Terms and Conditions

1.1 Us

Olá Madeira is a trading name of Lord Somerset, Sociedade Imobiliária, Lda, a company registered in Portugal under NIPC 515 581 380, at Rua da Carreira, N.º 100, Sala E, Edifício Solar da Carreira, 9000-612 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. In these terms "we", "us" and "our" mean that business, and "the site" means olamadeira.pt.

Email info@olamadeira.pt. Telephone +351 910 113 298. We answer in English, Portuguese, German and Afrikaans.

1.2 You

"You" is whoever is reading the site, and, once a booking is made, the person who made it. That person is the lead guest: they must be at least 18, they book on behalf of everybody in the party, they are responsible for the whole party's conduct and for the full amount due, and they confirm that every other guest has been told about these terms and the house rules.

2.1 What they cover

They apply when you use the site and when you book a stay with us directly. Booking through Airbnb, Booking.com or another platform means that platform's terms govern the booking and its cancellation rules, and these terms then apply to the stay itself: the house rules in part 8, and what each of us is liable for in part 11.

2.2 What beats what

If something on the page of a particular home contradicts these terms, the property page wins for that home. Minimum stay, occupancy, check-in times, whether pets are allowed and the registration number are set per property. What is confirmed to you in writing when you book wins over both.

2.3 Your statutory rights

Nothing here takes away a right Portuguese or European consumer law gives you. Where a clause here and the law disagree, the law applies and the rest of these terms carry on.

2.4 Changes to these terms

We may change these terms. The version that applies to your booking is the one published when you booked, and we keep a copy, so a later change cannot be applied to a stay you have already paid for.

3.1 What you may do

Read it, search it, print a page for yourself, and send someone a link. That is what it is for.

3.2 What you may not do

• Copy the photographs, the written guides, the property descriptions, the logo or the design and publish them elsewhere. They belong to us or to the people who licensed them to us.
• Scrape the site, or harvest the addresses on it, whether by hand or by machine.
• Make a booking you do not intend to honour, or book under a false name.
• Attack the site, or try to reach a part of it that is not published.
• Present the site or our homes as your own, anywhere.

3.3 How accurate it is

We describe the homes as carefully as we can and photograph them as they are. Even so, a description is a description: furnishings change, a neighbouring building goes up, a view is a view from one window on one day. Nothing on this site is a guarantee that a home will be identical to its photographs, and the floor areas, distances and travel times are approximate.

3.4 Availability and prices shown on the site

The calendars and the nightly figures on the stay pages are drawn live from our booking system as the page loads. They are the best information we have and they can still be out of date or wrong. The price that binds either of us is the total shown at the checkout when you pay, and clause 5.4 says what happens if a figure is obviously an error.

3.5 Other people's content

Reviews shown on this site are collected from the platforms our guests left them on. We do not write them, we do not edit them and we cannot delete one we dislike. Links to other sites are for convenience and are not a recommendation of anything on them.

3.6 The site is not always up

We do not promise that the site is available at all times or free of faults. We may change it, take a page down or stop publishing part of it without notice. If a fault stops you booking, call or email us and we will take the booking ourselves.

4.1 How a booking is made

Choose your dates on the page of the home you want, follow the checkout, and pay. The checkout is run by Lodgify, our booking system, and it will show you the total, the taxes and fees, and the cancellation terms for the dates you have picked before you are asked to pay anything. You can also book by email or by phone, and we will send you the same information in writing before taking any money.

4.2 When it becomes binding, and with whom

Your booking is an offer. The contract is made when we send you a booking confirmation, not when you submit the form and not when the payment leaves your account. Until that confirmation arrives there is no booking, and if we cannot accept one we return everything you have paid in full.

Your contract is with us. Some of the homes on this site are ours and some we manage for their owners. That distinction is ours to worry about and not yours: in both cases your contract for the stay is with Olá Madeira, we take the payment, we issue the invoice, and we are the ones answerable to you for the stay. You do not contract with the owner of a managed home and you do not need to deal with them.

4.3 Check the confirmation

Read it when it arrives. Tell us within 48 hours if anything on it is wrong, because a mistake found later can be expensive to fix and the dates may be gone. Names on the booking should match the identity documents that will be presented at check-in: see clause 7.2.

4.4 There is no 14 day cooling off period

This is the clause people are most often surprised by, so it is here in plain words. European and Portuguese consumer law gives you 14 days to change your mind about most things bought online, and it specifically excludes accommodation booked for a particular date. So the right does not apply to a stay with us. What applies instead is the cancellation policy in part 6, which is shown to you at the checkout before you pay.

4.5 Who may stay, and how many

Only the people named on the booking may stay, and never more than the maximum the property page states. The maximum is a fire safety and licensing figure, not a preference, and it counts children. Visitors during the day are fine unless the property page says otherwise; visitors who stay the night are not. Clause 8.4 says what happens if a home turns out to be over-occupied.

4.6 The homes outside Madeira

The two properties at Yzerfontein in South Africa, shown on /international, are the exception to 4.2. They are let privately by their owners rather than by us. We show them here because we work with those owners, and you can enquire through us, but the contract for that stay is with them and not with Olá Madeira, it is governed by South African law, and their own terms, house rules and cancellation policy apply rather than these. Reach them on info@tedd.co.za, and ask us if you would rather we put you in touch.

5.1 The currency and what the nightly figure means

Prices are in euros. The figure on a property page is a nightly rate before the cleaning fee and any tourist tax, and it changes with the season, the length of the stay and how far ahead you book. The only number that is a total is the one at the checkout, and it is the one we charge.

5.2 What is included

Water, electricity, gas, wi-fi, bed linen, towels and the end-of-stay clean, unless the property page says otherwise. Parking is included where the property page says it is.

5.3 Taxes and the tourist tax

Prices include VAT at the applicable Portuguese rate.

A tourist tax of 6 euros per guest applies to every one of our homes when you book direct with us. It is a flat charge for the whole stay rather than a nightly one, so it does not grow with the length of the stay; it is charged once per guest. It is shown separately at the checkout, it is included in the total before you pay, and we collect it and pay it over.

5.4 If a price is obviously wrong

Prices are set by hand and drawn through several systems, and now and then one comes out wrong. If a price is obviously an error, and you could reasonably have recognised it as one, we are not bound by it. We will tell you as soon as we notice, offer you the stay at the correct price, and refund you in full if you would rather not take it. We will not simply keep the money and cancel.

5.5 How you pay

By card at the checkout, through Stripe. Your card details go to Stripe and never reach us or this website. Depending on the dates and the home you may be asked for the full amount at the time of booking, or a deposit at booking and the balance before arrival. Whichever it is, the checkout says so before you pay.

5.6 If a payment fails

If a balance is not paid by its due date we will chase it once, in writing, and give you a reasonable period to fix it. If it is still unpaid after that we may treat the booking as cancelled by you, and part 6 then applies.

5.7 Chargebacks

Please raise a problem with us before raising it with your bank. A chargeback on a stay you took, or on a cancellation that followed the policy you agreed to, will be defended with the booking record, and the costs of defending it can be claimed from you.

5.8 Invoices

We issue a compliant Portuguese invoice for every stay. Tell us at the time of booking if it needs a company name and a tax number on it, because it is much harder to change afterwards.

6.1 Changing a booking

Ask us. Moving dates, changing the number of guests or switching to another of our homes is often possible and we would far rather move you than lose you. A change depends on the new dates being free and on any difference in price, and nothing is changed until we confirm it in writing. We do not charge an administration fee for a change we can make.

6.2 Cancelling: what you get back

Our standard policy, on every home, is this:

• More than 30 days before check-in: cancel free of charge and we refund everything you have paid.
• 30 days before check-in or less: no refund.

There is no partial band between the two, and no administration fee on a free cancellation. It is a blunt policy and we would rather state it plainly here than have you discover it at the checkout. Clause 6.5 is the reason it can be this blunt without being unfair, and clause 6.1 is worth reading first: moving a booking is very often possible where cancelling it is not.

The cancellation terms for your particular dates are also shown at the checkout before you pay and repeated on your confirmation. If what the checkout showed you differs from the policy above, the checkout wins, because that is what you agreed to when you paid.

Cancel in writing, to info@olamadeira.pt. The date we receive that email is the date of cancellation. Any refund goes back to the card that paid, within 14 days of us agreeing it.

6.3 Not arriving, and leaving early

A booking nobody arrives for is a cancellation on the day, and nothing is refunded. Leaving early does not refund the unused nights. Both of these are why clause 6.5 exists.

6.4 If we have to cancel

We will not cancel a confirmed booking to take a better offer for the same dates. Ever. If we do have to cancel, because the home has become genuinely unusable, we will tell you at once, offer you a comparable home of ours for the same dates if we have one, and refund everything you have paid if we do not or if you would rather not take it. Where the cancellation is our fault we will also cover reasonable, evidenced extra costs of finding somewhere equivalent. That does not extend to your flights, and clause 6.5 is why.

6.5 Travel insurance

Take some. It is the answer to illness, a missed flight, a cancelled flight, a strike, a family emergency and a hundred other things that are nobody's fault and that these terms cannot refund. It costs a fraction of the stay.

6.6 Things outside anyone's control

Neither of us is in breach of these terms because of something genuinely outside our control: severe weather, wildfire, earthquake, an airport or port closure, a strike, war, civil unrest, an epidemic or a government restriction. If such an event stops the stay happening we will offer you a credit for equivalent dates or a refund of what you have paid, less any amount we have already paid out on your behalf and cannot recover. We will not charge a cancellation fee for one of these.

6.7 Building work and things we cannot control at the property

Madeira is a working island and neighbours renovate. If we know about significant works near a home before you arrive, we will tell you and you may move or cancel without charge. If a shared facility such as a pool or a lift is out of use for reasons beyond our control, that alone is not grounds for a refund, but tell us and we will do what we can.

7.1 Check-in and check-out

Check-in and check-out times are on the page of each home, and are usually from 15:00 and by 10:00. Tell us your arrival time in advance, and tell us if it changes, because most of our check-ins are done by a person meeting you. An earlier check-in or a later check-out is sometimes possible and has to be agreed in advance. Staying past check-out without agreement can be charged as a further night.

7.2 Identity documents

Portuguese law requires us to record and report the identity details of every guest who is not a Portuguese national, within three working days of check-in. So each adult guest must present a valid passport or national identity card at check-in, and we take the details we are obliged to take and nothing else. We cannot let you stay without them, and that is not a policy we can make an exception to. The privacy page explains exactly what is recorded and how long it is kept.

7.3 Keys and access

Look after the keys or the access code. A lost key that means changing a lock is charged at cost. Do not pass keys or codes to anyone who is not on the booking.

7.4 When you leave

Leave the home tidy, the dishes done, the rubbish in the right bin and the windows shut. The end-of-stay clean is included and you are not expected to clean; you are expected to leave it in the state a reasonable person would. Clause 8.5 covers a home left in a state that costs more than that.

7.5 Things you leave behind

Tell us as soon as you notice. We will look, and if we find it we will post it to you at your cost. We keep lost property for 30 days and cannot be responsible for anything left in a home.

8.1 The rules

• No parties and no events. Not in any of the homes, not at any size.
• No smoking indoors, and that includes vaping. Where there is a balcony or a terrace, smoke there and take the ends with you.
• No pets, unless the property page for that home says otherwise and we have agreed it in writing. Assistance dogs are welcome and we ask only that you tell us in advance.
• Quiet between 22:00 and 08:00. Most of our homes have neighbours who live there all year, and this is the rule that keeps us welcome in the building.
• No commercial use. No photo shoots, no filming for profit and no subletting, without our written agreement.
• Nothing illegal, and nothing dangerous. No fireworks, no candles left burning, no cooking appliances brought in.
• Children are welcome and are the responsibility of the adults with them at all times, particularly around stairs, balconies, terraces and water.

8.2 If the rules are broken

For anything serious, and for a party in particular, we may end the stay immediately and ask the party to leave, with no refund of the remaining nights. We would always rather resolve it with a phone call, and almost always do.

8.3 The security deposit

We do not take a security deposit on a nightly stay. No hold on your card, nothing to claim back, and no wait for a refund after you leave. We would rather trust you and deal with the rare exception under 8.5.

A let by the month under part 9 is different, and a deposit may be required for one. If it is, we will tell you the amount, whether it is a hold or a charge, and when it comes back, in writing and before you book. Any deposit is returned in full, less only what is properly due under 8.5, and we will send you the evidence for a deduction.

8.4 Over-occupancy

If more people are staying than the booking allows, we may charge for the additional guests at the property's rate, ask them to leave, or end the stay under 8.2. The occupancy limit is a licensing and insurance figure and we have no discretion about it.

8.5 Damage

Accidents happen and a broken glass is not a problem. Tell us; we would much rather hear it from you. You are responsible for damage caused by your party beyond fair wear and tear, for anything missing after the stay, and for the cost of the extra cleaning if a home is left in a state that needs it, including smoke odour removal after smoking indoors. We charge the actual, evidenced cost of repair or replacement, and we will show you the invoice.

8.6 Safety

Each home has a smoke detector, a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit. Please find them when you arrive. Report anything that looks unsafe to us at once and do not attempt a repair yourself.

8.7 Access during your stay

The home is yours while you are in it. We will not enter without your agreement except in an emergency, or where a repair, an inspection or a legal obligation makes it necessary, and then with as much notice as the situation allows.

8.8 There are no cameras inside

There is no camera, microphone or recording device of any kind inside any of our homes, and there never will be. Where a building has a camera at its entrance it belongs to the building and not to us.

One or more of our homes is let by the month rather than by the night, with a minimum stay of 30 nights. The property page says so, and the calendar will not accept a shorter booking. A let of that length sits outside Portugal's Alojamento Local scheme, which is why those homes carry no registration number, and it is not a holiday rental in law.

Parts 4, 5, 7 and 8 of these terms apply to those stays in the same way. What differs is the length, the price basis, the cancellation terms, which are shown at the checkout as usual, and the fact that a long stay may be subject to different rules about utilities, and may require a deposit where a nightly stay does not. We will set out anything that differs in writing before you book, and if a longer let requires a separate written agreement, that agreement prevails over this page.

10.1 A listing is not an offer

Every listing on this site is marketing material and an invitation to enquire. It is not an offer capable of acceptance, it forms no part of any contract of sale or lease, and no contract exists until a written agreement is signed by the parties in the form Portuguese law requires.

10.2 The details are not verified by us

Areas, room counts, plot sizes, energy ratings, licences, registrations, taxes, charges and completion dates come from the owner or from the agency handling the property. We pass them on in good faith and we do not verify them. Check every figure that matters to you with your own lawyer and your own surveyor before you commit to anything. Prices are quoted excluding transfer tax, stamp duty, notary and registration costs unless a listing says otherwise, and they can change or be withdrawn without notice.

10.3 Who handles the transaction

Olá Madeira markets these properties on this site. The estate agency work itself is not ours. It is carried out in partnership with Paulo Capelo, Mediação Imobiliária Unipessoal Lda, which holds estate agency licence AMI 9491, and it is that agency and the property's owner who are the parties to any sale or lease. Olá Madeira does not hold an AMI licence and does not act as the mediator.

10.4 No advice

Nothing on this site is legal, tax, financial, investment or immigration advice, and nothing on it is a forecast. Rental figures, yields and occupancy rates, where mentioned, are illustrations based on past performance and are not a promise of future income. Take your own advice before buying property in another country.

11.1 What we do not limit

Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that cannot be limited under Portuguese law. If a clause here would go further than the law allows, it applies only as far as the law allows.

11.2 What we are responsible for

Providing the home you booked, in the condition described, for the dates booked, and dealing properly with a problem you report during the stay. If we do not, tell us during the stay so that we can fix it: clause 12.1 explains why telling us at the time matters so much.

11.3 What we are not responsible for

• Your own belongings. Bring insurance and use the safe if there is one.
• An interruption to water, electricity, gas or internet caused by the utility rather than by us, although we will chase it and tell you what we learn.
• Noise, works or events outside the property and beyond our control.
• The weather, the sea, the state of a levada or a road, and any decision the authorities take about any of them.
• Anything you book with a third party, whether or not we suggested them: a tour, a car, a transfer, a restaurant or an activity. Those contracts are between you and them.
• An injury arising from your own use of a facility at the property, including a pool, a terrace, stairs or a barbecue, where the facility itself was in proper order.

11.4 The limit

Where we are liable to you for a booking, and subject entirely to 11.1, our total liability is limited to the amount you paid us for that booking. We are not liable for loss of enjoyment beyond that, for loss of earnings, or for any loss that was not a foreseeable consequence of what went wrong.

11.5 What you are liable to us for

The amount due for the booking, damage under clause 8.5, and any cost or claim we face because your party broke these terms, the house rules or the law.

12.1 Tell us during the stay

If something is wrong with the home, call us while you are still in it. Almost everything can be fixed the same day, and a problem we were never told about is one we were never given the chance to put right. Raising it for the first time after check-out, or in a review, makes it much harder for either of us to resolve fairly.

12.2 The complaints book

As a business registered in Portugal we keep the electronic complaints book, the Livro de Reclamações Eletrónico. You can use it at any time, in any language, at www.livroreclamacoes.pt. It goes to the regulator as well as to us.

12.3 Independent dispute resolution

If you are a consumer and we cannot settle a complaint between us, you may take it to an alternative dispute resolution body instead of going to court. The body competent for Madeira is the Centro de Arbitragem de Conflitos de Consumo da Região Autónoma da Madeira, at Rua Direita, n.º 27, 1.º Andar Esquerdo, 9050-450 Funchal, www.madeira.gov.pt/cacc. The full national list of these bodies is published by the Direção-Geral do Consumidor at www.consumidor.gov.pt.

This page deliberately does not link the European Commission's online dispute resolution platform. That platform ceased operating in 2025 and the link most websites still carry no longer works.

12.4 How to reach us

Email info@olamadeira.pt or call +351 910 113 298. We acknowledge a written complaint within five working days and answer it in full within 30 days.

13.1 Governing law

These terms and any booking made under them are governed by Portuguese law. If you are a consumer resident in another EU or EEA country, you also keep the protection of the mandatory consumer law of the country you live in.

13.2 Where a dispute is heard

The courts of Funchal, Madeira have jurisdiction. If you are a consumer, you may bring proceedings in the courts of the country you live in, and we may only bring proceedings against you there.

13.3 If a clause fails

If any part of these terms turns out to be unenforceable, the rest of them carry on, and that part applies as far as the law allows.

13.4 Not enforcing something once

If we do not insist on something, or are slow to, that is not a waiver of it and does not stop us insisting on it later.

13.5 Transferring the contract

You may not transfer your booking to someone else without our written agreement. We may transfer our rights and obligations to another business, and if we do it will not affect your rights and we will tell you.

13.6 No third parties

Only you and we can enforce these terms. Nobody else acquires a right under them, other than an owner or agency named in part 10 in respect of that part.

13.7 Notices

Anything either of us has to put in writing can be sent by email: to info@olamadeira.pt for us, and to the address on the booking for you.

13.8 The whole agreement

These terms, the property page for the home you booked and your booking confirmation are the whole of the agreement between us. Nothing said in conversation adds to it, which cuts both ways, and nothing here limits our liability for something we told you that was untrue.