My wife and I stayed at this wonderful hotel from 21st - 28th January and as so many have said before it really is an " oasis of calm. " The staff are exceptional, extremely professional, courteous, friendly and go out of their way to help. Rosie, Guest Relations really is a marvel. When we were shown to our room the double bed I had expected was actually two large singles put together and as each were made up separately they may well have been at either end of the room. Normally I e mail the hotel specifically asking for a double bedded room however on this occasion I didn't so accepted the situation however I mentioned this in passing to Rosie and on returning to our room that evening the bed had been converted to a double. It was my wife's birthday the following day and that evening after returning from a superb meal at " The Fort " restaurant, reccommended and booked for us by Rosie we found a bottle of champagne on ice and a birthday cake in the room. As we couldn't tackle this after such a wonderful dinner I mentioned this to Rosie the next morning and the cake and champagne were removed from the room and served up to us on the terrace when we returned to the hotel after a morning strolling through the streets of Funchal. What a wonderful gesture. This lady is a "gem".

The communal rooms remind me of an English Country House hotel with the beautiful furnishings, pictures and "objet d' art " and the bedrooms are enormous. Our room, a junior suite also had a large bathroom with separate shower and a separate toilet. The whole place is absolutely spotless as are the grounds. Madeira is a very beautiful and interesting island with the West and East island tours a " must " also the Palace and Botanical Gardens at Monte, the fish, flower and fruit market in Funchal should not be missed. Just strolling through the back streets of Funchal conjures up memories of many quaint English cities in the 60s - SAFE and not in the least threatening. If you have not been to Madeira - put it on the list. this is our third visit to the island and hopefully there will be many more.

Now to the " but " in my title. I think you will realise from what I have written that my wife and I are very impressed by Quintinha Sao Joao however we have visited many first class hotels in various parts of the world and this is right up there with some of the nicest that we have visited BUT FOR THE FOOD - which is at best average. Quite frankly having read so many reviews before visiting this hotel very few reviewers mentioned the food although some did mention the " wonderful breakfasts ". Well I can only think that the chef must have left because the food even at breakfast was, to us, very very very disappointing.

Will we back to this hotel - ABSOLUTELY YES.

This hotel is lovely - creative, well cooked, well presented food would be " the icing on the cake "

Also a special mention for Rosie in the restaurant, Diwarti who was hosting in the restaurant - a very interesting individual who took a great deal of moaning from me about the food and also the two Tonys in the bar who were excellent.

We first came to this Hotel in 2004 and we have been coming back ever since. The staff are always very helpful and friendly and the hotel is kept immaculate.at all times. Location to the town is ideal and the walk to the town and back is good for your health! The cocktail party that is given every week is very good and gets you to meet other guests. We prefer the rooms on the top floor as you get a view of the sea and across Funchal to the mountains. Rosie the P.R. lady is a mine of information on every subject . We will be back for our 11th. time soon.

Evelyn and Richard Chambers

Our second stay at this comfortable, friendly, delightfully situated hotel, seven years since our first, and as lovely as we remembered it; indeed, even better. A pleasant walk into Funchal town, which we preferred to riding, though I believe a courtesy bus was available. Fantastic choices for breakfast - the biggest range you can imagine, plus cooked breakfast choices, too. Lovely pools. In January, we opted for the indoor pool, for that extra warmth. Very relaxing atmosphere and extremely helpful staff, willing to help with arrangements for taxis, car-hire or advice on levada walks, boat-trips or whatever. Would definitely stay there again.

We booked this hotel last minute through Thompson after reading previous TripAdvisor reviews. It lived up to our expectations with a large and comfortable room and friendly, efficient and capable staff.
Although described as having a garden view, which was wholly accurate, we also had a pretty good sea view as well. It must be noted that we were lucky as all rooms won't have a sea view. Nothing wrong with just the garden view though.
The rooms listed as available were twin rooms so I sent an email asking if a double was available, which is what we were given.
It was my wife's birthday during our stay; when we returned to our room after dinner out on that day there was a cake, a bottle of sparkling wine with plates, cutlery, serviettes and glasses waiting for us. A very nice and welcome touch.
You may notice in other reviews about the traffic on the nearby road. It is quite busy but even with our balcony door open there wasn't a problem with noise. Don't misunderstand, the hotel itself isn't on a busy road - the immediate surroundings are very quiet and it's away from the main hotel zone of Funchal, although the city is only a 15 minute walk away. All uphill on the way back but there is a courtesy bus to and from the hotel a couple of times a day.
I do have a little criticism but not enough to take away the 5 stars I've awarded this hotel: We booked half board but would go for B & B for another visit. There was nothing really wrong with the food but it didn't live up to the 5 star standard of the rest of the hotel...and what happened to breakfast on our final day - 28th Jan!! We chose to have something cooked although there is plenty of choice from the buffet. Everything was cold and the eggs actually had a skin formed on the yolk. I know I should have sent it back but seemed a shame to end an excellent week on a sour note.
All in all a thoroughly enjoyable stay and we would have no hesitation in returning to Quintinha Sao Joao when visiting Madeira again.