INATEL Porto Santo Hotel

I travel for work 6 months of the year in Europe and US. I had the luck of staying in 4 and 5 stars hotels in the main business capitals. In Porto Santos I have stayed in Pestana Porto Santo (2x) Luamar (x2) and Vila Baleira (x1). After a friend recomendation, in 2016 I have tried Inatel Porto Santo. In January 2017 I was booking my staying here again just to be sure I got the place. First, the rooms: better than Luamar and Vila Baleira slightly worse than Pestana. The rooms are generous and they were refurbished recently so everything is new and things work properly (AC, mini fridge, tv (this can still be improved) wifi, etc). The common areas (dinning room and bar) not great but enough and ready for people with movement limitations. The pool is big and the kids playground offers several option protected by the shadow of trees. Second: you can choose the meal regime: just breakfast, breakfast and lunch and the 3 main meals of the day included. Drinks are always charged separately (except fro breakfast) and this is were the hotel is better and any other of the 3 above: home made food that puts you at your mother dinner table. The variety is limited, but every single option is just amazing. Forget the industrial type of all inclusive food... this is another thing: is regional (Portuguese) and fresh. The other big plus is the service and staff: they really take care of you, not only because it's their job but because they wasn't you to feel good, and if you are traveling with you kids this is a big point to take into consideration. Downsides: lack of activities (day and night) and they deserve a better parking space. Rather than that, one of my favorite hotels and a great hidden secret of Porto Santo.

While we were visiting Madeira in September 2016, we booked a ship from Funchal to the nearby island Porto Santos on September 15 and returned the next day late in the evening. We stayed in Inatel Porto Santo Hotel, a spacious, quite new, clean and rather inexpensive hotel at walking distance from the sea, but about 15' taxi drive from the harbor. We had a spacious bedroom, in fact a bedroom and a big room with a small kitchenette, TV set etc. Apart from the sea we also enjoyed the large swimming pool which was actually all for ourselves as there were not many visitors in the hotel. The lunch was in buffet form, varied with an overall very friendly service (as was the case at the reception!). The breakfast next morning was fine. We spent some time at the "top attraction" of the island, i.e. the very large and popular sandy beach, something they don't have in Madeira. We could check out in the late afternoon, in time to take the bus to the small town's center where we enjoyed a folkloristic celebration of the visit of Christopher Columbus, more than 500 years ago! In such a short period there is not much to see or do on the island and we still wonder whether the visit had an added value for us who have seen so many beaches before. If you like to travel by ship between Madeira and Porto Santo it may be worth to do it and if one is lucky one might see whales or dolphins.

We have stayed in INATEL PS for 10 nights. We were 3 adults and 2 infants. We have stayed in Vila Baleira (4 stars) and Pestana Porto Santo (5stars) in the last 4 years and to be honest I did not missed then at all. We opted for the lunch and dinner include despite the several negative comments about the food. It was a good choice: there were always 2 choices (meat and fish) and a buffet of salads and deserts (drinks were not included). The food was real home food which made irrelevant the enormous variety of other all inclusive hotels. Therefore, although is true you have lesser choice the quality paid off. For kids the hotel is brilliant since it has a big outside playground and the pool is also big with a section with lower deep. The rooms are good with wifi, television, mini fridge and A/c (the hotel was recently refurbished). The staff is very friendly and willing to help. We also used the laundry services which were inexpensive (great when you have kids). Although it does not have a beach right outside the perimeter of the hotel, it will take you (carrying the kids, beach apparel, food and toys) 7 minutes walking. The advantage is that the beach is normally empty which is a great plus. The only downside is the entertainment, which is not available, nevertheless the island is full of events that will keep you entertained and for those days where you just want to rest there will be no noise between you and your dreams. I will for sure return next year! It is a secret well kept

Stayed here at the Inatel hotel for the past couple of nights. Room was just gorgeous, very modern, clean and comfortable. Lovely big shower! Air con was lovely and quiet! Room was cleaned every day. We stayed half board, nice selection of food, very yummy! Our room was on the 0 level, with a balcony overlooking the pool. Still very lovely to stand out on. A higher floor would probably provide views of the beach, but we didn't mind! Only five minutes walk to the beach. Spent most of our time there as it's just beautiful! Hotel provides you with an umbrella which you can take to the beach, very ideal for this very hot time of year! Had a couple of dips in the hotel pool, which is kept nice and clean! Very impressed by how well kept this hotel is, should be more than 3 stars! Free wifi in every room too, which is just so ideal to get in touch with relatives. It was a very quiet, peaceful hotel. You didn't see many of the staff but when needed, they were very helpful. 2 minutes walk up the road was a bus stop to get to the centre, only €1.60 each! We did actually walk it the first day, took about 40-45 minutes which is not too bad when you get to see a lot of the island! Recommend this hotel, quite happily stay here again!

It´s a small hotel but perhaps that's why the hotel can provid a cosy staying. The staff is amasing, always thinking in your needs. The suites are very confortable and everything is always very well cleaned. Imagine a beach hotek with children, it has to be cleaned. It's a 3 star hotel witn rooms of some of the 4 stars I know. Very good value for money.

Difficult review this as the hotel was VERY quiet (as was the whole island) in December. Sometimes we two were the only guests, so the ambience was all ours ! However, this is an excellent hotel that appears newly refurbished. Friendly and efficient reception provided two access cards with no problems. Not always English speaking staff available but this didn't present any problems. Our balcony had a pleasant access overlooking the garden and (enormous) swimming pool. The swimming pool appeared to have disabled access (a ramp into the water). Childrens play area, nice gardens. Free WIFI throughout, we got WIFI in the room but this may not apply to all rooms. Lift Our room didn't have a bath but an impressive shower. Lots of storage space, air-con. TV. Breakfast - coffee, choice cereal,bread ham cheese, Yoghurts. Scrambled eggs & little sausages, suspect I could have had a bigger (hot) choice if I spoke Portuguese. Walk through to beach, suspect a beach bar but not open when we were there. New building 200 mtrs (?) away rumoured to be a convalescent home. Overall excellent hotel I am told Porto Santo goes mad in July and August so suspect this could be a totally different experience then, but we enjoyed our (very) quiet break.

Highlights : - rooms have been renovated very recently, light and fresh colours and design : unexpected for a 3 star hotel! - it is the last hotel of the strip (seems like there one is in construction next to it, though), so you are closer from the wildest part of the incredibly long and wonderful golden sandy beach. - good wifi everwhere The personal was very friendly, and willing to help. However, very little or no foreign languages spoken, depending on the employees. There is an okay restaurant (Joao) down the road. For better gastronomic experiences, you have to have a car or a bike.

Have been over there in Inatel, while it wasn't yet renewed, the overall Hotel was really requiring refurbishment. It's just next to the beach, just walking about 200 meters, are you are on a great beach. Overall the food was average, and not bad but nothing special, the animation was limited.

I stayed 3 nights at the Quinta do Serrado. It was lovely there, but once on Porto Santo which offers a 9000 meters long paradise beach, it's a MUST to stay close to the beach. In my opinion there is just ONE very beautiful resort on the island, that's the Pestana. However, this is an all-inclusive resort with 300+ rooms and therefore a no go for an individualist looking for peace. Many of the other so called 4 star hotels look like worn out 3 star hotels, for example Luamar or Torre. They are far from 4 stars and I found them ugly and badly kept! Hotel Porto Santo earns 4 stars, but the position of the rooms is not nice, no sea view at all, and no atmosphere. Hotel Vila Baleira is a huge complex full of noisy italians which pay 600€ per person for the round trip flight plus 7 nights there. So the hotel doesn't really look like a 4 star, and if you are not italian, if you are not noisy, you can't stay there and enjoy your time. I discovered INATEL. It is a 3 star hotel but much better kept than most 4 stars on the island. The hotel is small (less than 40 rooms), the receptionists Claudia and Ana very nice and helpful. The suite I had was brand new. Excellent furniture, nice colours, spacious, lovely bathroom in green and blue (just a big shower, no bathtub). There is a big balcony with 2 chairs, a top house keeping, very clean wherever you look. The rate I paid was 65€ for a Suite, it is a real bargain! Very cheap for what you get here, really! The Suite at Quinta do Serrado was priced at 170€ and had the same size as here, but at Inatel the furniture is much nicer, the balcony 3 times bigger and Inatel is close to the beach. All in all I liked it here. It is "only" a 3 star hotel, but price value is excellent. You can find your peace here, and that is nice. Pity that the restaurant is sort of locked in. You can not eat outside at this hotel. But there is a superb restaurant directly on the beach close by - Pé na água, I loved it there!