Aqua Natura Bay

Porto Moniz is a great, quiet town, amazing base for a holiday in Madeira. We love this hotel and we love the staff. We have never been so well served. The staff are truly kind people. We only had issue with the bald man at the reception since he was very inefficient. He did our check in and it was very long, his colleague did two check ins with time to spare while he did ours. The check is full of information, we often had to go remind ourselves of some of it at the reception and the receptionists were always very kind. We loved that so much information is given though, we've been to 5 start hotels where only the key is given to us and barely any information. This hotel makes you feel like they want you to feel at home and so they explain everything to you. The issue is that the check in is long as it is and he kept adding useless information in a tone that made us feel he was trying to show off. All he managed to do was make us feel sorry that we stopped in front of him and didn't walk the 5 extra steps to his colleague.

While the hotel itself appears to be one of the nicest options in Porto Moniz, our stay was disappointing overall. The bathroom setup was frustrating — the shower was extremely small and poorly enclosed, causing water to overflow not just across the bathroom floor, but also into the room itself. The main appeal of the hotel is the included spa in the basement, but even that fell short of expectations. Although we made reservations for the Turkish spa and sauna in the early evening, the reservation system wasn’t really respected by other guests, and to make matters worse, the staff hadn’t even turned on the amenities despite bookings before us. It made the experience feel disorganized and disappointing. Similarly, reservations for the hotel restaurant didn’t seem to offer any advantage, and service at the front desk was lacking. As an example, they offered us free tickets to the town’s paid natural pools, but after making the trip there (carrying robes and towels), we found the pools on the west side of town were closed for renovations — something the hotel staff failed to mention. When we returned and let them know, they showed little concern, reflecting a general apathy in the service that doesn’t align with the price point of the hotel. Overall, I would only consider staying here during the summer, when the natural pools are open and the weather is warm enough to enjoy them. Visiting at the end of April, when it’s too cold for a dip and the pools aren’t naturally heated, made the stay feel even less worthwhile. If I could redo my itinerary, I wouldn’t spend a night in Porto Moniz at all — honestly, I would skip the town entirely and spend more time in Santana or Serra D’Água (at places like the Valley View Hotel Encumeada), where you are still well-positioned for hikes in the area.

When we checked in the staff were very nice however there was a lot of information given to us at check in that we had forgotten by the time we got to the room. From here the problems continued. This hotel claims to have a wellness area so we booked to go to the sauna and Turkish bath. When we got there the sauna was not that hot and the Turkish bath was not turned on. We went to the pool and Jacuzzi instead and found that the Jacuzzi was a Jacuzzi that can be bought and plugged in and right next to the pool. This allowed easy access for kids to be in the Jacuzzi. In our opinion this jacuzzi would be better off moved to the roof next to the infinity pool which would make what is not really a Jacuzzi as the jets were weak into something a bit more enjoyable with the views from the rooftop. When we checked in we received a 10% voucher for the hotel restaurants. I did ask if there was any other restaurants in the area and the staff was not willing to give an answer. I found this to be poor as there are 3 hotels in this small town and the least they could do is recommend businesses of the local people so everyone can benefit from the tourism. So we booked for a dinner in the lapa bay restaurant and would not recommend. The lasagna felt like it was microwaved and the dinner options were as if we were in 5+ star restaurant when the taste was far from it, bland and tasteless. On top of this we showed them the 10% voucher which had been used on the receipt they had added a 10% service charge without us knowing. We only checked as we overheard a couple next to us asking for it to be removed, we did the same thing. Also, this hotel says they are sustainable but after each guest at dinner the table cloths were removed for new ones which isn't sustainable. Just get rid of the table cloths they're not needed and don't match the decor. This was the end of Day 1. When we woke up in the morning there was somehow ants in the bathroom (there was no food in the room and we were on the 2nd floor). We told the staff and requested to move room which they did quick however no apologies and on check-out we had a bill for 2 drinks outstanding even after explaining at check out we didn't have a good stay and there were ants we still had to pay for the drinks and they also added €1 for a charity to the bill and asked us if we wanted it removed. I was more than happy to contribute but the problem is things are being added to bills without the courtesy of asking first. Overall I think this hotel needs a lesson in hospitality.