants close to Vila Gale Santa Cruz?
Conveniently located restaurants include Taberna do Petisco, Restaurante Do Dia Pra Noite, and Bilheteira.
Are there opportunities to exercise at Vila Gale Santa Cruz?
Yes, guests have access to an indoor pool, a fitness centre, and a sauna during their stay.
Are any cleaning services offered at Vila Gale Santa Cruz?
Yes, dry cleaning and laundry service are offered to guests.
Does Vila Gale Santa Cruz offer any business services?
Yes, it conveniently offers a business centre, meeting rooms, and a banquet room.
Which languages are spoken by the staff at Vila Gale Santa Cruz?
The staff speaks multiple languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese.
Are there any historical sites close to Vila Gale Santa Cruz?
Many travellers enjoy visiting Aqueduto De Machico (4.6 km), Cais de Machico (4.7 km), and Forte Dos Reis Magos (6.0 km).