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Madeira Bright Star: Traveler Reviews

4.0 of 5
25 Rua Princesa da Maria Amelia, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
Hotel amenities
Madeira Bright Star
Ranked #53 of 92 hotels in Funchal
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37 reviews from our community

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Traveler rating
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    20
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scotland
Contributor
16 reviews 16 reviews
3 hotel reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
“Brighter than bright”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed January 24, 2013

Been to Madeira now a few times and I have to say that this is one of the best hotels I've stayed in on the Island..Fantastic lady on the reception who greeted us with great big smile and very warm welcome.
Hotel reception area immaculate,lots of glass walls with an amazing open plan layout.Small garden which is is the shade in the morning with an adequate small pool,was well cared for and tidy.It did catch the evening sun though!!
Room 303(which we were allocated) was spotless.Huge beds,fabulous bathroom with HOT running water no matter what time of day,again very bright and airy.Request for extra pillows was met with no problem.Balcony was great size with really good views towards the sea and the Lido,overlooking the roof of Quinta do penha do Franca.
Very easy access to town..Be warned though many older cab drivers dont know where the place is so its easier to get a cab to the Quinta de Penha do Franca then VERY short hoof around the corner.
Room was made up every day as long as you are out by 10 am and leave the card hanging out the door.Lovely lovely housemaid (who I forgot to leave a tip upon departure):-(.
Very sorry to leave,But will definately be back very soon.

  • Stayed January 2013, traveled on business
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
London, United Kingdom
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
“3 nights stay”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed January 15, 2013

Booked online. When I arrived, the room was not ready. Check in was at 2pm. Didnt know that. Room was huge with balcony. Comfy and big bad. Bathroom was clean, with bath, toilet and sink with huge mirror. In the room was television, aircon, wardrobe, small fridge, locker. Room and bathroom were very clean. Balcony was perfect especially in the evening. Only one problem was wifi. Could not login in the room, needed to go to the reception. But there were sofas and you could sit there. Breakfast was great, you can get full english or use the buffet. Didnt use the pool. Hotel was really nice, friendly staff, great location!!!

  • Stayed January 2013, traveled solo
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
London, United Kingdom
Senior Reviewer
10 reviews 10 reviews
3 hotel reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
9 helpful votes 9 helpful votes
“Comfortable, clean but with some reservations.”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed November 18, 2012

We spent a week in this very affordable, modern hotel in what seemed to be Madeira's rainy season. Out of 1 week we only had one sunny day, but that's another story!
The hotel was' bright' airy and comfortable. Spotless, aircon, room with balcony overlooking pool area and carpark of nearby hotel. Sea view if you look hard left! good sized bath with overhead shower, plenty of hot water. TV with lots of channels, only a few of which interested us.
Reception area had free wifi, would have liked access in my room. Small attractive pool and outside area. Ice creams were cheaper than the local park's.
Breakfasts were reasonable, usual fruits (tinned and fresh), yogs, cereals etc cold meats and tasty bread and pastries. In addition you could order a hot (warm) cooked breakfast - limited choice of reasonable quality - you get what you pay for. Fruit squash and coffee were a let down. Unfortunately on a few mornings we did share our breakfast with local ants, they had discovered the buffet as well and were keenly interested in the breads..
Service on the whole was very good, only a couple of staff seemed below par.
Great location, near port and good local restaurants, good sports bar close by if you need. Everything on a hill, so it gives your calf muscles a good work out.

Room Tip: Take your travel kettle. You may want to take a filter coffee or tea bag in to breakfast with you an...
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  • Stayed October 2012, traveled as a couple
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
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Bristol, England
Contributor
18 reviews 18 reviews
10 hotel reviews
Reviews in 12 cities Reviews in 12 cities
31 helpful votes 31 helpful votes
“Clean, modern and great position”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed November 6, 2012

Excellent position a few minutes walk from the port end of funchal promenade and only a 15 minute stroll into the centre of Funchal for shops, restaurants and marina. Hotel was very clean, modern and informal. Room was spacious with a large balcony with partial sea view facing due west, so all balconies are in full sun afternoon and evening. The street around the back of the hotel has a dozen restaurants and bars catering for different food tastes and all those we visited were great plus there's a corner shop for groceries. Buffet breakfast is included although not a massive choice, there's the usual cereals, yoghurt, fruit, croissants, toast, bread, cheese and ham. You can order cooked eggs, bacon, sausages and beans from the menu on the table at no extra cost. Overall an excellent hotel in a quiet street, within walking distance of main attractions.

Room Tip: All rooms appear to be the same, however rooms 101, 201 and 301 have much smaller balconies than the...
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  • Stayed October 2012, traveled as a couple
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes 2
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London
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
“Madeira Bright Star, Sept 2012”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed September 30, 2012

Just come back after a week booked through Lastminute.com:
Hotel:
- Location - about 1km west of the Old Town and close to the Casino, but down a relative backstreet and not known by many of the taxi drivers!

OTOH at least 6 decent restaurants within 5 mins walking distance (inc. 2 Italian, Indochinese, Turkish, Madeiran, etc) - but no real "nightlife, except for the Casino, which has a pretty good floor show, with good food/wine, 4 nights a week but make sure you don't get sucked into playing the machines afterwards unless you want to. (and watch out for the unofficial "tourist information" booth on the forecourt near the road as it is actually touting for the hotel chain and something that sounded like timeshares!).

- Hotel itself is modern and generally quite adequate; staff generally very helpful indeed (got us out of trouble on at least one occasion). However, whilst the beds look good and are comfortable, they can creak an awful lot due to very poor construction - to the extent that we virtually demanded a room change after the 1st night, and got moved from a rear 1st floor room with no sea view (TBF, we had conciously chosen the cheaper room!) to a bigger and much better 2nd floor room for the 2nd night onwards, and this did have a seaview!

Breakfasts are OK as others have mentioned, but repetitive, and take your own teabags if you want a decent cup!

Wifi - but no reception other than in the Reception area.

Due to the orientation of the building, the swimming pool is only in the sunshine (WHEN it does shine - there was a lot of cloud and rain last week) during the afternoons but looks reasonably well equipped with sun-loungers.

On the whole, the hotel can't really be faulted much at the price and the location (there looked to be far worse locations further out to the west to stay with a lot of travel to get anywhere and few visible restaurants or other amenities.)

OTOH, the taxi shuttle service, laid on by LastMinute, from/to the airport was nearly a bloody disaster for the return trip: No information at hotel until late on the evening before departure and then only after many phone calls to the taxi "emergency number" (typically got a recorded message!) and then to LastMinute in the UK, and then they picked us up only about 2.5hrs prior to nominal takeoff time. Then, when we got to the airport, we were given no instructions on where to go/what to expect and spent nearly the whole of the next 2hrs queuing (Easyjet check-in = 1hr+; Security check = 20mins, boarding gate queue 20mins!). No time for any shopping/eating and hardly enough time for a pee (when you could eventually find the loos - the layout of the place is one of the worst I have come across in years!)

John & Suzanne

Room Tip: Rooms on 2nd/3rd floors appear to be bigger and have some sort of seaview. On arrival, check the be...
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  • Stayed September 2012, traveled as a couple
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes 2
Ask jeallen01 about Madeira Bright Star
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
 
 
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Additional Information about Madeira Bright Star

Also Known As:
Madeira Bright Star Hotel
Madeira Bright Star Hotel Funchal
Madeira Bright Star Funchal
Address: 25 Rua Princesa da Maria Amelia, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
Region: Portugal > Madeira Islands > Madeira > Funchal
Amenities:
Restaurant Swimming Pool
Hotel Style:
#43 Luxury Hotels in Funchal
Price Range: $
Hotel Class:4 star (4*)
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