Funchal, Raga Hotel Review

Overall Rating

The room was cleaned every day and the cleaner did their best. The towels were changed every day.

The hotel Raga is in need of complete updating. The noise from the generator on the roof can be heard in the rooms below all night long. The doors are badly fitted and rattle as the wind blows through. The upholstery is badly worn in the bar area. No heating or air conditioning in the rooms and we could definitely have done with some heating!! Poor quality food and meagre portions at dinner.

I would say that the Hotel Raga was built in the 1960's. I base this on the sea green tiles in the bathrooms. I am sure that the cleaners did their best but there was a constant musty smell that would not go away. The cleaners would leave the patio doors open when they had finished cleaning but as soon as they were closed , the smell came back.

We were on the top floor, the 11th, facing a hill and north. There was a constant grinding noise all night which came from some type of generator on the roof above us. We complained but nothing was done about it. The wind whistled through the badly fitting patio doors and in turn made the door at the other end of the room rattle even when double locked. This also meant that there was no sound proofing from the local dogs that barked constantly all night.

The break fastsnever varied and were of the lowest quality. We made the mistake one night of taking dinner at the hotel and we couldn't believe how small the main course was. It was the size of an average starter. We had two slices of potato each - not even a whole one between us!

The upholstery in the bar area was very worn. One night the leg came off the chair my husband was sitting on. He is 13 stone and tea total so there was no question of any wrong doing on his part. The bar man just laughed. There was no apology and no attempt to obtain another chair for my husband.

We paid First Choice £1072 for a seven night stay on a bed and breakfast basis for two people and we certainly did not receive value for money. I put all these complaints in writing to First Choice. They took 2 weeks to even acknowledge my letter and a month to give me a reply. Their letter did nothing to restore my faith in using First Choice again.

Members' Comments onJayne Gould's Review

• baileyn1 on 10th Aug 2005

  We were on half board and had to suffer the small evening meal portions, and limited choice every day.
  Only saw potatoes twice in 7 days. Good job we have a good meal at lunch time out of the hotel.
  The breakfast was at best adequate, but still no potatoe products of any description.