John D.
We booked at the last minute because of COVID. Madeira was one of the few places we could visit without having to quarantine when we got back to the UK. The pictures on the Our Madeira website looked good, but the villa was even more stunning in person. We’ve rented houses and villas for about ten years, and this was easily the nicest place we’ve stayed. There are no houses overlooking the property, and you can’t see any others from the villa or grounds. It sits about 100 feet up on a cliff above a pebbly beach. The only sound is the waves breaking, with no traffic or noisy neighbors. The layout has been thought through well, with lots of lovely touches, and it was very comfortable for three. Four would be fine, though six could feel a bit tight. Two sides of the main living area are glass patio doors that open onto the sea view and garden and pool area. The house was spotless, the beds were comfortable, and the whole place is air-conditioned if needed. Someone came by every day or two to clean the pool. Since we stayed more than a week, the house was also cleaned during our visit. The only possible drawback is the very steep, narrow road down to the house. It felt exciting the first couple of times, though after a few days we were more comfortable, if not exactly blasé. The road is well lit at night, so getting back after dark wasn’t a problem. We had a BMW 3 series, and I wouldn’t want anything bigger. Having an automatic made quite a difference, so I’d recommend one over a manual. Booking was straightforward. We’ve been home for three days and I’ve already booked the villa again for next year. That settles the dilemma of wanting to leave a good review but not wanting everyone to find out about it :). I plan to post this on TripAdvisor, HomeAway, and Google, so if you see it more than once, you’ll know it was me.
