Reviews of Vila Gale Santa Cruz

Great stay. We arrived late and the gentleman at the front desk was so kind and accommodating!! Would definitely recommend. Very convenient to airport!

Not a bad place.

Excellent hotel! Very nice reception and staff! Good food! Breakfast with a lot of variety

Excellent service and great stay with everything fantastic. exceptional breakfast

We chose Vila Galé for our wedding reception in September 2024. Everything was perfect. Mr. Gonçalo was the person in charge of the organization from the hotel. He did an excellent job, following all the steps, starting from the initial meetings till the final day. We strongly recommend Vila Galé for your event: the venue is so nice, the food is great and the staff is very friendly. We stayed there for one night and we can say that also the room and breakfast were super nice.

Just arrived back after spending a brilliant week at the villa gale...can't vault the hotel everything was amazing...food cleaniness staff...have to mention Sandra at the pool bar she was a star....we had a sea view room on the 2nd floor..Nice and spacious free safe got a kettle from reception to make a brew...everywhere was spottlesy clean..cleaners worked really hard...so did all the staff in the restaurant...we were all inclusive and the choice of food was amazing..and @pool bar menu plenty of choices...and drinks and the cocktail of the day which we enjoyed......there were plenty of sunbeds to relax...so all in all 10/10.

The hotel is a haven for walkers who are out everyday on an activity. So breakfast and dinner are all you need. Food is good and varied enough - the problem is always not to overeat in a buffet. The bar had a nice range of drinks. There is a wine menu at dinner. There are several nice local restaurants , a cake/bakery shop, and supermarket in Santa Cruz square behind the seafront in which we ate Portuguese delicacies which is a short walk from the hotel. Recommend booking a superior room with sea view as the standard rooms can have a poor outlook (on one side look into a building site with all the attendent noise). A sea view room has a good view straight onto the sea and it was lovely listening to the waves. Rooms are a good size and bathroom is a nice size with a balcony. The hotel never appeared crowded. However there is noise from aircraft landing and taking off - not often and interesting to watch but the noise was there if you are in the hotel and not on an activity. The spa was nice and not crowded and yes plastic caps must be worn in the indoor pool (weird), the spa receptionist may not be apparent but just say “ hello , hello” and she appears. She signs out the spa Towels. The reception and restaurant staff were very friendly and helpful. although there is one guy on reception and also drives the shuttle bus who ****** the life blood out of any situation such as checking in when he was not welcoming and when asked a question looked at you like guests should not ask questions and the answer was monosyllabic - hospitality may not have been a good career move for him!! CAn also get a local bus direct into Funchal and there is a taxi rank close by. Overall I liked the hotel.

Booked this for a get away from UK weather, travelled with Jet2. Booked a standard twin/double room. On arrival reception was good had an hours wait for room as with Jet2 we arrive early. Went to our room nothing wrong with room allocated but it was at front of hotel and balcolny looked out onto street which consisted of closed business and not what I like sitting on my balcolny. Went to reception enquired about a sea view room and for a very reasonable extra payment which was less than what Jet2 charge for exactly same room got a wonderful view and room was great. For that I thank the hotel. IMPORTANT TO NOTE we were there in February and I would suspect that if it was during busier time of year it would not have been available. If you book a Jet2 standard room you may be dissappointed with view unless of course you book a sea view when you first book. Hotel in general was guiet, (February) there were works going on which Jet2 never informed us about and whilst it spoilt view around pool did not detract from experience. Other travel companies do advise about these issues. Room was well appointed daily cleaning unless you decline it. Restraunt was pleasant enough, I have said this many times DO NOT EXPECT ENGLISH FOOD Its a foreign country. Hotels with a UK guests often try and provide a version of an English breakfast as do Vila Gale, Not for me on this occasion but it was enjoyed by many others and I found more than enough to keep me going. Only had dinner once was not bad but did not really reflect the standard of the Hotel. We were Bed and Breakfast so we were not that bothered. In the same vein about UK food Santa Cruz is very much Portugese. The restraunts supply local and national dishes which I have to say were very good, I am now addicted to Picado, such a simple dish Fish or Beef or Chicken with a Sauce/Gravy with chips or fried sliced potato it was excellent. It would be unfair to pick out one restraunt but I am going to, Recanto da Pitada situated just off the promenade and if walking from hotel on the left before tyou get to the Market building. English is not the staffs first language but we muddled through. If you are interested in full reviews on restraunts over next few weeks will review all the locations we used. To sum up hotel borders very close to 4 star but not guite there, rooms were clean and well tended. Room service was quick and efficient, Restraunt was hit and miss for me, my wife was okay with it but I would not go half board or all inclusive because I would look outside for restraunts. B AND B was ok. We used the bar snack service which was quick efficient and very good. Have to mention Sandra who was behind the bar 3rd Feb when we first arrived and several days after that and was an asset to the hotel a lovely lady and good at her job. Just a final nod to the fact this is Portugal, Santa Cruz recognises UK travellers with their written menus but is local food not an english breakfast anywhere. I don't mind this

The hotel was clean and well maintined. Our room was a decent size. All the staff we encountered were approachable and friendly (from the cleaners to the receptonists). The are two outdoor pools, a smaller "paddling type" one with slides for little ones, and a main larger swimming pool. We never had an issue getting sun-loungers (and we went for two together, complete with a small table and a parasol) - although the choice was a bit reduced after 1pm. You could hear the sound of the sea whilst sunbathing around the pool - nice :-) We stayed on a bed and breakfast basis - typical buffet style breakfast but done well with a good selection of fruit, cereals, yougurts, cheese, cold meats, hot breakfast foods and pancakes, breads and pastries. In short, the hotel did everything the brochure said it did. One word of caution, the free hotel minbus into Funchal fills quickly so book early at reception (ideally early the day before) - we found the local public buses really crowded and ended up standing both ways. Although we liked the hotel, and the people we met in Santa Cruz were lovely and welcoming, it is not a large resort and is relatively quiet - we don't like things busy or full of late night bars/nightclubs, but would have liked a little more choice of places to go. You will both hear and see planes on their approach to the airport - but we quite liked this and were awarding marks for the approaches! :-)

First time staying at this hotel. First impression very good. Was immediately offered to better room. Wish I had chosen it! Standard room was fair walk from lift. It was dated and needed redecoration. The carpet was stained and needed a clean. Bathroom was bright with great shower over bath and a bidet. Excellent wardrobe space and free safe. Food buffet style for breakfast and dinner. Only had 3 dinners but they improved as time went on. Very good service, food could have been warmer. Great bar, outdoor space. Had excellent massage by Cristeana; spur of the moment decision. Reception staff very helpful. Going back in 2025....

Three of our party of 7 became ill after 4 nights at this hotel, due to either food poisoning or a sickness bug. We also heard someone wretching from another bedroom which suggests that the problem could have been more widespread. We were on half board and the dining experience was really horrible; very very busy with people dodging each other to get to the food. It was more like being in a train station than a restaurant. The food itself was also poor. It was hardly surprising that some of us got sick. The dining experience matched the rooms which had very dated orange carpet and walls. Not very pleasant when you’re feeling nauseous! Whilst standing in the shower over the bath, there was a substantial bounce on that section of the bath, which was in danger of collapse. Other major negatives included the banging from the building site which formed the view from my balcony. I could go on and on. Horrible experience.

This hotel is more 3 star than 4 the room advertised and based our booking on were mis advertised by travel company and I am following that up, however the rooms and corridors are carpeted and walls and furniture are dated and tatty and have a horrible aroma, entertainment very poor, all inclusive is shocking we knew about drinks but the basics of water is given by the glass at mealtime and it’s warm, one large complimentary bottle of water on arrival and a mini bar that did not include bottles for all the family, water and ice cold fresh water at that, has never been an issue in all my years of holidays, so this hotel was a disappointment for the basics of water plus the one cocktail daily. The variety of food is shocking the best was the al a carte meal. Pool freezing cold but area was pleasant around the pool. The rocky beach wasn’t for us but we did enjoy watching the planes come and go. Rooms and all inclusive package and variety of food do not make this hotel anywhere near a 4 star.

The hotel is lovely with a beautiful view of the beach from the pool. The snack bar food is incredible and the bartender Nidia is absolutely amazing she will always serve with a smile and cater to everyone’s drink requests. She has made our holiday wonderful.

Nice hotel spoilt by the current stomach bug going around. Local pharmacist advised tourists had started coming to them for help on 21st April '24. I was very unwell overnight on 21st/22nd (no I hadnt been drinking), my husband is now ill (25th) Suprised the hotel haven't made any attempt to limit spread at buffet stations.