Madeira Island Hotel Guide - Cabo Girao hotels in Madeira Island, Portugal.

Friendly and welcoming staff on reception. Comfortable room with lovely outlook over the private garden down to the coast about 3 miles away. Good centre for touring but without a car you might feel a bit out on a limb. Ideal for a walking holiday. The large covered swimming pool is excellent. A delicious breakfast, included in the room rate, can be taken on the terrace to enjoy the sun!

We went for 2 nights - Caught the Aerobus(45 mins away) very convenient and gave us a nice look at the scenery - becareful the times on the internet and the bus-stops are different. The bus stop was in front of the hotel - great with luggage! We arrived at 10am and our room was ready which was really nice! Our room 212 was lovely, big with a fabulous sea-view balcony but because of its low level and near the pool I got attacked by mosquitoes. The food in the hotel seemed rather pricey but a few metres from the entrance is a great little café on a balcony where we had the famous Bolo de Caco with chips for 4€- yummy! In the evening the menu was 32€/ person so we went out and behind and around the Forum shopping centre there are quite a few great eateries. On our last evening we ate at the Rodizio restaurant facing the hotel we had the mini Rodizio 14€/pers which was more than enough. The free shuttle into the centre takes about 15 mins and was great! The town is lovely, people are friendly and speak very good English. Bondii coffee & Opan café is excellent and cheap. We went up to Monte on the cable cars - which was good . The beaches are stone but nice. The hotel breakfast was very impressive there was EVERYTHING. Staff were helpful, especially the 2 blond ladies in the Spa and the breakfast staff - the guy on reception on the Wednesday night was not too helpful with a minor issue, which was a shame. November was lovely and quite and a few Saga tours residents. GREAT!

Caring, helpful staff (especially from Goncalo and Sonja but including all staff). Excellent quiet location with good views. Easy walk to the local bus stop for access to Funchal. Fantastic meals.

Location, location, location…Five stars wouldn’t be enough. You simply cannot get any better than this. Right on the beautiful beach, not far from Funchal (they have a free shuttle to the city center every hour or so), yet quite isolated and quiet. Every room has a magnificent view of the open ocean. You get incredible views every night of the fantastic sunsets, when sun literally is falling down into the sea right in front of your eyes. Awesome!… All along the beach there is a nice wooden boardwalk, which you can take to walk up the hill in one direction (there is a good supermarket up the hill), and in another direction as well. Good for walking and jogging. Another great advantage of the location: don’t take taxi to the hotel. Instead, take the AIRBUS from the airport. It is very easy to find, the airport is not that big. There is a timetable available, they go every hour or so and cost just 5 euros. So, for the couple you’d pay 10 euros, instead of 40-50 euros for the taxi. Rooms.Comfortable, with a very large balcony. The sea temp was very comfortable, not too warm, about 20C. Water in swimming pool was even cooler, so it was quite refreshing a swim. These temps might not be very comfortable to those who prefer swimming in really warm water. Food. It is an all-inclusive hotel, and the food was good. I wouldn’t mark it ‘excellent’, but the food definitely was good. Variety of meat and fish, lots of salads, good desserts. Soups were bland(to my taste).

Joel and his son Bruno are the greatest hosts you will ever meet. Their hotel is immaculate and the amenities are many. We spent nine nights as if in the comfort of our own home. The kitchenette was fully equipped and I was able to prepare our vegan meals with foods I bought at the nearby supermarket. Every morning we would find a bag, hanging outside our door, that was filled with freshly baked loves of bread. The bed was comfortable. The bath was charming with its classical Portuguese style tile work. Joel and Bruno both speak excellent English along with four or five other languages. I could find no fault with Vila Marta. On the other hand, Madeira is shaped like a steep cone so half of our walks were easy down hill jaunts. The other half of our walks of course were uphill. Funchal has an excellent public bus service which stops nearby the Vila Marta that allows you to bypass the uphill walk. Bruno will help you to navigate the bus system. He will also be happy to sign you up for tours which pick you up at the hotel or to arrange a taxi ride with Mr. Rodriquez. Joel has a quick dry wit and is an entertaining conversationalist. He is very proud of his hotel and offers comforts you would expect from larger hotels without the noise and bustle of downtown Funchal. It is a perfect hide-a-way for anyone seeking to enjoy the ambiance of a high beautiful patio view of the ocean. Our recommendation, as world travelers, is to go to Madeira and stay at Vila Marta with Joel and Bruno.

I stayed 48 hours after a week of strenuous walking (55 year old woman travelling solo) and had the best time. Sparkling 20m pool and easy access to a lovely pebbly beach (take jelly shoes). With friendly staff, excellent food, a nice room with a balcony overlooking the sea, and a superb hot stone massage what's not to like. Only 20 mins and €25 by taxi from the airport and frequent buses into Funchal. Thoroughly recommended.