Hotel Orca Praia

Very disappointing parking situation, 10e a day parking or driving up and down the road trying to find public spot.. NO WIFI!!!! What do you mean there’s 0 free WiFi access in any areas of the hotel Wouldn’t be as big of an issue but there’s also very little mobile network connection, therefore use of Data was ever limited.. Breakfast - is okay, you could tell a lot of items are stored and reused days later (pastries, fresh fruits) Pool is okay but sunbeds are uncomfortable and you can’t get a towel in morning (10am…) Hotel management could easily make this in a 5* property with just basic additional amenities and being less greedy with add ons.. Overall for a supposedly 4 star hotel it’s more like 3. However Staff are quite nice and helpful Rooms are crazy spacious (probably double what average same price hotel will get you in Portugal) Location is good, a little further from city center (about 75min walk) but in front of a nice empty black sand beach

Top view hotel on front of sand beach ( low tide). Staff really friendly and went beyond to help. Highly recommend. Recommend the parking reservation

This hotel was a huge disappointment and absolutely does not meet the standards of a 4-star property. The room conditions were unacceptable: thick dust everywhere, cracked walls, and a worrying number of bugs. To make matters worse, someone in the room next door was smoking constantly, and the smoke came straight into our room through the bathroom extractor fan. At one point it became unbearable and we couldn’t even sleep. What makes this even more frustrating is the complete lack of action from the hotel. Despite raising the issue every single day during our stay, they never got in touch with us, and not once did anyone actually come to the room to check or resolve the problem. The staff were rude and dismissive, showing no real concern for our comfort. Simple requests were also refused. We bought some fruit from a local market and asked for a plate and a knife to be sent to the room — something very basic — and this was declined. The evening entertainment was shocking. There were only around 5 or 6 tables available to sit at, which is nowhere near enough for a hotel of this size, creating an uncomfortable and poorly organised atmosphere. Another serious concern is accessibility. The hotel facilities are not friendly for disabled guests or elderly people who rely on walking aids, which makes moving around the property difficult and, at times, unsafe. Communication was also a big issue. Most of the staff barely spoke English, and it felt like the hotel’s main focus was on German-speaking guests, leaving other guests struggling to communicate. Overall, this was a very poor experience. Between the room conditions, lack of hygiene, rude staff, zero problem-solving, poor accessibility, and weak facilities, this hotel is nowhere near deserving of a 4-star rating. I would not recommend it and will not be returning

Hotel is in a fabulous location overlooking the sea. Everywhere is spotless, the staff are friendly and helpful, the room was very nice and the buffet breakfast was excellent. But if you have any sort of mobility problems then you need to avoid this hotel. There are around 200 steps to/from the pool which includes 2 steep ramps. There is no other way down but to walk. To get up to the road there are 2 very steep ramps. I can't see this mentioned on their website but it should be as if you have health problems you would be totally stuck. Because of this we wouldn't go back which is a shame because in every other way it's fabulous. Once down on the promenade, if you turn left there are 3 bars/restaurants all decent. But our favourite was on the road, left out of the hotel - fabulous restaurant with great food and service.

What a dump. Hotel does not seem to be in the hospitality business or have any knowledge of how it works. This is a hotel that has the best oceanside - every room has a great balcony and vast ocean views. Checkin was great. Great guy and very informative. After checkin, everything onward was downhill fast. DO NOT eat at the restaurant! Terrible overpriced food. The buffet was pathetic. 40 Euros for that slop? You have to be kidding me. Low level cafeteria food at best. The non buffet menu is very limited and the food was also terrible. Overcooked beef. 4* hotel had no concept of how steak is prepared in their own restaurant. Medium or well done but med rare seemed to be a foreign concept to them? Basically garbage. Shrimp cocktail showed up as some weird shrimp salad thing with loads of some weird dressing. No pictures on the menu or on the menu app so it was a crap shoot. Even pointing specifically to the menu items and confirming with the server they still managed to f' it up. This hotel is way over rated. It is a shame. They could do so much better. Look elsewhere for better quality.

I spent a week touring Madeira with an e-bike. At the end of my trip, I stayed two nights at the Hotel Orca Praia. At every hotel during the trip, charging the battery was absolutely no problem. A separate, lockable room with a power outlet was readily available for free. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case at the Hotel Orca Praia. The receptionist told me that the e-bike couldn't be parked or charged there. Even after asking several times, my request was denied. I have to charge the bike outside the hotel !! I then asked to speak to the manager. He had the receptionist inform me that I would have to pay € 20 per day. Then, he said, they would have a solution. I have never experienced such arrogant, rude, and unhelpful behavior. The tour operator also didn't understand the situation. That same evening, the tour operator provided me with a fully charged battery. This allowed me to explore Funchal as planned without any problems. I absolutely cannot recommend the hotel's service. The hotel isn't the newest. But aside from the service, it's basically okay, especially the view. The bathroom is a bit dated.