Hotel staff are friendly and helpful. Beach front location is excellent. Rooms are spacious and well-equipped, although they have their niggles- for example no drawers in bed side units. Beds are very hard, which was fine for me but not for my wife. Our balcony had frosted glass between it and next door; some however had plain glass which might be a privacy issue. Food was pretty good- not a huge choice on any one day, but plenty of variation. Some breakfast items were cold- eg scrambled egg.
We had half board, being out every day in our hire car. Parking was ok- there's an area on the western side of the hotel round the back. It was annoying to find one of the 4 front spaces occupied by a driving school car every day. Santa Cruz has several bars and restaurants but no real night life (which was not a problem for us). A beer in the evening in the town square was pleasant and cheap. Hotel entertainment was OK, although the Saturday parrot show lasted about 15 minutes- the show presenters seemed to be focussed on getting you to buy a photograph of you with a macaw on your shoulder rather than anything else.

My wife and I spent a week at this hotel as a package through Thomson/First Choice. It was just about out of season and not many kids about! Our arrival was well received by the efficient, well spoken, receptionist. We were allocated room 1073 which was on the same level as the reception. A lovely room and did not smell of smoke as reported on other reviews. The double bed was massive and firm but very comfortable. The room was very modern and also big with a very nice bathroom. The balcony was a little narrow but fine. The only downside was that we paid extra for a sea view and although we could see the sea, it was restricted as there was a flat roof in front. We thought this was a little naughty but to be honest we could have complained but chose not to so our choice. The room was serviced daily with a sheet change once during the week. Toiletries were topped up daily. Clean and well furnished.

The hotel itself was well worthy of its 4 star rating with very well furnished public areas and immaculate. A small negative was that the public areas were quite warm and didnt seem to have air conditioning on. Again a disappointment was the fact that there were extra charges for internet (cable and wi-fi) when just 50 metres away there was free wi-fi available provided in the town square provided by Madeira. We thought this was not good for a quality hotel. The hotel also charges extra for use of the gym and indoor pool (11 Euros per day), again, disappointing for a quality hotel.

The outdoor pool was large and the surroundings well kept. During our stay we managed to get a sunbed but during high season this may have been a problem. Towels are supplied by the hotel but we only found this out after 3 days! Not a problem however as we had our own anyway.

The hotel provides a free minibus shuttle to Funchal. It is also fairly cheap and pleasant to catch one of the regular (every 15 mins) buses to Funchal and elsewhere.

We were staying on an 'all inclusive' basis. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner was on a buffet basis with snacks and ice cream available at any other time. Drinks were availabe which included, tea/coffee etc and also any soft drink, beers, spirits, local liquor and wines. There was a cocktail of the day.

The food was excelent with a good choice and changed daily. Waiters and waitresses were attentive.

Santa Cruz grew on us. A very quiet town/village with not much in the way of shops and a few bars which looked a little drab to us. Lovely views to sea from the promenade and views to the hills from everywhere else. The town has a waterpark within walking distance as well as a small shopping centre (nothing to get excited about!) with a supermarket for your cheap bits and pieces.

Being near the airport was absolutely fine. We could see the edge of the runway (nothing else) from our balcony and in fact it was rather nice to watch the infrequent plaaes coming and going. With the balcony doors shut there was no noise at all.

Ok - to put to rest the main concern - the planes are really not a hassle - I promise - see photos. The majority of the time they land across the bay in front of the hotel - you really don't take any notice of them & there isn't much noise. On 2 occasions when the wind changed they took off towards the hotel - slightly noisier but still no problem.

The hotel is about 20 minutes from Funchal, & with the excellent road network it's easy to get around - although you do need a head for heights!
Santa Cruz itself is pretty tiny & there's not a lot there - but a couple of nice local bars, pretty squares & the church - & a lovely promenade walk.
If you want to just chill out, which we did, you couldn't ask for a better place - it's a beautiful island. We had the warmest October for 70 years apparently!

Good stuff - hotel is contemporary with smart decor & furnishings, & very very nice & friendly staff - without exception.
The A La Carte restaurant is also good & worth a visit - our All Inc included a meal there - lovely dining room & good food.
The pool is lovely - refreshingly cool - & the whole hotel, inside & out, is kept spotlessly clean.
Our room was on the side of the hotel facing the town, & it was absolutely fine. We could watch local life going by, the sea & the planes - all from our balcony. The room itself was a good size, with a kingsize bed, TV, DVD, air con etc - & the bathroom had a good shower!

There is a courtesy bus into Funchal running several times a day between 0900 & 1715 - (it would be nice if there was an occasional evening one too) - we went into Funchal twice & really liked it & would have liked to go back of an evening - but you do have to be careful of getting ripped off by taxi drivers so we chose not to use them.
The huge cruise ships dock in Funchal pretty much every day, so it's worth getting in there early & going for a wander around the old town - we didn't go up the cable car cos we're cowards! There are cafe's everywhere - all serving excellent coffee, & lots of little shops - you need to poke your head through the doors & look inside - they don't have big shop fronts like ours have.

Not so good stuff - hotel food quality was good, but food variety wasn't so good - room for improvement there.
Unfortunately, there was a large group of Polish guests staying at the same time as us - who drank the hotel dry of several drinks, & who were pretty inconsiderate towards other guests. I do feel the hotel could have done more to kerb their antics before they caused as much disturbance as they did.
On a personal note re the room - the pillows were very soft & squidgy - a choice of firmer pillows would be a nice idea, & the sheets were very starchy - not good for delicate skin.

Bad stuff - The Satsanga Spa. It now charges 11 euros for the day - & this is the only way you can use the indoor pool - expensive I think (it was 3 euros). We had one cloudy morning so we thought we'd spend the day in the Spa - only to be told we were expected to wear a silly little material hat in the pool for health & safety - absolute rubbish! It just means they don't have to clean their pool filters so often! The hat was so small it wouldn't even cover your head - so what is the point! We have used the Satsanga Spa in one of the Brazilian hotels - & never had such a ridiculous requirement - so it is not a company policy. We asked to see the manager - but no-one ever got back to us.
Also - don't expect cheap treatments - you'll pay the same or probably less in a Spa at home.
As it was, the weather was so fab we didn't want to use the Spa again - but it could so easily have been a big issue - disappointing.

Overall, I'd happily visit again. The hotel is very good value for money, is a pleasant environment, & above all has great staff - Fellipa in the bar & Sandra in the restaurant in particular.
A good chilled holiday - just what we wanted.

I recently stayed at Vila Gale for a week with my husband on an all inclusive basis, having made a reservation at the last minute. We were both pleased with the high standards of the hotel, the predominantly attentive staff, and the beautiful Madeiran location. It was a good base from which we could enjoy leisurely strolls or take longer walks; we also found it easy and inexpensive to travel out to other parts of the island without having hired a car.

The positives for us:
Comfortable, attractive and well maintained interior and exterior facilities. Plenty of seating areas and no shortage of sun loungers around the large pool. A good selection of food - granted, some of the food combinations seemed slightly odd - but there was always plenty of food available and something to satisfy most appetites. Helpful waiting staff in the main restaurant who delivered service with a genuine smile. Good standard of soft and alcoholic drinks. Room well maintained and very clean with comfortable bed. We also really liked the piped 'chill out music' that continually played in the background each day. For us it added to our relaxation levels. Although we like children very much, we don't like to holiday in areas full of children. Vila Gale was ideal for us in this respect. Most guests like ourselves were adults without children and this added to our relaxation experience. In fact we were delighted to have socialised with several other couples whose company we totally enjoyed - but without the noise of excitable children running everywhere in the distance!

The negatives for us:
In error our room was not serviced on one day; when it was serviced it was done so late in the day that we had run out of necessary bathroom essentials. The poolside snack bar was under-staffed with queues being the normality. The self serve hot drinks machine there was insufficient for the number of users and constantly ran out of water. The entertainments area bar was mostly well stocked but extremely under staffed. The one bar man serving was quite surly at times but who wouldn't be when under the pressure of serving onging queues of customers? But the oddest all inclusive moment for us had to be the 'dry evenings' that we encountered after the heat of the day... Yes, the hotel ran out of beer, gin, vodka and cola one evening and for most of the following day!!!

Other observation:
Locals in the area seem to be keen dog lovers. Our room on the fourth floor overlooked in the distance two private houses which had three barking dogs between them. They tended to bark in the early morning hours. Beyond the hotel's control of course.

Restaurant attire:
I like to dress for evening dinner, as I noticed did several other guests. For me this adds to the sense of holiday occasion. Both my husband and I were disappointed by the hotel's acceptance at evening meal time of all styles of dress, often including shorts and beachwear. I think dressing for dinner should be encouraged at Vila Gale.

Helpful tips:
If you want a lovely local dining experience with great service and delicious food, visit 'Bom Jesus' in Santa Cruz. It is located adjacent to the beautiful old church. Martin is a wonderful host who looks after all guests with dedicated care and thoughtfulness. And the food is fantastic value.

A trip to Mahchico (past the airport) is a nice day out. The bus stop is within a couple of minutes walk from the hotel and is less than 2 euros fare. About three times the size of Santa Cruz with a clean beach, lovely harbour, lots of history, great shops and decent generally inexpensive restaurants.

Don't worry about the airport being within five minutes of Vila Gale. It didn't cause any disturbance to our stay whatsoever.