We have just returned from the Quintinha Sao Joao and had a really excellent relaxing break. This hotel is very good, with superb standards and extremely helpful staff who all take a real pride in making this a fantastic place to stay. The hotel is within easy walking distance of the town centre although on most occasions we got a taxi back since it was uphill and after all we were on holiday! We only ate in the restaurant once and whilst we found it far better than other hotels we have stayed in recently, the standard of restaurants in Funchal is very high and it did lag behind the others we ate in during the week. We would not hesitate to recommend this hotel and we will return. My tip is to book the hotel, flight and transfer separately rather than book a package tour as we saved quite a bit by doing it this way.

Just returned from a 5 night stay in this hotel. The location is ideal, being a short walk to the centre of town. Walking back to the hotel was not a problem, although all uphill. A taxi is always an option and not expensive. Our room was very spacious, clean, well equipped and having the balcony was lovely. Breakfast was good with a varied choice each day, with an option of ordering eggs cooked to order. We ate in the restaurant on 2 occasions and I would have to disagree with some of the other reviews. The service was efficient, food was good and the wine reasonably priced. This is a lovely hotel, the staff, without exception, were extremely friendly and helpful. If ever I'm lucky enough to visit the beautiful island of Madeira again, I would definitely stay return to this hotel.

It is a ten minute walk downhill from the hotel to the centre of town (The Cathedral). Takes more like 15 mins coming back up, but we did not find this a problem and prefer this location to being out along the coast in one of the newer hotel development areas. The Quintinha has lots of character including interesting old furniture and pictures. We made use of the games room (table tennis, pool, chess and draughts) and the indoor pool (fairly small but good, with towels and sun loungers). Reception staff were cheery, efficient and helpful.

Our bedroom was large, clean and very pleasant, with a good bathroom including power shower - although the bath was not all that long. Whilst the hotel is generally very peaceful there was some slight traffic noise in our room (which was at the end of the building nearest the main road), but not enough to bother us.

We had one evening meal in the restaurant, which was disappointing. But there are lots of good places to eat in Funchal so if you don't mind the walk then no problem. In contrast, breakfast in the hotel was very good bordering on excellent. There was a very broad range of choice, including cereals, cake, sliced meat, cheese, croissants, bread rolls, yoghurt and superb fresh fruit. Cooked breakfast was also available, which whilst not up to the standards of the best "English breakfast" was quite acceptable - and this is Madeira not UK so play to their strengths and enjoy the fruit!

This review will just repeat what others have written about this gem of a hotel. We enjoyed everything about it: welcoming, knowledgeable staff (yes: you can't go wrong with Rosie!); spacious, comfortable room, well supplied; quiet location. Having later seen the "hotel zone" via the open-top bus tour, glads we chose our location rather than there. The walk into town is downhill & easy: so the walk back is a bit more challenging but not difficult. We used the shuttle twice and it was fine. We didn't use the pool, etc. facilities and used the restaurant for breakfast only. There are major works going on along the waterfront, ideal for the anoraks amongst us! Unlike the H & S conscious U. k., one can stand and watch from just a few meters distance. Recommend dining in the Old Town. We hope to return to this hotel for another week of winter sun next year.