We recently returned from our honeymoon in Funchal. We stayed at the Quintas Das Vistas for six nights and were very disappointed with the hotel and restaurant service.

The rooms need updated - the carpeting, curtains and bedspreads were old and stained. In our first room, we found two large roaches. We were later moved to a new room upon request.

There was no iron in the room and we could not get one upon request - they suggested that we use their laundry services which were very pricey. We had poor service in the restaurant - the staff was slow and unresponsive. There were several mornings that we arrived for breakfast and were not immediately waited on - we had to approach the staff to ask for napkins, coffee, etc.

We had two twin size beds pushed together in our room - with separate sheets and blankets. This was a surprise. We later found out that they only have a limited number of Queen/King(?) size beds and you must request them in advance.

The spa was the only nice thing about the hotel.

I put a lot of store in TA reviews but took a gamble on this hotel as despite not being high up the TA Funchal hotel "league table" does get very positive reviews here and on other web sites. We were not dissapointed. Although a little distance up the hill from the main town the huge upside is the quiet location and the to die for view from the terrace/pool. Having been down to "the hotel zone" I'm glad we chose here. Very friendly helpful service, nice spacious garden facing bed room and classy public rooms. No tacky entertainment at night just the odd tinkle of a piano in the main lounge. On advice elsehwere on the TA forum we did not have dinner in the hotel as it is relatively expensive compared to town prices but had a few lunches which were fine.

My Mother and I stayed here for a week in September in a Panoramic view room. The room was lovely with fabulous views over Funchal very comfortable indeed with a mini bar but no facilities to make tea or coffee which was quite expensive to buy in the hotel.The bed linen was changed daily as were the towels even tho it was not necessary,the bathroom was very dark with not enough lighting but this was our only complaint.The staff were very friendly and attentive.The restaurant for evening meals was very good although if you are a vegetarian as I am the selection was limited.The pool area was very quiet and there was no searching for a sun bed or 'brolly' as there were plenty available.I dont know how other guests can say it was an easy walk to Funchal as it most definately was not the road down was very steep and there were no pavements so you took your life in your own hands,taxis were plentiful and cheap.I would recommend the private transfers to and from the airport which the hotel can organise we had a lovely driver and a top of the range Merc.....All in all a lovely place to stay if you want peace and quiet and you want to unwind,not a hotel for frantic nightlife.

This was our first experience of Madeira, we wanted a quiet hotel where we could sit and relax with a good book. We were not disappointed the hotel was clean and the staff were very friendly and helpful. The view across the island from our room was amazing .We had one meal in the hotel on the night we arrived, the food and the service was very good, however, it felt a little formal and we wanted something more relaxed and headed towards the town. There are numerous restaurants to choose from.
We took the advice from others on trip adviser who had visited the island and managed to get a table at Olives, it's a basic menu but the food is lovely and the ambience is delightful. I would definitely go back to Madeira and would recommend the hotel. We also found the taxi fares really reasonable .