Saccharum Resort
Selected
Check Availability & Prices
Find the best rates for Saccharum Resort.
Check Availability on Booking.comView the official listing on the MICHELIN Guide.
Hotel Details
Location
Saccharum Resort · Madeira, Portugal
Explore More Hotels
Key Highlights
- ✓Trapiche: Poolside, serving light bites, drinks, and a solid vegetarian menu with fresh ingredients, alongside stunning coastal vistas.
Expert Review: Saccharum Resort
Saccharum Resort, Madeira: A Michelin Key Selected Oasis of Contemporary Luxury
Saccharum Resort, a distinguished Michelin Key Selected property in Madeira, Portugal, offers guests a luxurious retreat where contemporary design seamlessly blends with the island's natural beauty and rich sugar cane heritage. Perched dramatically between the Atlantic Ocean and Madeira's mountains in Calheta, this 5-star resort is lauded for its sophisticated atmosphere and extensive amenities, making it a popular choice for both couples and families seeking a pampered escape.
1. Overall Rating & Sentiment
The general consensus for Saccharum Resort is overwhelmingly positive, with guests frequently praising its stunning design, exceptional facilities, and tranquil ambiance. Review scores often reflect high satisfaction, with categories like cleanliness, room quality, and facilities consistently rated highly. It is considered one of the best hotels on the island, especially for those exploring the west side of Madeira.
2. Key Highlights
Guests consistently love the resort's numerous swimming pools, particularly the breathtaking rooftop infinity pool that offers panoramic ocean views. The contemporary design, inspired by the island's sugar cane history and executed by renowned designer Nini Andrade Silva, is a significant highlight, featuring sleek modern furniture, bare-brick pillars, and artistic nods to its past. The holistic spa, with its Ayurvedic rituals and extensive facilities including sensory showers, a halotherapy room, sauna, and indoor pool, is another major draw. The peaceful, secluded location by Calheta Beach, offering a blend of ocean and mountain proximity, is also highly appreciated.
3. Room Quality
Saccharum Resort offers 196 rooms and 59 suites, many boasting balconies with spectacular ocean, courtyard, or mountain views. The rooms are described as spacious, luxurious, and elegantly designed with a contemporary vibe, featuring air-conditioning, Nespresso coffee machines, minibars, and complimentary bottled water. Premium rooms and suites often include additional perks such as daily newspapers, free spa access, and access to a premium lounge and sundeck. Some even feature private jacuzzis on the balcony. The design often incorporates subtle sugar cane themes, such as photographs on headboards.
4. Dining Experience
The resort boasts multiple dining options, with three restaurants and several bars.
- Engenho: Serves a "cornucopia of day-starting treats" for buffet breakfast, which can be enjoyed on a terrace overlooking the infinity pool. Dinner at Engenho offers Mediterranean-influenced fare.
- Alambique: A fine-dining restaurant named after an ancient tool for distilling sugarcane, offering five-course tasting menus themed around the sea and mountains of Madeira.
- Trapiche: Poolside, serving light bites, drinks, and a solid vegetarian menu with fresh ingredients, alongside stunning coastal vistas.
- The Club: Exclusive to guests on Savoy Premium Experience (SPE) rates, offering an à la carte breakfast overlooking the ocean and all-day snacks. Guests generally praise the quality and refinement of the food, especially the breakfast buffet. The resort also emphasizes sourcing ingredients from its Chef's Garden for a thoughtful, seasonal dining experience.
5. Service & Staff
Guest feedback frequently highlights the perfect service and friendly, welcoming staff. Housekeeping is often noted as accommodating, cleaning rooms at guests' convenience. The staff are described as "infectiously passionate" about Madeira. However, some minor complaints have surfaced regarding occasional misleading information about restaurant availability from reception staff.
6. Location & Accessibility
Saccharum Resort is situated just outside Calheta, on the island's southwestern side, between the ocean and mountains. It's described as a secluded spot, ideal for a peaceful getaway. The resort is on Calheta Beach, and a quiet marina is a five-minute walk away. While somewhat isolated, it's considered a good base for exploring the west of Madeira, with most places on the island reachable within an hour's drive. Funchal, the island's capital, is about a 30-45 minute drive away. Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport is approximately a 45-minute drive, and the hotel can arrange transfers. The hotel is also within walking distance of local restaurants, bars, cafés, and a sizable grocery store.
7. Value & Pricing
Saccharum Resort is considered a luxury 5-star property. Prices for a 1-night stay for two adults can start from around $194.11, though prices are subject to change and vary by season and room type. While some guests consider it pricey, many feel it offers good value for the quality of the experience. The "Savoy Premium Experience" package is often highlighted as a worthwhile investment, elevating the stay with perks like made-to-order breakfasts and unlimited spa access.
8. Common Complaints
While generally positive, some recurring criticisms include:
- Rigid Room Service: Some guests found room service inflexible with special requests, such as altering meal preparations.
- Restaurant Price-Quality: A few guests expressed disappointment with the price-quality ratio at some of the hotel bars.
- Minor Inconveniences: One review mentioned a need for a shorter way to walk to the suites part of the hotel. Another cited weak Wi-Fi in their room.
- Car Incidents: A single review mentioned a car being scratched in the hotel parking lot and difficulties in resolving the issue due to camera focus.
- Extra Spa Costs: Some services within the spa, such as the sauna, might incur an extra cost for standard room guests, though Premium Experience guests have unlimited access.
Sources
Points to Consider
- •While generally positive, some recurring criticisms include:
- •Car Incidents: A single review mentioned a car being scratched in the hotel parking lot and difficulties in resolving the issue due to camera focus.
Google Reviews
3,120 reviews
Recent Guest Reviews
Heidi
The facilities are beautiful. A bit dark lighting but relaxing athmosphere. The room with sea view is worth it. The service is friendly. Many things you have to pay extra for eg. sun loungers closest to the pool, so all of them were empty. Skip the evening buffet and head to the harbour for dinner.
Response from the owner
Dear Mrs. Heidi,<br><br>Thank you for choosing our Saccharum hotel and for taking the time to share your sincere feedback following your recent stay.<br>We are delighted to know that you enjoyed your ...
jean charles vaneck
We stayed at the hotel for three nights over Valentine’s weekend, and overall it was a truly lovely escape. The location is exceptional remote and tranquil, nestled by a charming little marina with breathtaking mountain views and direct sea frontage. It feels secluded yet accessible, the perfect setting to disconnect for a few days without traveling too far. We booked an ocean-front room and we...
Sooyeon Lee
I have nothing to complain about regarding the location, rooms, or the service provided. We had to catch an early flight, so we closed the bill the night before. The bill was very confusing—six pages in total—with prepaid amounts and additional charges mixed together. It was difficult to determine what had already been paid and what was still outstanding. At first, we signed the bill and returne...
Response from the owner
Dear Mrs. Lee, <br><br>Thank you for choosing our Saccharum hotel and for taking the time to share your sincere feedback about your recent stay. It was truly a pleasure to welcome you, especially duri...
Dtown
We stayed for two nights at the end of September-25 we had the premium experience and stayed in suite 422. Our suite was lovely, bed was very comfortable and the views were outstanding. The suite was also well cleaned. However the bathroom was a bit disappointing and the doors were very hard to slide open and closed. The sofa bed was very uncomfortable. The plunge pool was supposed to be heated b...
Response from the owner
Dear Guest,<br>Greetings from sunny Calheta!<br><br>First, we would like to thank you for your lovely review, regarding your recent stay at our Saccharum hotel!<br><br>It was an enormous pleasure to h...
Anton Burn
We stayed in late December and booked a suite as we were traveling with a toddler. Unfortunately, the suite with a “courtyard” view was extremely dark, with very limited natural daylight and a view directly into the spa windows, offering almost no privacy. Turning on the lights didn’t help much, as the hotel’s overall design is very dark like it was design not for leisure but for business purpose....
Response from the owner
Dear Mr. Burn,<br>Greetings from Calheta!<br><br>Thank you for choosing Hotel Saccharum and for your wonderful review of your recent stay.<br>We are delighted to hear that you had a fantastic stay and...
Kevin McKenzie
Really good experience overall. Very large hotel rooms. Quiet area with low noise. Luxury is feeling hotel. Multiple different areas for lounging. Amazing views really spectacular. Overall, the experience is very strong. Here are the only reasons why I don’t give it a five star. 1. For some reason, during our 5 days stay we had 4 cockroaches in our room. Even one inside the soap dispenser bottl...
Response from the owner
Dear Mr. McKenzie,<br>Greetings from sunny Calheta!<br><br>First, we would like to sincerely thank you for your kind review regarding your recent stay at our Saccharum Hotel.<br><br>It was a true plea...
