What People are saying

Much better than expected from reviews

Teresa Non 09/05/2017 18:12

We got an amazing half board offer and we're not disappointed. The hotel is mainly used for walkers. If you are expecting luxury look elsewhere.
It is almost in the centre of Madeira and does not take too long to travel anywhere on the island. When we arrived there had been a rockfall so we had to detour along roads that were not clearly signed. Beware we got a sat nav from Goldcar that was expensive, two years out of date and did not recognise many of the places we wanted to visit!
There was a good selection of four main courses every night two fish two meat, a great variety of salads and at least four desserts. Yes, many of the dishes were repeated and the vegetables were somewhat overlooked but overall everything tasted good. Maybe not so great for the fussy English palate. One older couple turned their nose up at everything on offer!

Breakfast could be improved. There was bread but no toast, cornflakes but no other cereal. We had read this in advance and brought our own Oatibix and bananas.
The cooked breakfast varied, usually some sort of egg, often a bit rubbery, bacon or hotdog and one day with beans

The cold meat and cheese selection was good and usually some sort of fruit

One night we had a la carter as there were not many people staying over. Very tasty.

On Saturdays they have huge weddings. The meal was served in the reception area. We were not bothered by noise but a lot of people did moan.

What was disappointing was the lack of tea making facilities in our room no hot drink available after about 9.30 at night or before 8 when breakfast opened. I bought a flask in the end to take up with me.

There is a pool table and TV but not much else to do in evening. No loungers when you get back from a long walk and the bars are quite a way up or down hill to walk.

Unless you are on a tour you do need a car. There are several lovely Levanda walks nearby but not circular walks.

Great location and beautiful views.

asc_mson 07/05/2017 16:23

We had superior room and I can't say a bad word about room size, décor, facilities etc. Good size, two balconies (great view from the balcony!), big and comfy bed, nice bathroom. Nice and really clean. Unfortunately very noisy. First of all because of weddings and other parties taking place in the hotel. Second, somebody was doing something above our room, something like moving furniture - constantly for few hours, till 11pm - 3 or 4 days of our stay. We heard some noise from our neighbours room as well, for example tv, flushing toilet. So, good earplugs hardly recommended!
Next thing - breakfast. Nothing to be proud of. Very poor choice of food and every day the same (except eggs - scrambled with bacon and fried with sausages). After few days it's really boring, so good enough for short stay only :)
Few words about hotel staff. I can't describe them as friendly. It took one week until one of receptionist started responding to our greetings. Words as "thank you", "please" or "morning" are not in common use of the staff. Sometimes they basically ignored us, for example when we came back to the hotel and asked for a key to our room. Lady receptionist kept doing what she was doing on her computer and after about 2 minutes she said "so...?", and after we said again what we need, she gave us the key without a word.
One more minus - we've found our room open twice. The door wasn't closed properly after cleaning service. Not very nice feeling if you are leaving your passports and some expensive belongings inside.
If you have a bed & breakfast only, it's a good idea to eat in the nearest snack bar on the top of Encumeada pass. Good quality food for half price comparing Encumeada hotel restaurant.

Fabulous location

Tracey Lon 01/04/2017 22:19

We had room 201 for the 3rd time in a year. Lovely big room. Amazing views. Hot water that doesn't run out. BUT...the bed is so hard and so uncomfortable and so very noisy. Every time one of changed position it woke the other up. And you had to move as ur limbs went numb. We love this hotel. Please put a new bed and mattress in that room. The dining staff were very attentive and the end of week bill for drinks extremely reasonable. Food was good. Price was amazing and the location for walking is top notch. Weather was the worst we have had since visiting and would have been so lovely to have the fire on in the reception area as hotel was quite cold. Didn't stop us from having the most amazing time in the beautiful island of Madeira.

Good location, the buffet beats the a la carte menu hands down but very poor breakfast

Jay Hon 02/01/2017 11:45

Ask if there's an "event on" at the hotel and if there is get a room as high as you can!!!

The hotel is a large modern building that also provides for "celebrations and private parties" etc and when its booked don't expect any sleep until past 2am if you are a light sleeper so make sure you get as high up as you can (but even then be prepared with the earplugs!)

That said the rooms are good and the buffet dinner provides the better choice over the wider dinner menu but breakfast was a real let down.

Beautiful location in isolated area.

HeatherKeelingon 09/12/2016 00:24

This hotel is situated at the top of the Encumeada pass and ideally suited as a base for both north and south coasts of Madeira, the high plateau and for levada walks. A car is a must for this isolated spot. The hotel is in the most beautiful area, the mountains are the most epic backdrop for meal times in the glass fronted restaurant. Our room had been recently refurbished with a new ensuite, patio doors and flat screen TV, compared to our last visit over a year ago. The little town of Serra de Agua just down the mountain road from the hotel has a bar called Tasquina de Poncha which is recommended for its superb Poncha.