The catch at Estalagem da Ponta do Sol
Five things stand between the clifftop pool and a good stay. None of them touches what the hotel is for, the design, the view and the quiet of the west, but each one decides whether you can manage the place, which room to take and how you will get around the island.
On our shortlists
- Best design hotels in MadeiraA clifftop quinta joined to monochrome modern wings above the sea
- Best value hotels in MadeiraDesign hotel with an infinity pool and a spa free for guests
- Best quiet hotels in Madeira54 rooms on a cliff above a south-west coast village, for two adults
- Best hotels with a view in MadeiraClifftop Atlantic views above a village on the sunny south-west coast
The hotel is layered down a cliff, and reaching a room can mean lifts, a footbridge and several flights of steps.
The hotel steps down a slate cliff above the village, in a series of thick stone walls, with the old quinta at its heart and the modern wings around it. A lift and a footbridge link it to the village street below, and inside there are more lifts and stairs between reception, the rooms, the restaurant and the pool deck. Some routes take up to three lifts, and with a wheelchair the lifts and stairs are hard going. With heavy luggage, a pushchair or knees that dislike steps, it is real work, several times a day.
What to do. If stairs are a problem, ask at booking how many lifts and steps lie between reception and your room, and travel light.
The bedrooms are 18 m², and both categories are the same room.
Every room is a double sold in two versions, Garden View and Sea View, and inside they are the same: an 18 m² bedroom, 5.05 by 3.75 metres, with a bathroom and a balcony beyond. The style is spare on purpose, with white walls, black stone floors, grey rugs, light wood and big panoramic windows, and each room has air conditioning, a mini fridge, a coffee and tea tray and a safe. There is no larger room to step up to: no suite is on sale. Some fittings, rooms and pool furniture show their age.
What to do. Pay for the Sea View. Since the room cannot grow, the view through the window is what the extra buys.
Both room categories take two adults and no children.
The two doubles the hotel sells are set for a maximum of two adults, with no places for children, and babies are not accepted. There are no cots, no kids' club and no lifeguard at the pool. The steps and lifts make the hotel awkward with a pushchair in any case, and the mood, a quiet clifftop with a spa and a lounge bar, is built for adults. It suits couples and solo travellers well, and it is simply not set up for a family.
What to do. Travelling with children, look at a family hotel in Funchal or Caniço instead.
The car park is small, and Funchal is 28 minutes away by car.
Ponta do Sol is on the south-west coast, 37 minutes by car from the airport and 28 from the Sé in Funchal off-peak, so the city's restaurants and evenings are a drive, not a walk. The hotel's own car park is small, and when it is full, cars end up parked on the road outside. The west is close: Calheta's sandy beach is 16 minutes away, the MUDAS art museum 17, the Cabo Girão skywalk 21 and the Rabaçal trailhead for the 25 Fontes walk 33. Rodoeste buses link Ponta do Sol with Funchal, and the hotel lists courtesy buses to Funchal and levada walks.
What to do. Hire a car for the days you plan to explore, ask at booking about parking, and ask which days the courtesy bus runs.
The beach below is pebbles, not sand.
Ponta do Sol's beach, 5 minutes from the hotel entrance on foot by the lift and the footbridge, is a sheltered bay of pebbles and stones under a palm-lined promenade, with cafés along the front and the old quay at its western end. It is a good place to swim on a calm day, but it is rocky underfoot. The nearest sand is Calheta's beach, 16 minutes west by car. At the hotel, the outdoor infinity pool and the indoor pool are free for every guest, along with the panoramic jacuzzi, the sauna and the steam bath.
What to do. Pack water shoes for the village beach, and drive to Calheta for a day on sand.
Who should skip it
Anyone who finds stairs hard, families with children, anyone who wants Funchal's restaurants and streets on foot, and anyone who wants a large room or a suite to spread out in.
Who should book it anyway
Couples and anyone who travels for design. This is an old quinta on a clifftop, joined to monochrome modern wings by the architect Tiago Oliveira, with interiors by Carvalho Araújo, an outdoor infinity pool on the clifftop looking out to sea, a spa that is free to use, and a lounge bar with two fireplaces and a terrace for the sunset. The village, its beach and its tables are five minutes below by the lift, and the west of the island, from Calheta to the levadas of Rabaçal, is close by car. Breakfast is part of every rate, and in January a Garden View room was €152 a night for two. Book the Estalagem Double Sea View, travel light, and the catches above shrink to the steps.
The catch elsewhere in Madeira
- Reid's Palace, A Belmond HotelFunchal
The entry Superior Rooms are 23 to 26 m² with a partial sea view; the full view of the bay starts with the Deluxe Sea View
- The Cliff BayFunchal
Not in the centre: the Sé is a 33-minute walk along a busy road, uphill on the way back, or a bus or taxi
- Savoy PalaceFunchal
The spa circuit costs €50 a day per guest unless you book a treatment of 60 minutes or more, and it is for over-16s only
- Barceló Funchal OldtownFunchal
A small, shallow rooftop pool, about 10 by 6 metres, where loungers run short on busy days
- Hotel MadeiraFunchal
Small rooms: a Standard Room is 17 to 20 m², a Standard Balcony Room 16 to 20 m²
- Casa Velha do PalheiroSão Gonçalo
Funchal is a taxi ride, not a walk: the Sé is 18 minutes by car off-peak but about 70 minutes on foot, much of it steep
- VidaMar Resort Hotel MadeiraLido
The outdoor pools are seawater, and guests often find them cold outside high summer; the heated pool is the indoor one
- Sentido GalomarCaniço de Baixo
Half-board dinner is a buffet at the Ondamar restaurant in Sentido Galosol, the resort's other hotel, which takes children
- Hotel Quinta do FurãoSantana
A hire car is close to essential: Santana's centre is a 51-minute walk along the road and Funchal about 50 minutes' drive
Things to do from Estalagem da Ponta do Sol
The nearest of the experiences we would book, by car from the hotel.
The waterfalls, roped upBeginner canyoning in Madeira: abseils, jumps and slides down waterfalls
From €63.755(2,000)20 min by car
The west, by jeepWest Madeira by 4x4: Fanal forest, Seixal and the Porto Moniz pools
From €695(650)26 min by car
The east, in comfortEast Madeira in a day: Pico do Arieiro, Santana and Ponta de São Lourenço
From €38.704.7(3,900)26 min by car
The food and wineA food and Madeira wine walking tour of Funchal
From €954.8(550)26 min by car
Car hire in Madeira
A footbridge and a lift lead to the village and its pebble beach, 5 minutes on foot, and Rodoeste lines 320 to 323 serve Ponta do Sol, but Funchal is 28 minutes and the Rabaçal trailhead 33 by car, and the car park is small.
Read the car hire guideOpens Expedia’s car search at that airport for your trip dates, or for a week starting a fortnight from today. You book and pay with Expedia.
Questions people ask
Good questions about Estalagem da Ponta do Sol
What are the downsides of Estalagem da Ponta do Sol?
Five things stand between the clifftop pool and a good stay. None of them touches what the hotel is for, the design, the view and the quiet of the west, but each one decides whether you can manage the place, which room to take and how you will get around the island. The hotel is layered down a cliff, and reaching a room can mean lifts, a footbridge and several flights of steps. The bedrooms are 18 m², and both categories are the same room. Both room categories take two adults and no children. The car park is small, and Funchal is 28 minutes away by car. The beach below is pebbles, not sand.
Who should not book Estalagem da Ponta do Sol?
Anyone who finds stairs hard, families with children, anyone who wants Funchal's restaurants and streets on foot, and anyone who wants a large room or a suite to spread out in.
Our verdict
The hotel to book for design and the view: an old quinta with monochrome modern wings, an infinity pool on the clifftop and the village five minutes below. Check availability for an Estalagem Double Sea View.