Villa Horizonte Azul by Holiday Rental Madeira

Fabulous property with excellent value for money. Only negative was temperamental hot water

The villa itself was lovely and the view was magnificent. It is very well stocked and decorated and we appreciated the heated pool and the toys for it. It is extremely comfortable with lots of seating - including outside. Excellent communication with HR Madeira and very helpful to be able to access the property as soon as we arrived.

The villa is on a very steep narrow road and it is very tricky to manoeuvre cars into the parking space because the gateway is so narrow and there is a severe drop outside the gate on the left hand side. It was almost impossible to regulate the water in both of the showers - either far too hot or freezing cold. There was torrential rain on the day we arrived and flooding into the house through closed doors and windows.

Superb views. Kitchen equipment was enough to cook for 6 regularly in both oven and hob. Responsive management company. Excellent outdoor space. Lovely pool. Comfortable beds. Well appointed garden. Lots of different very nice eating spaces. 2 different interior seating areas.

The fittings are very well used and in some places coming apart (eg kitchen cupboards, leaking dishwasher). Gas BBQ does not work. Bathrooms need updating (loose toilet seats, no mixer taps on shower, so very difficult to get the right temperature, little airflow in bathrooms, so very stuffy and prone to damp). Wifi does not work at all well, do not assume you can do any work from the villa. Access is treacherous even for madeira and should not be considered without a 4x4. Payment for heating the pool is in addition and in cash (?), we payed 300 euro extra. An attempt to authorise an additional payment was made on our last day by the management company, erroneously. Strangely, despite extensive other contact they never attempted to explain what this was about.