The Cliff Bay - PortoBay

Location /very clean/staff very friendly

Service, view, staff.

Grateful for free upgrade on our 9 year anniversary but carpet is old. Excellent bigger space but carpet is old. Other than that perfection.

Very helpful and welcoming staff. The property and facilities are gorgeous. Our son (18mo) enjoyed the kids playrooms.

The hotel facilities and offerings were great. The pools, access to the ocean, restaurants, and local activities were easily available. Also, the staff was amazing! They were beyond professional and attended to our every need.

restaurants

Beautiful setting, conveniently located, clean, refined, and excellent customer service.

I have no complaints

A beautiful hotel located directly on the beachfront, offering breathtaking views of the bay from the room. The common areas are beautifully maintained and designed in a “hanging gardens” style, creating a relaxing and elegant atmosphere. The hotel has direct access to a private beach.The rooms are well equipped and finished to a high standard. Breakfast was very rich and delicious, and the bed was exceptionally comfortable. The staff provided warm and attentive service, clearly making an effort to ensure a pleasant stay—including a birthday cake and wine for my wife on her birthday.We enjoyed every moment of our stay, highly recommend this hotel, and would be happy to return.

The room, restaurants and pools

Having to leave…

Pools, room size, comfort, space, good parking.

Food is good but always the same. Elevators take some time. A bit far by foot from central areas. Can use some more young vibes.

Grounds are beautiful and views are amazing. Rooms are clean and comfortable. Loved the sea and city view from our balcony. Several good restaurants on property.

Hotel lobby and some common spaces are dated, could use some updates.

Hotel views and location are excellent. Well staffed (and the people working here are awesome), with a great Michelin rated restaurant on site. Two more restaurants by the same chef and team are some of the best on the island. Ocean access is awesome, and the overall experience is decent for a short stay.

Hotel is very old. Its recognition award is from 1994 and for a five star hotel, it just doesn't rise to that in 2025. Carpets are everywhere in hallways and rooms. Sound insulation is not great, and the hotel staff knocked on our door twice at 7 am and 8 am. I'd expect staff to know not to do that. Young people and working professionals should find a place better suited for them.

The hotel was beautiful. We loved the pool and spa areas. So many places to sit and the staff was excellent at the pool. The view from the room was amazing. The room was very nice, clean and comfortable. We received bottles of water everyday, plus wine, and fruit were provided when we arrived. The breakfast was excellent. I've never seen such an amazing spread. All of the staff were friendly, attentive and more than helpful. They were willing to set up any excursion or taxi drive that you needed. It was all very luxurious and at the same time comfortable. We would definitely stay again!

I can't think of anything right now.

Good location close to Funchal, sited on beautiful cliff overlook among gardens.

The location

The rooms are very old it needs good time renovation The food in the breakfast area was below expected for five star hotel

The moment you arrive you are made to feel welcome . The staff all greet you with smiles and kindness. Nothing is too much trouble. We felt like a valued customer throughout our entire stay and this was the impression given by EVERYONE with whom we had contact. At breakfast they were most attentive without being intrusive. All customer facing staff spoke excellent English and we did not have any trouble with communications.The lounges were elegant, comfortable, spacious and made for a most relaxing enviroment, complimented by beautiful views of the gardens though the huge picture windows. Throughout the hotel "house plants" and "exquisite flower arrangements" gave the feeling of an enviroment that had been prepared and maintained with love and attention to detail.The room was an oasis within an oasis. The bed was very, very comfortable, and the air conditioning worked faultlessly. We had a view of Funcal Bay from our balcony; a vista to die for, both by day and night. We heard no evidence of other guests and the only sound was that of the ocean once we opened our balcony doors. The room and bathroom were kept spotless by a charming maid who even washed out my wifes travel mug.The wi-fi was excellent and gave speeds of in excess of 100Mbps.The pool was well staffed and provided ample loungers with no problems finding a space to sunbathe. The surrounding gardens were full of well established exotic plants, shrubs and trees which were all in excellent health. The best way to descibe the gardens is " stunningly beautiful in every respect". Eden in Funchal.We had previosly stayed at Portobay Falesia which and it is now clear this hotel provides a consistent high standard throughout its operations.We have travelled extensively throughout Europe , North America, and Asia staying in many 4 and 5 star hotels, so we always compare our experiences. I would have no hesitation recommending this hotel to my friends, or relatives.

We should have stayed at this hotel for the rest of our vacation and not bothered with Lisbon.

Wonderful view from our room. Able to sea swim from the hotel. Excellent breakfast.

Trying to register with the hotels website was tortuous - I registered and received confirmation from the hotel that registration was successful, but trying to log-on was met with message saying my log-on information incorrect. changed password - same message - tried to re-register - message said already registered - so gave up. Small thing, but irritating.

Great View over the marinathe food and service in the Avista restaurants was very good

Some times reception staff and bar staff were a little off hand

Sometimes we treat ourselves to a stay at a 5 star hotel with a SPA. The SPA offers at The Cliff Bay hotel are some of the best we have tried. We loved the AVISTA ASIA restaurant.

The location and cleanliness and all the facilities, simply everything

The big pool could have been heated

Staff all very friendly, room was clean, spacious and quiet. Spa facilities were fantastic, and the sea level pool area can't be beat.

Food was good but a bit repetitive after a few days. Coffee needs improving.