The Hotel Quinta do Monte is located approximately 20 minutes drive from the centre of Funchal. A return taxi fare (April 2005) is around €25 and the cable car (station located just a couple of minutes walk from the hotel) is €12.5 per person for the return trip (based on discounted tickets issued by the hotel although operation of the cable car ceases at 18.00). A hotel courtesy mini-bus provides a shuttle service to the centre of Funchal around three times a day (last return from Funchal at 21.00 Monday – Friday and 18.00 at weekends). At an altitude of around 550 metres, temperatures at Quinta do Monte are considerably lower than in Funchal.

We found no restaurants in the small village of Monte or within walking distance and, consequently, the dining options, apart from the hotel, are either in Funchal centre or a drive of up to 10 kilometres further up the mountain. The restaurant at Terreiro da Luta, 3 kilometres further up the mountain from Monte, provides stunning views over Funchal, a charming dining room and excellent service. The “Casa de Abrigo do Poiso Restaurante”, approximately 7 kilometres beyond Terreiro da Luta, has more of a tavern atmosphere and is popular with locals. It was consistently good for both food and service.

Although the Quinta do Monte is well located far away from the hotels that are crammed cheek by jowl in Funchal’s tourist area around the Savoy, its restaurant proved very disappointing. We found service to be particularly poor in the restaurant. Breakfast was mediocre and the selection well-below standard for a five star establishment. Although available, cooked breakfast was not proffered by the waiters who, in any event, were often not in evidence. Consequently, dining out was a far superior option for the evening meal.

The hotel rooms were, though, clean, quiet and well decorated even if the house-keeping service was somewhat inconsistent. Reception staff were friendly and helpful.

The hotel is magnificent, located in an historical village, very cosy ambience with magnificent gardens.
Great accommodations, the rooms have private balcony with a view over the garden and elegant decoration.
The staff is very dedicated, making your stay hard do forget, the restaurant is amazing and the food superb.
Perfect holidays in this lovely island called Madeira.

This is a very pleasant hotel which has the style of a country house. The hotel is well appointed and the gardens are glorious. The little town of Monte is dead at night, so the only option is to travel to Funchal in the evening if you do not want to eat in the hotel. The hotel food is like, well, its like hotel food!. Not bad, but the menu is quite limited. Taxis to town are easy and cheap and buses are also fairly frequent. There is also the cable car nearby. There is an indoor and outdoor pool within the grounds. Although there is a poolside bar, it was closed during our stay. This meant trekking from the pool to the main hotel bar everytime you needed refreshment. Not ideal if you are wet from swimming or modest about walking around in your swimwear!!. I would recommend this hotel for people who are looking for a quiet holiday. The hotel was half empty during our stay and was very quiet. In fact there were not even any "good mornings" or "good evening" greetings from other guests in the restaurant at breakfast or dinner!. Perhaps it was the mix of nationalities?. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. We hired a car for the duration of our stay and found Monte an ideal base to explore the island.

We've just had a most enjoyable 9-days in March. in this hotel. The
staff were especially pleasant, and its situation is spectacular and
very quiet. There are beautiful gardens all around, and viewpoints. But
note that this is on the outskirts of Funchal, and there's NOWHERE
within walking distance at night. It is reasonably well served by
buses, and a taxi from downtown only costs 8 euros. The restaurant is a
touch pretentious and expensive; the menu, unvarying and limited.It has
a lovely swimming pool, steam room and jacuzzi, but the gym is just a
room with a collection of equipment.