This was our third visit, the second this year, to an exceptional hotel. The location, service and cleanliness are second to none. They serve a great breakfast famous for Senor Dias' homemade banana , custard apple etc jams, and fruit salad. If you hate large soulless hotels with indifferent staff & service and lots of facilities which you never use this is the place for you. Thank you all for another great holiday. See you next year.

This hotel was perfect for us.Warm greeting from the family & staff,a relaxing start.All previous reviews say everthing about this wonderful hotel.Being small & friendly(& much more) works here.The staff are all excellent & you get a genuine feeling they want you to enjoy your holiday & are always helpful.It's a winning combination,thanks for a great time.

Just returned from a week in Madeira, the main disappointment for us being the weather and the torrential downpours which were a constant over the week. Despite this, we had a good holiday.
We stayed in the Albergeria Dias and did pay a supplement for a partial sea view. It was indeed a partial sea view, you could just about see the sea in the distance but the view was fairly obstructed by derelict buildings in front of the hotel. The bedroom was adequate, basically furnished, but immaculately clean. However, we did find that there was a constant smell of cigarette, whether this was due to residents smoking in the bar below our room or a previous resident smoking in the room I am unsure, but we had to keep the patio doors open constantly. Towels and linen were changed regularly. The hotel is an extremely quiet oasis in the Old Town. Breakfast was fresh and plentiful, varied choice and could be eaten outside on the terrace next to the pool or in the bright and airy restaurant. All the staff were extremely friendly, courteous and professional, nothing too much trouble and always a warm welcome from the Dias family any time of the day. There are plenty of repeat guests to the hotel and we can truly appreciate why this would be the case.
Funchal is a good base to explore Madeira. It is a busy capital with plenty of pavement cafes and restaurants to sit and watch the world go by and watch the cruise ships come into dock. You can take a cable car up to Monte and spend time in the botanical gardens. You can take a hop and off bus for a couple of days which is easily booked and take in the sights along the coastline. The artwork in the Old Town is just amazing, each door is painted with a mural, and it was wonderful just to walk through the Old Town looking at the artwork. We hired a car and drove to Santana to see the typical thatched houses and Nun’s Valley where you will find the views breathtaking. Roads are clearly marked and not overly busy although obviously driving in Funchal itself being the capital is the busiest area.
If we were to return to Funchal we would definitely return to this boutique hotel.

Like some others, we returned just recently from our second stay at this small, family-run hotel. We were here for a week in 2010 on a Thomson package but booked for two weeks this time. We also brought some relatives who were first-timers to Madeira and so they only stayed for a week as a "sampler".
Once again, the welcome from the Messrs Dias senior and junior and their staff was warm and with the usual welcome drink. Breakfasts (including their renowned fruit salad) offered a good selection but we would have preferred fried eggs to be available daily instead of alternating with omelette-style and scrambled.
Now, I don't want to be over critical because this is a wonderful hotel in a brilliant location and I would not hesitate to recommend it to others and we will undoubtedly be using it again ourselves. But the room we were in was beginning to look "tired", with some veneer coming off the dark wood furniture. And the TV system and choice of channels for English speakers was positively ancient. I understand TV upgrading is taking place progressively and it was perhaps unfortunate that our room had not yet been done. And charging 2 Euros a day for a safe key does add up over time - that should be included in the tariff.
The junior staff, including some trainees, were really good and attentive. A special word for trainee Monica who is sure to go far. It was a pity she was off ill when we left because we would have liked to have said a personal goodbye.
But all in all another very satisfying stay at a lovely hotel with attentive owners and staff.