Good location

Better than expected hotel, but not for people with disabilities.Very hilly. There is a noise factor. We had a noisy dog, but hotel nicely changed our room. Important to get a sea view at this hotel. Breakfast good, in a nice room with views. We were B&B. Pleased as hotel was too quiet to eat in. Plenty of good eateries very adjacent,as well as supermarkets. Also on a good bus route or 35-40 mins walk into Funchal centre. Would use hotel again. We went with Thomas Cook on a cheapy!

Better than expected

We paid 280 each for bed and breakfast at the Raga for the last week in January 2006. The weather it rained for 2 days, grey for one day and sunny at 19c for the rest of the stay. We booked with Thomson. It was my mother in laws birthday while she was staying there and she recieved a beautiful boquet of flowers from the hotel

The Hotel

The Raga hotel is a bit dated a bit worn around the edges but still is lovely. They are due to update it soon but I think it may loose some of its homely feel. Inside the hotel is a breakfast/dining room, a small dance floor, a cocktail bar (again quite small), several lounges and places to relax, an outside (unheated) pool with lots of sun lounges. Yes it is built between two busy roads so you will have difficulty sleeping if not used to noise. Remember though Funchal is a city so its to be expected.

The Room

We were on the 8th floor which was great (thank goodness the lift worked!). The hotel has 11 floors. We has room 805, it was well equiped and is great to be used for a base. We had a bathroom with loo, sink, bath and over shower and a bidet. Our room was quite large with a fridge, two single beds, dressing table and mirror aswell as plenty of tables and hanging space. We also had two armchairs next to a table aswell as a tv with sky and some British Channels. We also had a balcony with Fantastic views of the sea! On the balcony was two chairs and a table. The windows are not double glazed though so when it is windy or rainy it can get quite noisy. There is no tea and coffee making facilities (B.Y.O)and you have to ask for hair dryers from reception

The Food

We didnt eat at the Raga as we were only on Bed and Brekfast. It does have a dining room, a snack bar and another restaurant too.

Breakfast is served from 7.30am-10am, on offer there is tea,coffee, pineapple and orange juice. Four types of bread and croissants along with butter and jam. Fresh fruit and yogurt. Cooked items include small sausages, bacon, three types of eggs, cooked fresh tomatoes and beans. A sea view seat in the non smoking area maybe difficult to get at breakfast time. But there is loads of room in the dining room.

The Area

The Raga is on the Estrada Monumental a long road which takes you into Funchal center within 20-30minutes. Close to the hotel are plenty of restaurants to eat at from Portugese to Italian to Chinese food. There is also a "british" shop aswell as two supermarkets close by. Within 5 minutes walk is the public swimming pool (The Lido).

Beware people if you are over 30 years old though-you will get hasseled to buy into timeshares by the Porto Bay Resort people. They will offer you money off trips if you go to their timeshare resort.

Past it's sell-by date

The Raga was a great disapppointment. It had been obviously an OK hotel at which to stay in its day. But it needs a great deal of money spending on it to bring it up to 2006 standards.

OK, it was a very good price, and the rooms had been recently redecorated, but the beds were hard and uncomfortable, and the carpets throughout the hotel were worn and dirty and stained, reminding us of a third-ra6te boarding house in Blackpool.

Although the main dining room was a smoke free area, there were no other sitting areas in the hotel that were designated as smoke free, therefore the only place you could retire to was your room, and even then smoke penetrated from other rooms.

The breakfast was adequate, but dinner in the dining room was unimaginative, very restructed in choice and presented like school dinners on a take it or leave it basis.

The staff were helpful, especially the pool and bar staff, and the views from the rooms over the sea and coast were excellent.

The main road passes right in front of the building: the traffic was very noisy and never stopped, even during the night, and earplugs were required in order to get to sleep.

The location in the Lido area was convenient for public transport into Funchal and other parts of the Island, and fortunately was within walking distance of several excellent restaurants.

No recommedation

Raga is build between 2 roads, there is always a lot of traffic even in the night! (oke funchal has lot of motorcycles, they are driving insane!).

We had a seasight room on the 6the floor, clean rooms and good house keeping service! the interior of raga is rather old fashioned.

The time we went, the buffet diner was cancelled, you had the choice between 3 mean platters + soupe + starter + buffet trolley. The dinner was very poor! They do not have a vegetarian solution! (my GF needed to eat mixed salat and omelette for an entire week in raga). The breakfast was still in buffet and it was very nice! a typical english breakfast.

The pool is not child friendly, its a dangerous pool (->3.30m deep) that needed cleaning (the border was black of dirt!). There is a life guard who brings the seats and parasols to you (good!). On thursdays, there is a BBQ buffet outside, with a folklore dans groupe... a very nice evening.

Another problem where the cockroaches (don't know how to spell), they woke up at night in the dinner room and near the pool.

Raga was good just to sleep and take a breakfast ... but if you are going to madeira to enjoy your hotel please don't go there!

Clean but not much sleep

Hotel very clean with good see views, excellent breakfast and friendly staff. However our seaview room on the 6th floor was exceptionally noisy from traffic on the busy MAIN road that runs between the hotel and the sea. The only quiet time was between 0300-0600. When we asked for a quieter room we were told there were roads on both sides of the hotel. In summary clean, good value but noisy road right outside.

A different view

Yes the hotel was clean and tidy though the food was not brilliant but acceptable. The worst problem there is noise from residents and local traffic. Dont bank on sleeping before about 1 am minimum. Other residents seem to think banging their doors is obligatory and the noise from traffic is deafening. It is cheap however.

Life at the hotel raga

the hotel raga is a simple family run hotel. Although the hotel is somewhat dated, it is always clean and well managed. the staff are exceptional, which aids the smooth running. the view from the hotel is gorgeous, boasting great sea views and warming sunsets.the evening entertainment is always enjoyable with a small intimate bar, offering great company from the many guests.to stay at the hotel raga is to be welcomed not as just a guest but a member of their family.the location is ideal with only a short walk into town.i would definatley reccomend it and will be returning to the hotel again.

Excellent location

When booking up Madeira i was looking for something which was of reasonable quality at an affordable price. This is exactly what we got with the Raga. The interiors are very traditional but I think this gives the hotel a charm over the others close by which seem quite impersonal. The staff were very good, the rooms were imaculate with fresh towels and sheets every day. What the raga has over the other hotels is it's location . It is in the heart of the hotel area which is where you will find a great variety of restaurants and it's only two flights of stairs to the reception which is relatively good access compared to some other hotels . If your looking for beaches , families and wild nightlife then Madeira is not for you . If you like stress free holidays with a high standard of food and cleanliness then madeira is an ideal choice.

Hotel Raga

Although a little dated, and not up to the glass and stainless steel image of the new similarly rated hotels, the Raga was clean, well mantained and the staff were superb. Clean bed linen and towels daily, and on my wife's birthday a lovely bunch of flowers from the Hotel Management. Breakfast was monotonous, but a full English breakfast every day is just the same. Great pool bar and snack bar, but did not try either restaurant, as one was closed almost the whole of the two weeks, and the other was outclassed unfortunately by a restaurant called the Tropical about 100 mts up the road.

Old but nice

The Raga was quite out dated but very clean ( the maids came in every day and left fresh towels). It is not suitable for people with walking difficulties as the hotel is built on a very steep hill.Even to get to the pool you have to go down two flights of stairs from reception. The entertainment was the same every night which was two middle aged men singing sonds from way back in time. There is nothing for children to do. The Raga was however a very friendly place and nearly every room looked out onto the sea. Madeira is an up and coming place and alot of building work is all over the island building new modern hotels with facilities for families. There are no beaches and everywhere is so hilly you need to be aware of this when booking a holiday. We had a good time and the weather was hot 25 in July. There are lots of Timeshare people around everywhere so beware of Information Centres as they try to get you to view hotels which can last up to 5 hours. All in all Madeira is a lovely island and the Raga made us most welcome,but it is not a place for children or anyone who cannot walk very well.