VidaMar Resort Hotel Madeira, for its free kids' club for ages 3 to 11 in season, a children's pool and a family room with a separate children's bedroom. Reid's Palace, A Belmond Hotel, for its kids' club for ages 3 to 12 with its own pool, heated pools on the cliff and garden-wing family rooms.
2 of our ten · Hand-pickedHotels cannot pay to be hereLast checked: October 2026
9.4/10
4,200+ Expedia guest reviews of the 8 hotels we list
Average of the guest scores Expedia publishes, weighted by review count; read 30 October 2026.
Madeira works for families if you plan for the water. Funchal has no sandy beach, so children swim in pools, from hotel sea platforms and at the public Lido complex, which has three saltwater pools, two of them for children, and lifeguards in the bathing season. That makes the Hotel Zone and the Lido, on the cliffs west of the centre, the island's family base: the big resorts, sea pools and room to spread out.
Both our family picks are here, about 9 minutes apart on foot along Estrada Monumental. The walk into the centre is gentle rather than steep: the Sé is 24 minutes on foot from Reid's and 33 from VidaMar, mostly level or downhill on the way in and a gentle climb back, and city buses 001 and 002 run along the road. Children aged 12 and under pay no tourist tax. Choose VidaMar for a week of pools and a free club; choose Reid's for gardens, warm pools and a grand hotel that still welcomes children.
This is the one of our ten built around families. Aquatica Kids World costs nothing for children aged 3 to 11 and runs every day in season, in two groups, Dolphins for 3 to 6 and Sharks for 6 to 11, with games, crafts, face painting and water play. The club has a pool kept for children alone, 25 m² and only 40 cm deep.
Lifts run down to the hotel's sea platform, 2,000 m² with three seawater pools, lifeguards and steps into the Atlantic, all for hotel guests. The outdoor water is cool outside high summer, so the warm swim is indoors: the Aqua Area's heated pool, free to every guest, has a separate children's area. Cots are free, babysitting for under-3s can be arranged in advance, every room has a sea view, and Sabor a Mar by the pools does a children's menu and ice creams.
The room to book
Premium Family Sea View Room
about 51 m²€477 a night
The only room with a door between parents and children: a 40 m² main room with a sea-facing balcony, plus a children's room with twin beds and its own window.
Reid's Palace, A Belmond Hotel is a grand hotel of 1891 that takes children seriously. Its kids' club is for ages 3 to 12 and has a children's pool of its own. Above the bay, the two infinity pools on the cliff terraces are both heated, one filled with seawater and one with fresh, with a tidal pool, a lift and steps into the sea below, so the main swim stays warm out of season.
The Family Rooms, 31 to 37 m² on the ground floor of the Garden Wing, sleep two adults and two children, with a sofa bed and a patio straight onto the hotel's 10 or so acres of subtropical gardens. The Winston Churchill Suite can be joined to a Deluxe Junior Suite for a family who want the sea view. Valet parking and the shuttle into the centre are free, and Gelateria San Giorgio is open from 12:00 to 22:00.
The room to book
Family Room
about 31 to 37 m²€1,104 a night
Built for two adults and two children, with a sofa bed and a ground-floor patio opening onto the gardens, so children can step outside without a lift.
For a city break with children, Hotel Madeira's Junior Suite has a separate bedroom, a sofa bed in the sitting room and two balconies, for up to two adults and two children, 6 minutes on foot from the Sé.
From about €150 a night
The best things to do in Madeira, hand-picked
Hand-picked: only the best, one version of each, researched so you don’t have to.
Which Madeira hotels have a kids club, and for what ages?
Of our ten, two. VidaMar Resort Hotel Madeira runs Aquatica Kids World, free for children aged 3 to 11, daily while it runs, in two groups, Dolphins for 3 to 6 and Sharks for 6 to 11. It is seasonal and the hotel publishes no dates, so ask before you book. Reid's Palace, A Belmond Hotel has a kids' club for ages 3 to 12, with a children's pool of its own. At VidaMar, babysitting for children under 3 can be booked ahead.
Are there sandy beaches for children in Funchal?
No. Funchal swims from pools, platforms and ladders rather than sand. For children, the public Lido complex, open all year, has three saltwater pools, two of them for children, steps into the sea and lifeguards in the bathing season; it is 10 minutes on foot from VidaMar Resort Hotel Madeira and 14 from Reid's Palace, A Belmond Hotel. Praia Formosa, the island's largest public beach, is pebbles and dark sand. For golden sand, Calheta has an artificial beach of 100 metres in the south-west, a drive from Funchal.
Do children pay the tourist tax in Madeira?
Not if they are 12 or under. Funchal charges EUR 2 per guest per night, for up to seven nights, paid at the hotel, from age 13, and the council has voted to raise it to EUR 4 from 2027. Both our family hotels are in Funchal, so a family with two children aged 12 and under pays for the two adults only. Santa Cruz, Santana and Ponta do Sol charge the same EUR 2 from age 13.
Which Madeira hotel rooms sleep a family of four?
At VidaMar Resort Hotel Madeira, two categories take four: the Superior Sea View, about 39 m², in one room, and the Premium Family Sea View Room, about 51 m², with a separate children's room with twin beds. At Reid's Palace, A Belmond Hotel, the Family Room, 31 to 37 m² in the Garden Wing, sleeps two adults and two children with a sofa bed and a patio onto the gardens. Cots are free at VidaMar.
Are the outdoor pools in Madeira warm enough for children in winter?
It depends on the hotel. VidaMar Resort Hotel Madeira's outdoor pools, the children's pool included, are seawater and often feel cold outside high summer; its heated indoor pool, with a separate children's area, is free to every guest. Reid's Palace, A Belmond Hotel heats both of its clifftop pools, one seawater and one freshwater. Funchal's January afternoons average 20.0°C and August's 26.8°C.
How did you choose these hotels?
Independently, through extensive research, trusted sources and first-hand visits. Hotels cannot pay to be included, and every one of the ten has to exist for a different reason.
The family one
