Great price-quality combination

I chose this hotel for the stay of a group of tourists I took to my author’s Madeira tour. I selected it carefully, and the main criteria were a convenient location for walks, great breakfasts, and spacious new rooms.

Rooms: I recommend choosing rooms with an ocean view, as it will be beautiful and scenic: watching the sunset, moonlight paths, and cruise ships passing by the port. Keep in mind that not all rooms have a full balcony; it may be French. But all rooms have panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows.

Breakfasts: tasty, diverse, several types of cheese, a wide selection of fruits and desserts, wonderful pastries, and an omelette station.

Location:

1. Although the hotel is only 400 meters from the ocean, you can’t walk directly to the beach from it. To get to the beach and swim in the ocean, you need to go right for about 1 km, where there’s a beach with ocean platforms and pools on the beach. The entrance is about 2 euros per person, depending on the season.

2. There are several supermarkets near the hotel, so you can buy water, sweets, and souvenirs quickly and conveniently.

3. Right at the entrance to the hotel, you can see small gates — this is the entrance to a beautiful park with magnolias, carved benches, and green plantings.

4. It takes about 10 minutes to walk to the promenade, and half an hour to the Old Town at a leisurely pace.

5. There are also many famous restaurants within a 1 km radius of the hotel, serving amazing local cuisine, no more than 15 minutes' walk to each.

One of the hotel’s features: a rooftop terrace. There are several tables and benches, and you can go up at any time of day to enjoy the views of Funchal and the ocean. Since we were there as a group, we spent our evenings there after busy sightseeing days: we brought fruits from the market, nuts, and drinks, sitting and chatting about the past day and planning tomorrow’s walks.

The hotel has both an indoor and an outdoor pool — the indoor pool is heated and has a jacuzzi section. By the outdoor pool, there are plenty of sunbeds for sunbathing.

There’s a bar on the premises where you can order various cocktails from the menu, including some that can only be found in Madeira.