The Cliff Bay - PortoBay

Great hotel, wonderful food, location and facilities. Vista restaurant at Las Suites was great and the infinity pool on the 6th floor of Las Suites. Spa and swimming pools at Cliff Bay were very good. Staff couldn’t do enough for you. I also recommend the local dish Espetada in a restaurant called Santo Antonio in the next village. 10 mins in a taxi.

It is generally a more mature clientele which is something to bear in mind if you are younger.

Location. The distribution of the spaces - despite the hotel having many rooms, it never feels crowded, the outside areas are all very picturesque.

It’s our forth time staying in this hotel and the food (breakfast and dinner) is getting worse and worse and at the moment is really not up to the level of a 5 star hotel. We found the restaurant staff over the top and not genuine.

We spent 7 days at the Cliff Bay hotel. We had booked a top floor superior room with sea view. Upon our arrival we were upgraded to the executive suite! This was such a nice surprise, specially since we were there to celebrate our babymoon. We absolutely loved our stay. The facilities (pools, restaurant, bar, live music, spa) are great and varied! We made the most of the seaside pool and swimming in the ocean but appreciated the warm pool on the hotel level. We also had a massage at the spa - the staff was competent and friendly. The breakfast is delicious (Il Gallo D'Oro) and so is the dinner at the Rose Garden (we had 2 dinners there). The staff in really friendly and helpful. At the recommendation of the hotel, we did half-day jeep safari tour with Mountain Expeditions (Ricardo was our tour guide) and it was so much fun!! We got to see another part of the island. We will return in the future! Thank you Cliff Bay for making our stay so special!

The average age of the guest was around 65+. There were only 2 other families we spotted with children (the facilities are children friendly!). We didn't mind that the guests were older, but it is good to know in advance that this hotel mostly attracts this clientele.

The Cliff Bay is a wonderful hotel. Every member of staff, reception, dining room, bars, spa, household are thoroughly professional. Our room ( no 724 ) with fantastic views overlooking the ocean and marina, was immaculately cleaned every day and well equipped with mini bar, baths robes, slippers, even a choice of pillows. The food in both the restaurants, we used, was delicious, well presented and varied. Restaurant staff were so well trained and welcoming. There was lovely background music played live as we ate, from singers, musicians and even a traditional Madeiran band. The spa was excellent, we used it 5 times for massages and treatments. We had a wonderful stay at the Cliff Bay. We spoken to other guests who echoed our opinion of the hotel. Some had returned there many times.

There is nothing to dislike.

We loved the hotel and found the staff extremely helpful,friendly and professional-especially on reception,in the Il Gallo d’Oro restaurant at breakfast and our waiter in the Avista restaurant at dinner. Very high quality of food and drinks.The pools,spa and gardens are all excellent. Our upper floor sea-facing room was lovely,although another time we would choose a Funchal Bay view which would be stunning or stay at the Suites section of the hotel so as to access their infinity pool area.

The lighting in our bedroom was very dark,whereas the bathroom was well lit. The price for a wash and blow dry was very expensive-equivalent to a top salon in central London,which was surprising and would put me off using it again.

The location was absolutely gorgeous. The common areas including terraces, pool and seaside were extremely well kept and decorated. The hotel hosts group bookings, and yet didn’t feel crowded. The rooms are tidied up multiple times a day and kept always very clean. The tennis court was well kept. We highly appreciated the thoughtfulness of the staff in noticing I was there for my birthday and sending a celebration gift.

The close-and-lock doors make a dreadful noise on the hallway, which is not up to 5 star standard. Breakfast coffee was well below peer rated hotels, only serving essentially vending machine coffee. The photos for the type of rooms on booking are innacurate - side sea rooms are not as well lit and do not have the scenic ceiling to floor windows.

The Hotel is in a very good location and its a true five star Hotel. The Hotel is not really new but the rooms and the full Hotel are very clean and well maintained. The staff is „mostly“ very friendly and well educated. The Breakfast and the Service in the Restaurants are exceptional and very professional. Specially the breakfast at the Hotel Cliff Bay Le Suites. Is amazing with a very good quality of Food. If you are planing a trip to Madeira choose this Hotel.

Clean, good location, good food. Helpful reception and friendly restaurant staff.

The pool was cold, and occassionally service was slow. There was booking confusion over my child coming too and a lot of process around paying for him which was not transparent and even now I feel like I might have paid twice. The hotel appears a bit dated in places.

The set up for sun bathing, it consisted of multiple terraces with a few chaises and umbrellas, instead of a flat field with rows of chaises, like it is in cheaper places. The design was lovely, set up was romantic and tasteful.

The breakfast buffet was good. But for dinner it was a la cart and was mediocre and plain. Though the service was excellent, but the food was boring and did nor reflect the specialty of portugese cuisine. The same food could have been served in any canteen and in any country. Too bad.

Great view from the elegant rooms. Multiple spacious pool areas. Good choice of on-site restaurants plus sister hotel options (fab Italian). Beautiful spot for an early evening drink - at happy hour. Great service. Good location - plenty of bars and restaurants within walking distance.