Madeira Island Walking

Customer Reviews

• JH

  John

  · June 10th, 2019
  First I must tell you that we have home where we do Bed and Breakfast so we are in the tourist industry. Our properties are rated 9.6 and 9.8 respectively on booking.com. We were in the catering business before that for 20 years. We do know what we are talking about as far as accommodation and food are concerned. One of the hikes was really too hard for us normal hikers. The written guides warned of "if y you are afraid of heights" but Eduardo really didn't indicate just how hard the hike was nor how tremendously afraid one could become walking on a ledge 1600m up. Fortunately it was cloudy and I could not see down. The accommodation most of the time was more than acceptable but the bathrooms often needed some bleach around the shower and floors. We are very sensitive about mold in the caulking and elsewhere in the bathroom. However, the food was ghastly and virtually unedible by the time we arrived in Encumeada. We didn't complain because 1) that ruins our holiday even more and 2) that is what they serve on a buffet and that is how they do it. I don't know why no one complained...besides that being hungry before and after a hike, you just eat it anyway. There was no option besides finding somewhere else to eat, which we did when there was another restaurant near that looked more acceptable. We were constantly told " oh the food is great there, so that is why we ate at the hotels even when the meal was not included. That was at the hotel Hotel O’Colmo - Santana. We did complain about the food and asked to be refunded. No I did not like their lamb, it was tasteless. The breakfast was very bad so that even the coffee was horrible. The other hotels had very nice coffee. We needed a good breakfast for hiking and were hungry for dinner after hiking all day. The engulf hotel was very nice but the food was made to far in advance and of poor quality. We thought that was bad but it just got worse. We were also very tired to go somewhere else to eat after hiking and going to dinner then to see the dinner was not acceptable to us. There was always good bread butter and fruit (except in Santana) but the quality overall was really very cheap processed, cooked too far in advance, especially at Hotel Encumeada – Santo Antonio da Serra. It was definitely cooked the day before and reheated. We did complain to the management at that hotel, not just about the towels which had holes in them. I didn’t think to take pictures of the worn out blankets, molded caulking in the showers and floors, processed and overcooked food. I will never do a tour again where meals are included. For the price of the tour, I do not feel we received what we paid for. 200£ a day should have given us better than average quality. If I took another tour, I would not be getting the meals included!
  Show more
  

  UTracks commented on this review

  Thanks for your feedback John. We have corresponded with you directly regarding your concerns which are not usual on this trip. We take all feedback very seriously and will ensure that our properties, who take pride in the food and services they offer,... Show more
  Trip date: May 2019