"Just got back from a week long stay at this hotel and I really don't know what some people expect for the money.
We were pleased with our suite, which meant our teenage son could sleep in the lounge area, giving us all some privacy. The decor is plain and the bathroom was quite dated, but it was all clean and everything worked. There was always plenty of hot water too. The downside for us was that the tv and air con are in the lounge area, so when we went to bed we just had the ceiling fan and no tv. The bathroom is accessed via the bedroom and the balcony via the lounge which might not work for some families.
Our room was situated on the opposite side to the pool on the 8th floor which meant we had a nice side sea view and were not affected by the building noise. Our balcony got the sun until about 11am. Pool view rooms get the afternoon sun, but may be noisier. We never had an issue with the lifts.
We really liked the location as you can walk to the lido in 8 minutes or down to Funchal old town in 25 minutes. There are also plenty of bars and restaurants locally - including the lively Hole in One which has entertainment every night.
We were All inclusive and were quite impressed with the food for a medium sized hotel. My son is fussy, my husband is gluten intolerant and I am pescatarian, but we all managed to eat plenty at every evening meal and breakfast. On the whole the food was hot too, which is unusual.
My only slight complaint would be that most days there wasn't a hot vegetarian option. There was often ham or fish in the pasta or salad dishes too, which restricts vegetarians even more. We found lunch more limited for us and the afternoon snacks would only be suitable for people with no dietary restrictions for eg ham & cheese croissants, ham sandwiches, cake.
The staff were generally pleasant - especially the lovely bar man and nice lady at breakfast, but there are a couple of grumpy older male waiters in the restaurant.
The best thing about the hotel is the lovely peaceful adults only pool area. Both pools have plenty of sun beds with tables & umbrellas and there's lots of space around them. You can also eat outside the restaurant at breakfast and dinner time and lunch by the pool bar. Theres a nice terrace area by the bar too.
During our week long stay we saw entertainment in the bar on 4 nights. The all inclusive drinks are fairly standard - the sangria, poncha, local baileys, Cava and lager were about the best things. The white wine was a bit rough and the cocktails were pre mixed syrup.
On the whole this hotel was a great base for exploring the island by car (theres a small car park, but we always managed to get a space) The pool area was lovely and I would have spent longer there if the weather had been a bit more settled."
