Beautiful island - peaceful hotel

We stayed at the Orca Pria in January 2005 and generally enjoyed our stay but there were some drawbacks. The hotel has a lovely, cliff-top position and rooms have either a balcony or a large terrace overlooking the sea. The rooms are spacious, comfortable and very clean. However, there was sometimes a rather unpleasant smell of sewage when sitting on the terrace. The swimming pool is lovely, a good size and spotlessly clean. It's at beach level and the walk back up to the hotel is very strenuous.

The food is of good quality and plentiful but rather limited in choice and imagination, we don't eat meat so we were even more limited but there was fish every day. Real vegetarians however would do well to look elsewhere.

The area around the hotel is partly residential, partly industrial and there is really nowhere to walk to unless you are prepared to walk a few kilometres into Funchal. There is however a nice little bakery/café a little way up the road, also a bar and a restaurant.

The beach is rocky and very uninviting, the sea lacks that lovely blue/green colour of much of Madeira's coastline - possibly the result of the nearby industry. However, the hotel has one thing which most of Funchal's hotels lack - peace and quiet.

We loved Madeira and will definitely be back and despite it's negative side we would stay in this hotel again as we enjoyed it's peacefulness and sea views.

One islandanders view on another

Thanks to the staff at Orca Praia super holiday great views good food &very clean

Attention to detail lets this hotel down

The veiws from our balcony were outstanding. All the rooms had a sea view. Our room was a good size. Though no other room facilities apart from TV. We could not fault the cleanliness of the rooms or the daily maid service. However, what let this hotel down was the poor organisation of the restaurant. The standard of meals was variable, repetitive and poorly served.

The location of the hotel is remote and there are only a few alternatives for entertainment within walking distance.

If you are looking for a quiet hotel with minimal entertainment, then this is the place for you!

We had a fabulous time in Madeira and enjoyed all the Island had to offer. We hired a car and went on some of the organised excursions.

We will return to the island but not to this particular hotel!

Not for kids

I stayed at the hotel Orca Praia Hotel the 2nd week of December with my 2 boys age 11 and 7. The hotel its self is lovely, very clean, nice big rooms. I didn't find the hotel staff that helpful and they seemed a bit moody at times. I am only a young mum and we found the hotel was really for the senior members amongst us. My boys were the only children there and there weren't any younger people there. The hotel food was nice with lots of variety. Funchal is nice especially with the lights. The cable car is a must and the tabbogan ride down again. The Island is not really a young persons Island and although very pretty I wouldn't visit again. Watch out for time share as it was my rep who caught us out and i ended up walking round this hotel for hour's. NOT FUN.

Fabulous Hotel

We stayed the first Week of December 2004. The weather was mixed but warm - low 70's. The hotel rooms are a lovely size. We had the best nights sleep we've ever had in a hotel. The balcony was large and private and it was lovely watching the sun set at night. It takes about 1hr 30 mins to 2 hrs to walk into Funcahal - from the beach follow the path past the bars. We loved the 2nd bar along for relaxing, drinking. reading and watching the sun set.

The hotel food was lovely, buffet style. Cannot comment on the swimming pool as they were doing renovation work to it the week we were there, but people were swimming in the sea, and one lady told me that she thought it was warmer than the pool (She had been at the hotel for nearly 3 weeks).

The lights in Funchal were turned on whilst we were there and they are fabulous. Unfortunately it was too wet to do lavada walking in the mountains, but there is one directly opposite the hotel that goes into Funchal that we were able to do.

Definatley stay there again.

AN ISLAND OF DREAMS

We visited Madeira for the first time in November 2003. The Orca Praia was superbly located and we loved overlooking the sea, and hearing the waves wash over the pebbles. The sunsets viewed from our balcony were amazing. The staff were friendly and the restaurant light and airy. The gardens leading down to the pool would be pretty in the spring and early summer. We want to return to the Island and hope to be there for the Festival of Flowers next year.

Loved the visit

It w as our 4th visit to Maderia and we love the island for walking and for the scenery, flowers and trees. We visitedthe hotel 22 March - 5 April when the weather was not good in England. It was not so good either in Maderia but the hotel made up for the lack of clear blue skies. The staff were very friendly, the large rooms kept immaculate, the food was more than generous. The sea views were wonderful to wake up to, just the waves to keep you company. In England fish is a luxury, here it seems to be the staple diet - fresh tuna, salmon, ray fish, espardo, halibut etc. The courtesy bus is only small (seats 8) but there are plenty of buses passing the hotel in and out of Funchal.

Greatest sea view ever !

The view was just fantastic ! Whenever I'll go back to Madeira, it's the Orca Praia I'll choose. Also, all staff members are very nice.

Great!

This hotel is in an excellent location right by the sea - all rooms have a sea view.

It is clean and comfortable and the staff are friendly. Food is good quality, although not too adventurous - they are possibly catering to an older crowd!

You will need to be fit to walk back up to the hotel from the pool / beach - its steep!

The hotel is located on the outskirts of Funchal, and there is not much nearby. There is a good restaurant just up the road, and a couple of cafe / bars just along the beach. However, there are no shops nearby except for a bakery about 10 mins walk away.

On the other hand, the hotel does offer a free courtesy bus into Funchal, and the local buses are cheap and frequent so its not really a problem.

Recommended - would visit again.

Good Price Quality

The Hotel Orca Praia is an hotel which has a nice beach, a nice swimming pool, big rooms, all with ocean view and terasses. The hotel is NOT noisy at all, due to to way is is constructed (against the rock, terasses). It has a free busservice to Funcal, free towels for teh swimming pool, free parasols etc at the pool, direct acces form the pool to the beach.

It lacks however a professional staff (not very helpful), room service, mini-bar and good food and air conditioning. Also the bedding is good, but the matrasses are a bit hard.

The Buffet is OK also the breakfeat, but the food isn't very extraordinary.

Also there is a lack of the right atmosfere, because youve got the feeling there's something missing in the rooms (like no pictures on the walls and no piano in the diningarea (the dininghall has however Ocean View).

If you book a room it is wise book a room in the levels 0 to -8, beacuse the rooms on the levels -10 to -14 can be very hot and noisy from the ocean waves breaking on the beach.

The people who visit the restaurant are: 80% german 15% english 5% other

Concluding: This hotel needs some refinement from kitchen and staff and upgrading from the rooms (atmosfere) and putting in some air-conditioning.