Ok, I admit it, I have a genetically embedded dislike of golf.

But, even though it's surrounded on all sides by golfists, their dubious fashion choices, and the scars of a recent forest fire that very nearly wiped this little retreat from the map, the Casa Velha is a beautiful location. We didn't stay there, having rented a villa in the nearby Palheiro Village, but we did make use of the spa facilities, and dined in the restaurant there.

The spa is first class. Friendly staff, lovely facilities, and the treatments are a treat in every sense of the word.

The food is fantastic too. The best we had in Madeira.

The uniquely quiet and private location set amongst attractive gardens, makes this small country hotel a true place to unwind, enjoy superbly presented food and play some leasurely but challenging Golf. A great weeks break for my wife and I. The service was attentive and the atmosphere was reminiscent of an English Country House with only a few Palm trees and some very warm days and evenings being the giveaway that actually you are set high up in the Hills above Funchal, in Madeira. To the endless lines of ants I could see filing back on to the massive cruise ships down in the the harbour in Funchal, I say, "Go back and stare out of your box cabin and just pretend you experienced wonderful Portuguese hospitality". We did.

The high rating of this hotel is well deserved. As other reviewers have described, this is a smallish hotel based on an old hunting lodge high up above Funchal; a slight disadvantage for some perhaps because of the 15 minute taxi or shuttle bus journey time but an advantage for others because its height above sea level means it is cooler on hot days than down in the city. There are lovely views over the city and sea, especially from the golf club house. The hotel is furnished beautifully with antiques and has a generally traditional and comfortable feel about it. The Palheiro gardens alongside are lovely.

The food is of a very high standard indeed. My wife and I had booked on a half board basis but had intended to go outside the set menu both by trying the a la carte menu in the hotel and to venture further afield to other restaurants. However, the food in the hotel was such that we were more than happy to stay with the set menu for the two weeks we were there. (It is worth saying that one discouragement from trying other restaurants was the prospect of driving back on a very steep and twisting road after a few drinks).

The staff members could not have been more helpful or better trained (perhaps a touch of over-familiarity from one or two in the restaurant but on the whole excellent).

We were in the golf wing and the room was well furnished and of a very comfortable size with plenty of storage space.

Our only minor criticisms of the hotel were that the bathroom was just a jade tired (cracked floor tiles, shower soap tray a little wonky and the sink plug in need of some attention) and that the room could have been cleaned more thoroughly.

The island had suffered several months of drought, now thankfully over, but it meant that the golf course had suffered badly and was not in good condition. Hopefully that will correct itself very quickly.

We would love to return in the spring when even more flowers are out on the island.

Looking for a quiet holiday in the sun with a pool and a range of other amenities, we chose Casa Velha after shying away from hundreds of glitzy "resort" hotels in many different locations. We could not have made a better choice. This is a true "home from home", slightly old-fashioned (all the better!) and rather English (it is owned by the Blandy family) country house hotel with a good- sized and deep pool. There is also tennis, table tennis, badminton, a small but well-equipped exercise room, a state-of-the-art spa, and a half-sized snooker table. Guests have free access to the adjoining 200 year-old Palheiro Gardens, which are glorious and through which you can join one of the main levada walks. I know nothing about golf but the course is an amazing piece of landscaping in itself. (There is also a motor-yacht which is available, at a price, for game fishing or occasional whale-watching cruises).

The staff are unfailingly polite and professional as well as welcoming and friendly - during a 10-day stay they developed a real but always discreet rapport with us, anticipating our preferences and joking with our 14 year-old son.

The hotel offers breakfast and dinner, a room service menu and afternoon tea. Guests may also use the golf clubhouse - a ten minute walk across the course - which serves food throughout the day and is useful for lunch or an early dinner.

The daily-changing table d'hote dinners were oustandingly good. The standard of cooking is exceptionally high (virtually Michelin-star standard, as another review suggests) and the menus, while offering only two or three choices in each course, are so well designed as to be a constant delight. Some reviews seem rather chippy about the style and/or the price (40 euros for three courses) but we were happy just to submit to the experience - we were on holiday, for goodness' sake! - and, given the level of effort and achievement in the cooking, thought they offered good value. We ate in every night. (There is also an a la carte menu and a seven course "tasting" menu but hardly anyone seemed to choose these). The restaurant is, I suppose, "formal", but only in the sense of offering all the proper routines of service and, while there is no stated dress-code as such, setting a style that would make shorts and flip-flops look unmannerly (no need for a jacket, though). I hope they stick to the stye in the face of a few carping criticisms.

Casa Velha is a small hotel - only 34 rooms - and exceptionally quiet and peaceful, especially at night. The rooms, mostly in two modern wings built in traditional Madeiran materials and style, are comfortable (excellent pillows!) and well furnished in a homely rather than ostentatious manner. There are two comfortable and well-proportioned public rooms in the main house, which have free and easily accessed WiFi.

It is perhaps worth saying - because other reviewers seem not to have noticed this before they got there - that the hotel is not actually in Funchal, the centre of which is a 20 minute drive away. The hotel provides a return shuttle service twice a day and a taxi costs about 18 euros. So, if you really want to be in Funchal, why not stay in Funchal? We had lunch there twice; visited the Marcado des Lavradores and the Blandy wine lodge; took the cable car to the Jardim Botanico; and the hotel organised a taxi tour of the island for us - quite enough on a lazy holiday.

Once we arrived at Casa Velha we didn't really want to go anywhere else. It does what it sets out to do exceptionally well.