We returned to this hotel because we liked it so much. It is clean and comfortable and the staff are so helpful and obliging. The situation is great right on the seafront and in very close proximity to the restaurants in Old Town. It is particularly helpeful for us as it is one of very few hotels in a flat area of a hilly island. This means my wife and other people with poor mobility can walk up and down the front , although partly closed this year because of construction works to improve the sea front.
Tony Prior

This hotel gets many gushing reviews and clearly has a keen following of repeat guests. I would like to mention the good and the bad.

Good

Excellent position in the Old Town
Some very good staff
Breakfast buffet good if not inspiring.
Talk on history of Madeira was excellent
Trip to Madeira wine company interesting
Lovely roof terrace

Poor
The works on the waterfront in front of the hotel do impact on your holiday, they are noisy and intrusive and run from 8am till 6pm so don't expect to sit quietly in the hotel grounds.

The hotel offers a 10 Euro a day per person credit to your account to make up for the disruption. They issue a letter saying this can be used within the hotel in bars and restaurants. There is no where on the letter that suggests that tips cannot be included in this and when you sign for a drink or meal the chitty includes a space for a tip. On check out an extremely rude receptionist refused to use my credit for the tips. When I asked where on the origional letter it said tips were not included he said I should have asked, how was I to know to ask? The management should make this clear and give their receptionist training in how to speak to guests.

We ate one evening meal (to use up our hotel credit) in the restaurant, really don't bother, the food is OK but totally uninspired. There are many fabulous restaurants at the gates of the hotel.

The hotel values it's return guests, they receive fruit, tea and coffee and bottled water in their rooms, this however makes first time guests feel undervalued. Not only have they paid more as returning guests get a discount but they are not valued enough to be given a bottle of water!

Rooms are clean, towels are thin and small, toiletries are of poor quality. TV is set high up on a shelf like a cheap bed and breakfast. Balconies are tiny, sea views are limited due to the wings of the hotel sticking out. Maybe valued returners get better rooms!

A double bed is two singles pushed together, no fixing. Maybe this is because this hotel really caters for 'the grey economy'. I doubt there were many people in the hotel under 60 it could do with a wider mix of ages

Why no room service?

I notice the manager seems to reply here to customers but is not visible in the hotel, why?

The hotel is in a brilliant situation, right on the sea and you just walk out of the gates and there are lots of excellent restaurants.Most of the hotels in Funchal are on the other side of town, up a hill, in a great mass of concrete. The only downside at present is that they are doing major constuction work on new sea defences and channelling rivers to avoid the floods of 3 years ago.I think it will go on all this year as they are literally moving mountains. We had a great sea view room but some people found the constant stream of dumper trucks intrusive. It didn't really bother us, and I always managed to sleep through it each afternoon. It is very clear on the hotel website and they do give you a credit of €10 a day to spend in the bars.
The staff were great, the breakfast and bar snacks good and the facilities excellent. We used the indoor pool or gym every day. Highly recommended

Lovely hotel, friendly staff, beautiful location, excellent facilities. Booked a sea view room which had nice a balcony overlooking the sea and port. Only downside is if you book in the near future there are fairly noisy and extensive beach construction works directly in front of hotel and all along the front. This is not the hotels fault and we wouldn't let this effect either our rating or a possible return visit in future years. To offset this they are giving 10 euros per day per person to spend in the hotel bars/ restaurant etc. We swam most afternoons in the indoor pool which is big and nearly always had it to ourselves with a dip in the jacuzzi to finish. Nice touch is everyone gets a bathrobe to wander down to the pool in and we ended each evening relaxing in them on the balcony over a last glass of wine!
Walking round the cobble streets in the old town is a joy and we look forward to walking through the gardens along the front when they are reinstated.