We've just returned from our honeymoon in this hotel, which we booked partly on the strength of the reviews on here. We were not disappointed. Admitedly we usually go for much more budget holidays, so we can't really compare hotels of a similar class, but were really impressed.

The grounds were beautiful (and as my husband is a gardener himself, he can vouch for the skill of the huge team they had working there), and the rooms were well equipped and tastefully decorated. The facilities were great - lovely pool area, if a little cold, fantastic views from the deck bar, and nice to have indoor spa facilities as the weather wasn't great. it all made for a really relaxed atmosphere. Touches like free internet access in the library, umbrellas in the rooms for guest use and plenty of towels for use in the pool, spa etc, all added to the impression of luxury.

The location of the hotel was good - on the town end of the 'hotel zone', so both areas were in easy walking reach, and it was just set apart from the other hotels enough to feel secluded. There were lots of restaurants in the vicinity - we tried and liked Paradise, Moby Dick (non-promising exterior bu great, good value food and service) and Fora d'horas.

The staff were very helpful and pleasant, and most seemed to speak about 4 languages! They gave us complimentary wine and fruit on our arrival as it was our honeymoon, and more wine on my birthday, and little touces like this make a big difference.

The breakfast buffett had a great choice, including a menu of freshly cooked items. We ate lunch there once, which was nice if a little 'fancy' for lunchtime. The deck bar did lovely afternoon teas and evening drinks. We ate in the restaurant once, on my birthday, and were impressed by that as well, although it is a lot more expensive than eating in other restaurants locally, but a much more gourmet meal.

A few tiny criticisms (but none serious enough to warrant giving it less than an excellent rating!):
The food and drink was expensive, but I guess that's to be expected in a hotel of that class.
Sometimes some breakfast food was not hot enough.
As many reviewers have mentioned, tea and coffee making facilities would be good in the rooms - especially as the hotel were not great at either!
Again, as some other reviews have mentioned, the bar did seem a bit short staffed in the evening.

But none of these spoiled our enjoyment at all!

Having checked out the reviews on trip advisor we were not disapointed with our stay in the Casa Branca. Hidden away from the hustle and bustle and set within the most beautiful walled garden, he hotel offers a haven of peace and tranquility. It was really lovely siting out in the early morning having our breakfast watching the sun rise over the mountains The staff could not have been more helpful and friendly nothing was too much trouble for them. The bedrooms were a good size with everything you would require for your stay and the added bonus of direct access to the gardens. The restaurant was very good and obviously very popular.The swimming pool was tucked away at the bottom of the garden and was well equiped with sun beds, umbrellas, chairs, towels, showers etc. Walking from the hotel to the centre of Funchal took about 35mins and a very pleasant walk but remember if walking back it's uphill all the way!! but good for burning off all the calories. The majority of the levada walks are accessible by local bus which is great others you can reach by car or organised groups the choice is yours. If you decide to holiday in Funchal then check out the Quinta Da Casa Branca and enjoy.

Have just returned from a week at this lovely hotel staying in a superior room. We were looking for a quiet break and the location of this hotel is just perfect for this. A little away from the main business of Funchal with beautiful gardens. 5 gardeners are working full time there and it shows.
It is a shame the hotel has not given the same staffing ratio in some of the guest services. There was an excellent barman (Bruno) but he is also called upon to deliver room service and do other tasks. Guest often have evening room service and this impacts on the Deck Bar service with waits of 10 minutes to be offered a drink being quite common which we do not think a 5 star hotel should have. Bruno covered this well but sadly when he is on his days off, the lad put in charge is struggling and we saw guests give up and leave to have dinner without having a drink.
The Garden Restaurant is very good, it is true the breakfast is repetitive but very fresh and well served by the staff who are very friendly. We had pleasant lunches there and thought the prices were very comparable with prices in town.
The main restaurant is variable - we opted for 3 nights flexi dine and were surprised as others have noted to experience a different level of service to those eating a la carte. On the final night it all fell apart - Delia the head lady was not on - we asked for details of our a la carte allowance as we wanted to do something more special but were advised we had to eat table d hote even though the menu said ask for your allowance!! The set menu is strange as although there are 3 choices, one item is always repeated twice but cooked in two ways so we had a choice of veal stew, veal steak or fish one night; grilled tuna; baked tuna or lamb chop on the second and grilled swordfish; browned swordfish or pork on the third. The food was good and fresh and certainly those eating a la carte seemed to be very happy.
Reception was helpful and the restaurant recommendations were all very good. We also made our own decisions to go to Villa Cipriani and Sal Da Ajuder based on recommendations on these board and were very happy with these as well.
Poolside is lovely and there were never problems getting a chair but we did wonder if the hotel was full or maybe everyone was relaxing elsewhere as the garden has lots of nice corners for this.
Superior rooms are lovely but watch who you have booked it through as we were advised as we were booked through First Choice we were not entitled to free soft drinks as others were which was disappointing as we had seen this as a valuable perk. Not sure I would pay the extra next time, would depend - I also could not work out why, given the balconies are the same size as the terraces we were only given chairs, but ordinary rooms get loungers - however because the rooms were south facing we did not have the issue of having to pull the chairs around the gardens to chase the sun as ordinary rooms had - we had the lovely shutters as well so could pull shade over whenever we wanted.
Would we go here again - yes, but will recognise without changes this is a nice 4-5 star hotel and not, unless there are changes in the staffing numbers, a 5 star.

Booked this hotel for a three-night stay based on TA reviews. The grounds truly are lovely. Really great flowers, types I'd never seen before.

Building itself is interesting. The lobby is a big glass box and you really can't see the hotel itself when you approach. Rooms are arranged in an L...one very long hallway, then a turn into the next wing.

I was upgraded to a superior room, which came with a little sitting area. And apparently, the superior rooms are the only rooms that come with Internet access. (Bring your own network cable or borrow one from the front desk.) Bummer that there's no wireless access. There is a PC in the library with Internet access.

The gym is very small. That being said, it's a large room, but there are only four machines in it...one treadmill, one bike, one rowing machine, and one of those multi-weight machines.

I had two spa treatments and they were really good. Facial and a massage.

I thought the breakfast was a bit boring, personally. They seemed to be catering to the mostly English clientele. There were beans and tomatoes and mushrooms and eggs and sausages. There's lots of fruit and bread, but besides for some queso fresca, there was very little Portugese food in evidence.

Lunch on the terrace was lovely, although food was a bit hit and miss. My steak sandwich the first day was great, but the trio of crostini the next day was pretty bad. (I did really like the roasted veg salad I had.)

Staff were wonderful in setting up tours for me and my family.

All in all, this is a classy, high-end hotel with lovely gardens.