The catch at Barceló Funchal Oldtown

The hotel has one pool: a heated outdoor pool with a sun deck on the roof, beside the B-Heaven bar, looking out over the city and the bay. It measures about 10 by 6 metres, and guests in 2026 describe it as shallow, with too few loungers for a full house on a warm afternoon. There is no second pool, no children's pool and no spa; the hotel has a gym. It is a place to cool off between walks and to watch the light go over the bay with a drink, not a pool to spend the day beside.

Madeira has few sandy beaches, and central Funchal has none. The nearest place to swim in the sea is Praia do Almirante Reis, a beach of grey pebbles reached by steps from the promenade, 9 minutes on foot to the east past the cable car station. The Complexo Balnear da Barreirinha, a sea lido below the Zona Velha, is 15 minutes away, beside the Fortaleza de São Tiago. Both are public. Neither is a beach for lying on soft sand, and the walk back to the hotel is in town clothes along the seafront.

The six old façades on Rua da Alfândega set the size of everything behind them. The entry Deluxe is about 22 m², the view rooms 24 m², the Junior Suite 28 m² and the Suite, the largest, 35 m². No room page promises a balcony. Only the Deluxe City View and the Deluxe Side Sea View are sold with a view at all, and only the second promises the sea, from the side. Some rooms face the buildings around them with no real view, and small rooms have been a recurring point since the opening.

The hotel has no parking of its own. It has an arrangement with the Almirante Reis car park, 650 metres away, at an extra cost and subject to availability, and it does not publish the daily price. In the old centre a car is not needed: the Sé is 2 minutes away on foot, the marina 5, the Mercado dos Lavradores 9 and Rua de Santa Maria 10. The Aerobus from the airport stops on Avenida do Mar, about 180 metres from the door, and the hotel arranges an airport transfer on request at an extra charge.

Every rate includes breakfast; no room-only rate is sold. The cheapest Deluxe for two, non-refundable, was €224 on Tuesday 8 June 2027, €198 on 15 December, €214 on 12 January, €231 on 16 February, €222 on 25 March, Holy Thursday, €242 on 10 August and €278 on 11 May, the dearest date sampled. Over Christmas single nights are not sold: three nights from 24 to 27 December were from €279 a night in a Junior Suite, with no Deluxe left. On 26 October 2026 no room was on sale for the nights of 30 and 31 December. Half board adds about €65 a night for two, without drinks. Funchal's tourist tax is €2 per guest per night, for up to seven nights, from age 13, paid at the hotel; the council has voted to raise it to €4 from 2027.