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Cheaper
Average
Higher
About
4.0
#47 of 96 hotels in Funchal
Location
4.3
Rooms
4.0
Value
4.0
Cleanliness
4.5
Service
4.3
Sleep Quality
4.1
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Four star Hotel located in the best area of Funchal, about 2 kms from the center of the town and 300 mts from the front-sea promenade. With mainly suites, The Girassol Suite Hotel has in its total 134 rooms. The Girassol Suite Hotel has 3 bares and 1 Restaurant: CHEERS BAR - Located on the ground floor FIRST BAR LOUNGE - On the first floor, with a terrace facing the street SPLASH GRILL & BAR - Bar by the swimming pool and gardens, serving snacks and light meals; Show cooking and fresh salads during the Summer! SEVENTY RESTAURANT - Restaurant on the ground floor, having buffet service at breakfast; for dinner it has Table d’Hôte and à la Carte service, with International cousine. The Hotel offers 2 Swimming Pools for adults (1 Heated) and 1 Children’s Swimming Pool. Solarium Area with sun umbrellas and towels (free of charge). Free Wifi offered throughout all areas of the Hotel.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Mid-range
Family
Languages Spoken
English, French, Spanish, German and 1 more
Location
Estrada Monumental 256, Funchal, Madeira 9004-539 Portugal
Name/address in local language
Hotel Girassol
1,428 reviews
Getting there
Good for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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Hotel Girassol strikes a chord with guests for its excellent location, sitting at a convenient junction close to public transport and attractions, as well as its commendable cleanliness, with both rooms and common areas kept spotless. The staff is often lauded for their friendly and efficient service.
However, while the amenities like clean pools are appreciated, some visitors express the need for modernizing certain aspects such as towels, sunbeds, and room decor. Additional fees and the quality of food have also affected some guests' perception of value.
Location
Convenient
Atmosphere
Outdated
Rooms
Basic
Value
Reasonable
Cleanliness
Immaculate
Service
Attentive
Amenities
Satisfactory
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We travelled as a family of 4 adults on an all inclusive basis on a package holiday booked through Jet2Holidays.
Covid: Face masks are to be worn in restaurant and bars, as well as disposable gloves in restaurant when getting food. There is plenty of hand sanitiser available around the hotel.
The food is lovely, there isn’t too much choice however this was to be expected as it is a fairly small hote. I always found something to eat and the food was always tasty and cooked to a great standard. We ate out for the BBQ evenings so I cannot comment on that. It’s good to know that if you have a trip booked, if you let the reception staff know 24hrs before they will prepare a packed lunch for you. Also if you have any requests regarding food they are more than willing to accommodate.
The rooms are cleaned to a great standard daily and all the staff at the hotel are so friendly and helpful.
The pool area was clean and very well spaced out to allow distancing. There was the usual reserving sun beds with towels but we always managed to get a sun bed without a problem. There was one or two cats roaming out and about in the hotel grounds however they stayed away from guests and they weren’t any bother, it was nice to see them being treated well.
We travelled to celebrate my Mum’s 60th birthday, there was a complimentary bowl of fruit in the room and we also received a bottle of champagne that was compliments of the hotel which was such a lovely gesture. The hotel is in a good location, a bit of a walk down to the marina end of Funchal however there are plenty of shops, bars and restaurants around the hotel.
In other reviews people mention noise, there was minimal noise from some roadworks that were going on outside the hotel however this was only for 2 days and we only noticed it when leaving the hotel to have a wander so it didn’t impact our stay at all. In terms of traffic noise, Funchal is a city destination and I believe that there is a great difference in the amount of people visiting at the moment compared to previous years due to the pandemic and Madeira being a green list destination. Noise from traffic is to be expected when visiting any city and I think that the hotel are doing a fantastic job considering they are probably busier than they have ever been all whilst we are in the middle of a global pandemic.
We had a fantastic stay, thank you to the Girassol Hotel and staff for making our stay so enjoyable!
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Date of stay: July 2021Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Guida Silva, Sales at Hotel Girassol
Responded Aug 12, 2021
Dear Guests We thank you very much for your nice reviews. We do need to receive our Guests opinions in order to help us make the every day run much better. We look forward to have the pleasure of your visit in a near future Kind regards
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This is an ideal situated hotel. The buses run past here and you can walk into Funchal too also has shops bars and restaurants all around it too. Check in was very quick, efficient and very friendly with Clara, she is the most lovely helpful person and nothing is to much trouble.She gave detailed instructions both verbally and written regarding where to find everything and how to get there. The room 908 was lovely, well lit, had everything you need including charging ports by the beds. The corridors are a bit dark, gloomy and had a strange smell but how long do you spend in a corridor!? The shower has an adjustable head, the hairdryer is hot with two speeds (but no nozzle), there are soaps and hair and body shampoo sachets in the rooms. The tv had lots of English speaking channels mainly films , American series and sky news to watch or keep you company. The sofa and bed are comfortable wit h plenty of pillows and extra blankets in the wardrobe. The safe was 15euros for the week but you get a deposit back when you hand the key back in. I was all inclusive which is very different at the moment, at breakfast, you must put on plastic gloves provided then help yourself to juice, toast , tea, coffee yogurts etc then you will be asked if you would like eggs, this actually means , what would You like that is hot e.g. Fried, poached , scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms etc!! At breakfast you will be asked to choose from a list what you would like for you evening meal and lunch is served at the pool bar again you can choose from another list there. I had a problem with the Wi-Fi going off, it was soon sorted out by the maintenance man. There are two lifts which was not a problem as there were only 18 guests in the whole hotel!! The sun but my balcony at 12.30 and stayed till it set at 6pm when it went down into the sea. The weather ranged from around 16* to 22* ish but can be cool if the clouds come over, bring with you something for all conditions ,at night it can be a little breezy and we have had a bit of rain too!
Would I come back? In a heartbeat , I don't want to leave tomorrow I have felt safe and looked after the whole week. If you have any questions at all , just ask me I will be more than happy to help of I can. Enjoy x
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Date of stay: December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Guida Silva, Sales at Hotel Girassol
Responded Jan 13, 2021
Dear Guests We thank you very much for your nice review with your comments which will be very helpful for future Clients. It will be a great pleasure for us to welcome you again in our Hotel Kind Regards
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Lovely, clean, quiet, comfortable hotel. Covid sanitisation, cleansing regimes and protection were immense both in the hotel and bars, restaurants and other venues we visited in the local area. Staff at the hotel were incredibly helpful and made you feel comfortable and very welcome. Rooms were very clean and a good size offering plenty of room.(junior suite). Air conditioning was brilliant and free WiFi was hassle free throughout our 10 day stay. Gardens are beautiful and very well maintained daily. Great location for the sea front, bars and restaurants.. buses ran very frequently to the city and cost under 2 euros each way. Breakfast was excellent, served between 7 a.m - 10 a.m daily and offered a wide range of fresh hot and cold foods to suit everyone’s palate. We only booked for breakfast during our stay although we saw food on offer during the day, evening for all inclusive customers that looked excellent quality too. It was our first time to Maderia we would definitely return and would definitely book at Girassol again. If you suffer with Mosquito bites take some creams/sprays with you. My husband has an allergic reaction to their bites and received roughly a dozen in the 10 days. Not too bad at all comparing it to other holidays. Trip to the local pharmacy to get a tube of cream was 12 Euros. Cream helped a little but found cold towel wraps were much better.
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Date of stay: September 2021
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Guida Silva, Sales at Hotel Girassol
Responded Oct 19, 2021
Dear Guest We thank you very much for your nice review. We are very happy to know that you enjoyed your stay with us and look forward for your visit in the near future. Kind Regards
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staff friendly and helpful, you feel safe, we recently returned from a 7 day stay.
brilliant access for bars resturants and transport also shops & supermarkets,
rooms brilliant size and views, the pool area's are brilliant and plenty of sun beds, pool bar and food service excellent also excellent & friendly staff. The main dining room is well spaced out for social distancing, everyone is provided with disposable gloves for using serving utensils for your food, the food is adequate with choices for everybody. all guest area's are clean and staff are constantly wiping services down, also stir rails. easy access to all floors with lifts, stairs are avaliable. would certainly recommend this hotel and be happy to go there again. brilliant staff all area's well done in these unsettled times.
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Date of stay: October 2020
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip:we were on the 5th floor room 502 handy for lift or stairs
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Guida Silva, General Manager at Hotel Girassol
Responded Oct 28, 2020
Dear Guests Thank you very much for your review . IT is always a plasure for us to know that we have satisfied our Guests and will keep making a big effort to have our Guests Happy during their stay. Hoping to have the pleasure of another visit to us in the near future Kind Regards
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The Girassol Hotel is in a perfect location next to a street of bars and only a 15/20 minute walk into Funchal itself. Do taxi or bus back though due to the steepness of the hills. The number 1.2 and 4 bus run stop near this hotel so this isnt a problem. The hotel is a small, friendly hotel with great staff at reception making you feel welcome on arrival and a useful knowledge base if you need help. The rooms, ours was a small suite, are compact but have everything you need in them. We were on the 9th floor overlooking the apartments to the side of the hotel but we had a side sea view which was nice. The rooms were cleaned daily and water left in the fridge was free of charge. The restaurant is Covid safe and we found a good choice of food with friendly waiters serving drinks and keeping the place clean. The pool bar is lovely and Joao the barman is a lovely man who knows his customers, he was attentive and very good at his job indeed. The afternoon food in the pool bar was of a high standard and there was always a good selection to choose from. The cheers bar on the ground floor was not open during our stay. The bar located on the 1st floor was very nice with an outdoor terrace, again the staff were very attentive and Andrea tried her best to teach us the basic words of Portuguese, often with hilarious results, we really liked her. The lifts were no problem for us but I can imagine in peak times they would soon become used more and you need to factor in quite a wait at peak times for them to arrive. There was no problem with Covid rules, gloves and masks at all times in the dining areas and the staff wore masks at all times also. Tables were cleaned promptly and were socially distanced. I have no hesitation returning to Madeira and I would stay in this hotel again.
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Date of stay: July 2021
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:Ask for lower floor if possible due to potential lift problem
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Guida Silva, Sales at Hotel Girassol
Responded Jul 14, 2021
Dear Guests We thank you so much for your nice comments. It gives us strengh to keep going after these months (more precisely a year and a half) with the Hotel closed. All the staff is thrilled to welcome our Guests and we will do our best to make Clients stay the most enjoyable and comfortable. Looking forward to have the pleasure of your visit in a near future. Kind Regards
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Overall a well positioned hotel, plenty of bars and restaurants in immediate location. we were lucky in having view of the pool and sea. Other guests the other side had a view of buildings onlooking their balconies. Bedrooms fine, flat screen lots of English channels, a fridge. Cleaned daily but very quick and not thorough (due to staff shortages) Beds made, towels changed daily that's about it. The floors were not touched for the whole two weeks. As another review stated, the lifts take ages and are only small, there are two of them. Avoid peak times, as they will go up and down several times until there is space for 3. Being on the 8th floor little choice but to wait as I have a bad knee. Can't believe some able bodies guests actually went from floor 1 to ground, this did not help. What ruined our holiday was the pool situation. There are not enough sunbeds, the day beds were all out of use (due to covid and I guess the mattresses). However the hotel could have easily placed 2 metal or plastic sunbeds on these instead, giving approx 20 more sunbeds for guests. NOTE - the day after the BBQ by the pool which is held on a Monday and Friday. The pool area is out of use until 10.00am - they do not clean up the night before which they should. This left people putting towels out night before of from 5.30am. Guests who then went to the pool without doing this had to wait until 10.00 and scramble to get a sunbed. Older people, young families were left wandering around and some actually laid on concrete with a towel. The sunbeds and pool area in the main pool are only hosed down with water once a week, they are not sanitised. The smaller pool was never cleaned or hosed in the 2 weeks we were there. This situation really ruined our holiday, as it meant getting up by latest 7.30 to get a sunbed. We were bed and breakfast and the choice was excellent, I cannot comment on other food, we did not eat at the hotel as there are so many reasonably priced eateries nearby. Not the hotels fault, but the rooms are noisy, I could hear the scrapping of chairs and walking around of the people above us at all hours of the night. I think we were unlucky, as a fight broke out in this room at 1.30am and I had to go to reception to report the incident and that was on our first night! Funchal is not an area if you are wanting nightlife or a lively evening. Every bar has what I call (lift music playing) or a live artist very low key strumming a guitar and generally 'murdering songs'. There is nothing for children anywhere, no toys or play areas I would not recommend for families. It is a beautiful relaxing place where your evening is spent enjoying a nice meal, so don't book if you are wanting lively or to dance, you won't get it anywhere.
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Date of stay: July 2021
Service
Room Tip:ask for pool view as you get a sea view as well if you are floor 5 and above
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Travelled with Tui on B & B basis. Good points: decent location, lots of bars and restaurants nearby. Great room - junior suite with sitting area and large comfy bed. Partial view of sea or gardens. High rooms would be better for this. Easy to walk to lido, although a bit steep. Nice pools and gardens. Everywhere clean, staff very helpful and friendly. Buffet breakfast had plenty of choice. Masks expected in communal areas, lots of sanitizer, plastic gloves for buffet food, so felt COVID safe. Easy to get into old town on buses, buy a multi journey ticket if you plan on doing this a lot. They can get very crowded at peak times, but taxis are also plentiful and good value. To improve: more sunbeds in gardens and pool area when hotel is busy. Bali beds were out of use, but the bases could have had sunbeds on. They could also put more seats in the garden We gave up trying for a sunbed in the second week as the towel reservation brigade were out in force. Less than 25% of beds were occupied by people at 10:30, but all had been reserved. Not sure how hotels prevent this, but it is very annoying. Fortunately the lidos were nice. Juice at breakfast could be better, I'm sure it was just squash.
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Date of stay: July 2021Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The hotel is well situated in the lido area of Funchal, refurbished rooms are good with a small fridge and a safe that casts 1 Euro 50 per day. Staff are lovely,however the food is not too good, breakfast is ok, snacks consist of sandwiches and some pastries although you can request a toastie. Lunch is sparse, soup, some salad, chips, a pasta dish, a meat dish and ever 2nd day they make omelettes on request 2 desserts as well. Dinner is not any better, saw chicken once, normally soup, a bit of salad stuff, salami, 2 fish and 2 meat dishes all in sauce, a pasta dish, couple of desserts and cheese. Meat was often tough, table service for drinks. All inclusive drinks were as expected local beer, wines and spirits,soft drinks, coffees etc. So all in all a pleasant hotel but all inclusive not that good and definitely not a hotel for children or teenagers.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Value
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from guidasilva, Diretor de Vendas at Hotel Girassol
Responded Mar 2, 2020
Dear Guest, Thank you very much for your comments. We are glad to know that, overall, you have enjoyed your time us; we appreciate your sugestions and we will take them in consideration in order to always improve our service. We hope we can have your visit again in the future. Kind regards,
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Stayed for ten nights on an all-inclusive basis. We couldn't fault the accommodation or food. The rooms are suites with a separate lounge in addition to the bedroom and bathroom, which we found to be immaculately presented and spotlessly clean. The hotel is currently undergoing refurbishment but this did not impact on our stay in any way. We were upgraded to a refurbished sea-view suite on the ninth floor which had a 180 degree panorama over Funchal bay. A slight negative for some may be the busy road running in front of the hotel but we found it bustling rather than annoying. There was a very good selection of hot and cold buffet choices for both breakfast and the evening meals (each evening was a themed menu). As we were out walking most days, the hotel supplied a very generous packed lunch. Location of the hotel for us was just right, being a twenty minute walk into Funchal centre. Parking is free at the hotel if you've hired a car. For anyone not on an all-inclusive basis, there is a plentiful choice of restaurants all along the Estrada Monumental. All of the staff were very friendly and helpful, particularly the reception desk staff who showed a genuine warmth. Needless to say, we will definitely be returning to the Girassol.
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Date of stay: January 2020
Value
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from guidasilva, Diretor de Vendas at Hotel Girassol
Responded Feb 19, 2020
Dear Guest, Thank you very much for such a wonderfull feedback! We are delighted to know how much you jabe enjoyed your stay with us, from our location to all the service and staff. We'll definitely be looking forward to welcome you again soon! Best regards,
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pros: great location with plenty of bars and restaurants all around and a 20 minute walk downhill to the centre of Funchal. Cheap taxis for the return journey.
Good size suite which comprised of a mini fridge (4 small bottles of water supplied for free) and a kettle with cups and saucers (provide your own tea/coffee)
Breakfast was great with everything you could want, from juices, cereals, toasts/preserves, various breads and pastries, cold meats, cheese etc as well as plenty of hot items e.g. bacon, eggs, beans, hash browns, mushrooms, mini sausages. How some people say it's very samey is beyond me- what more do you want for breakfast?
Reception staff friendly and helpful as were the bar staff at the pool bar and grill.
Cons: the statement on our arrival information sheet about pool towels being removed from sumbeds after one hour is an outright lie. People were reserving beds overnight and into the early hours of the morning and they were left to get on with it. We are early risers and when we arrived at the poolside just after 7.30am, there were very few loungers without towels on. Not enought loungers out either despite there being plenty of room for more- and no, covid has nothing to do with it.
Pool towels were threadbare (not good enough for a 4*) and the pool area could have been kept cleaner. We found discarded masks in a gutter which weren't cleaned up and the bins around the pool weren't emptied until around 10am in the morning. The same for the bins in the toilets nearest the restaurant, the bins there were overflowing from the previous day when we went to breakfast. Surely the toilets should be clean and bins empty by the time the restaurant opens for breakfast in the mornings.
Rooms were surface clean although sometimes the cleaners didn't come in until late afternoon. Floor wasn't washed in the 2 weeks we were there.
The pool man didn't seem to do much apart from testing the water and giving a cursory hose down to the bottom pool. We didn't see any cleaning of the top pool area during our visit and the loungers up there weren't washed down once - Surely this should be a priority to deter the spread of covid? There were some lovely sunbeds in the pool but they were stained green! a scrub down with bleach every couple of weeks wouldn't go amiss.
The first floor bar staff worked hard but there weren't enough staff and waiting time was too long.
The piano bar downstairs was closed the whole time and the spa and indoor pool only opened two days before we left. No idea why this was the case, as the small indoor gym was open the whole time.
I have made a lot of comments under the con list but they are all basic things that shouldn't be hard to improve on. Most of these need addressing before they can truly call themselves a 4* hotel.
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Date of stay: August 2021
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Funchal area.
PRICE RANGE
$93 - $122 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
girassol hotel funchal, hotel girassol madeira
LOCATION
PortugalMadeira IslandsMadeiraFunchal
NUMBER OF ROOMS
132
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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