Quinta das Vistas Palace Gardens

Not what we expected

It was indicated that the hotel was in walking distance of the town centre, it was not and the roads were not suitable to walk along therefore a taxi was needed, the hotel buses were always full so difficultto get on. The hotel has only one restaurant and this was expensive and only served a la carte so you need to go out and about to eat. The hotel was poorly signposted and therefore it took us over an hour to find it where it shoud have took 15 mins.

A quiet oasis of calm and relaxation

Our experience of this hotel was first rate, but this was in part down to the fact that it was practically empty, so the staff were very keen to help out and the facilities were almost "private". This is a very clean, tidy but small and understated hotel, only a 5 minute taxi ride into town (or use the free shuttle bus which runs 3 times a day). Set in some very pleasant gardens with great views down over Funchal and the sea, but seperate from the main "hotel zone", which was something we liked. The common areas are lovely - well kept, simple but well thought out. Spa, gym and pool all quite small but still very functional. My favourite area was the terrace dining area which we used for breakfast (the restaurant is very good but expensive, so we chose to eat in town). Our room was comfortable, clean, and with our own small terrace/balcony with some wonderful views, and a joy to sit out and enjoy the warm weather. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Quintas das Vistas and would return there when we go back to Madeira (something we would love to do).

Traveller's tip on dining

I would highly recommend the Kon Tiki restuarant in the hotel zone - smallish, but serves the most wonderful filet steaks, cooked in front of you at the table on a hot stone. A wonderful combination of Scandinavia and Madeira, and a unique dining experience. Friendly staff too, very helpful.

A little disappointed!

The hotel is billed as a 5* which in our experience it was not. Our room was reasonable but not exactly ’plush’ with twin beds pushed together to make a (very uncomfortable)double, no towels, no face cloths etc, the decor was plain (which was good) but the peeling paint was not attractive! - we did however have a great view from the terrace and it was blissfully quiet. The food in the restaurant was good (but not great - definitely NOT 5*) although the choice was very limited, and it was relatively expensive. The biggest disappointment though was the staff who, with a couple of notable exceptions, were generally slow & unhelpful - one evening it took them over 2 hours to serve us just 1 course (there were only about 12 other diners at the time). The public areas of the hotel, the lounge, pool(s) terrace, etc, were excellent, clean & well maintained. A great place to relax, definitely geared towards the ’more mature’ (40+) traveller and despite the gripes listed above we did have a wonderful time and would recommned the hotel to others - just don’t expect 5* more like low end 4*.

Traveller's tip on local attractions

Other reviewers have commented about the ’difficult’ walk to the town/harbour area, we thought they were exaggerating - they weren’t! Busy road, no path and no alternative route we did it once and then took taxis which were easily available and very reasonably priced.