What People are saying

Hellishly Noisy

steveg999on 24/04/2017 20:48

The apartment is modern, a good size, spotless, is close to amenities, has good sea views to the right and left from the sizeable balcony, and has all mod cons including air-con.

However, the massive downside to our two week 'nighmare' holiday was the persistent and deafening noise levels:
The main road just outside the apartment block only quietened down well after midnight. (Lots and lots of noisy motorbikes, car horns and heavy vehicles)

The apartment was only 50 metres from the Hotel Gorghula which was undergoing a major rebuild/refurbishment. Consequently we had construction noise and
pneumatic drills going all day from just before 8:00am until just after 9:00pm (lunch break from 1:00pm to 2:00 pm was an absolute blessing and so was Sunday.)

The noise from refuse skips and bottle banks being collected in the early hours of the morning was cataclismic..

Compared to the rest of the rackets going on the late night noise from the bars below was trivial, and quite acceptable.

Other, albeit trivial, niggles concerning the apartment were:
The balcony doors needed re-hanging as they did not close properly. A 5mm gap at the bottom let noise in and is a security concern.
The seal on the front door needed attention as closing the door made little difference to noise levels. If you put your weight against it the traffic noise was noticeably less.
The bath towel rail fell to bits the first time a towel was taken.
The kitchen and bathroom sink had no plugs, although the bidet had one!
The wardrobe doors needed re-hanging as the one side kept sliding open of its own accord.
Kitchen utensils consisted of a bread knife, a metal fish slice and a wine bottle opener - no paring knife, no slicing knife, no serving spoons etc
No kitchen cleaning items at all were present. Not even a black bin liner for the rubbish bin, and we had to ask the maid, who came Tuesdays and who did not speak English, for a tea towel.
Cookware consisted of two quite large pans and a smallish frying pan - no colander/strainer or small pan.
The minimal amount of crockery provided for two people made the dishwasher superfluous/redundant.
The toaster's eject button was missing. The only way to get toast to eject was to insert a pencil or biro into the hole where the button should have been.

We could easily have put up with the above niggles, but the sleep deprivation that we suffered due to the noise spoilt what could have been a superb holiday. The sheer volume of noise prevented proper use of the balcony, and forced us to spend as little time as possible at the apartment during the day.

Excellent Location. Great self catering facilities. Just what we were looking for.

Diane Don 17/04/2017 13:52

The accommodation was just what we were looking for. Open plan kitchen/living/dining room with a dining table that could sit 4 people. Kitchen consisted of 2 ring hob, microwave, kettle, toaster, coffee maker, fridge and dishwasher. Had all the utensils & crockery we could possibly need. Large, comfortable double bed which, in my opinion, could sleep 4. Air conditioned. Cleaner only came in once a week which we liked, changed the towels and the beds and replaced the toilet roll etc. Balcony gave a see view although doesn't get a huge amount of sun. Location was great, close to the beach, couple of restaurants downstairs which were lovely, small shops across the road and a large supermarket round the corner if you wanted to take full advantage of the self catering. Bus stops for public transport and sightseeing buses only a couple of minutes walk. The property is on a main, quite busy road, can be quite noisy sometimes but didn't distract us or stop us from sleeping

MONUMENTAL HOLIDAY

windbagon 18/10/2016 11:06

First of all, I must qualify my comments by pointing out that we booked the largest apartment in the block. It was worth it. No noise from the road, a 30 ft balcony, and plenty of room. This was our first self catering experience for twenty years, so we put any reservations to one side, and enjoyed the plus points to the maximum.

The apartment had all that we needed; a comfortable bed, plenty of storage space, good quality crockery and utensils, and plenty of hot water, once you worked out that the system is akin to an immersion heater, and it was a good idea to wait for a few minutes if the temperature was less than 50'. No problem.

The furniture was comfortable, however some may baulk at the armchairs, which were covered to disguise some wear. Again, no problem. TV was fine, with some English channels, not that we spent much time watching. Nicer to sit on the balcony and chill.

The view from the balcony is partly impaired by a substantial development 50 yards away; but we had a super sea view. The area below the apartment is a plot used only by locals parking a few cars behind a security chain, and returning for them later. It proved to be very quiet all week, apart from the occasional barking of a dog from a local property.

As far as our greeting goes, we waited in the downstairs bar for no more than 15 minutes for a very pleasant lady, who showed us around the apartment, and left contact details if a difficulty occurred. We had no need to contact anyone. Cleaners came in halfway through the week, changed the bedding, and left plenty of towels. All in all, a pleasant experience; and we would book that apartment again with no hesitation.

Absolute Hell

Laserburgon 04/08/2016 15:37

Arrived 31st May for 14 days.On arrival no one to meet and greet,just a phone number.Thanks to our taxi driver he sorted it out.First look round it looks good.Only when you have been there 24hrs you realise it not OK.First four nights we had no sleep what with the traffic,two bars on the ground floor open on occasions to 2am-3am .Open the sliding doors its like living next to a boarding kennels.[There are still some original Madeira properties next to the apartments that is were all the noise came from.] Apartment C has no sun on the balcony at all and inside the apartment it needs maintenance work to be carried out.The noise from the road you would think you was living on the M25.
The apartments are in the Lido area and handy for all your requirements.If you like
noise its ideal but peace and quiet NO.We tried for the 2nd week for other apartments,but all were booked up.
My advice is that if you have booked any of these apartments think twice.
There are far better apartments in the area.We have been to Madeira many times
and this is the worst holiday we have had.
I did email parent hotel twice about the problems and all we got was a new brush and
dustpan.
Positive side the apartment was excellent for being clean and the lift 1st class.

Good position but noisy!

Vale mon 14/05/2016 23:58

The position of the apartment is very good, there are a lot of restaurant and also a supermarket. Also the staff is very kind. Parking is a problem, but is possible to pay for a place in the private parking inside the building (we used it). Orher problem during our stay was some noisy group of young people that makes me impossible sleep.