Vila Gale Santa Cruz

Not a bad place.

Excelente hotel! Muito boa a recepção e funcionários! Boa comida! Pequeno almoço com muita variedade

I stayed at Vila Galé together with my mother and we had a great stay there. I had read some reviews about hard mattresses and not enough choice at breakfast. Firstly, the beds were excellent - not too soft, not too hard. Every day housekeeping arranged our nightwear in butterfly patterns on the bed, which was lovely! The rooms were very well-maintained and kept very clean. Some people missed coffee and tea-making facilities in the room but when they requested these at reception, they were immediately provided. Onto the breakfast buffet: I honestly cannot imagine how anyone could be left wanting there! From made-to-order omelettes and pancakes, to all the ingredients of an English breakfast, numerous pastries, cakes, cereals, sliced cheese & meat, jams, fresh fruit, yoghurts, juices and coffee machines that use coffee beans to make you any kind of coffee you want. We regularly skipped lunch because we were still so full from breakfast! One day we had to leave early for a tour and the hotel kindly provided us with a very full and varied breakfast box. We cannot speak from experience about the dinner buffet but heard from fellow guests that these were just as varied and tasty as the breakfasts. We made use of the pool and bar during our stay, which were also good. The location of the hotel is excellent, with a view over the ocean and within walking distance of numerous bars and restaurants. Our personal favourite was O Professor, with excellent food and really friendly staff. We also had an amazing (and HUGE) pizza at the Pizza Café in Santa Cruz overlooking the water. While we were staying there, they were celebrating the "Santa Faz" municipal festivities with traditional folk music and dancing, orchestras, opera and also a DJ till the small hours. On the last night they ended with a spectacular fireworks display. It meant we had a bit of trouble getting to sleep but the festivities were so joyous that this didn't trouble us - after all, we didn't have to get up for work the next day! If you want to explore further afield by yourself, the hotel provides a shuttle bus to and from Funchal. Make sure you register for the bus on time as it does fill up quickly. The alternative is to walk to the local bus stop at 500 m from the hotel. There you can take local buses to Funchal or the very pretty and relaxed coastal town (with rare sandy beach) of Machico. All in all, we had an excellent stay at Vila Galé and would recommend it to anyone.

We have just returned from a short stay. We had a lovely room with sea, pool and airport view. We found the hotel to be very clean, the staff helpful and friendly. The food was excellent and plenty of choice. Overall it was quiet and not a lot of entertainment during the day which suited us though I did enjoy aquarobics. We couldn't get a slot on the minibus to Funchal but the receptionist gave us directions and a timetable for the express bus. We couldn't believe how cheap it was. Overall we would recommend this hotel and would definitely return.

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.