The catch at Hotel Madeira
Hotel Madeira sells an address and a price, and both are good. What it does not sell is space or a resort day, and five things are worth knowing before you book: how small the rooms are, how little there is beyond the roof, when reception closes, what a car costs here and which weeks of the year the price jumps.
On our shortlists
The rooms are small, and the cheapest ones are the smallest.
A Standard Room measures 17 to 20 m² and a Standard Balcony Room 16 to 20 m², so adding a balcony does not add floor space. Both are for two at most, with a double or twin beds, a walk-in shower, a desk, air conditioning and soundproofing. The Superior Room runs to 20 to 25 m² and the balcony version to 22 to 24 m², with mountain views. Small rooms and small bathrooms are a theme that recurs in recent reviews, along with some wear in the furniture. The Family Room, for two adults and a child, is 17 to 19 m² with a sofa bed, which is tight for three.
What to do. If you will spend more than a night or two in the room, take the Junior Suite: 27 m² with a separate bedroom and two balconies, for about €32 a night more than the Standard Room in June.
Beyond the roof, there is little to spend a day on.
The one pool is on the fifth-floor roof, open from 09:00 to 19:00, with a sun deck looking over the city to the mountains. It is a city hotel's pool, not a resort's: there is no spa, the gym is still listed as coming soon, and there is no room service. The Panorama Terrace Bar beside the pool is open to the public as well as to guests, and its sunset tables are worth booking. The nearest sea swim is the town beach at Almirante Reis, 15 minutes on foot, and the hotel has no beach of its own.
What to do. Plan the days out in Funchal and on the island, and use the roof for a swim before dinner and a drink after it. For a sunset table at the bar, book.
Reception closes at midnight.
The front desk is staffed from 07:00 to 24:00 every day, not round the clock. The airport is 21 minutes away by car, and the last Aerobus into Funchal leaves the airport at 22:00 every day, and none runs on 25 December, so a late flight means a taxi and an arrival close to the desk's closing time. Check-in is from 14:00 and check-out by 12:00. The hotel emails an online check-in form the day before arrival, and the luggage room is free, so an early arrival can drop bags and go out.
What to do. If your flight lands late in the evening, tell the hotel your arrival time before you travel, and fill in the online check-in form so there is less to do at the desk. A taxi from the airport takes about 21 minutes.
A car costs €11 a day to park, and spaces are limited.
The hotel's parking is in an underground car park right outside, at €11 a day, with a limited number of spaces that should be booked ahead. When they are full, reception sends guests to a nearby public car park, which costs more. In the centre of Funchal you will not need a car for the city itself: the Sé is six minutes on foot and the marina eight. The one climb is coming back from the seafront, which is about 20 metres below the hotel, a short walk uphill.
What to do. If you hire a car for island days, book a parking space when you book the room, or hire the car only for the days you will drive.
New Year and the spring festival weeks cost far more than winter.
Funchal's prices follow its calendar. The hotel's own rates are lowest from November to February and highest around New Year and from late April to late May, around the Flower Festival. In the hotel's calendar for 2027, the night of 1 January was listed at about four times the price of a mid-January night, and the last nights of December were not on sale at all. On top of the room, Funchal charges a tourist tax of €2 per guest per night, for guests aged 13 and over, up to seven nights, paid at the hotel; the council has voted to raise it to €4 from 2027.
What to do. For New Year, book very early. For the best value, come between November and February, when the city is mild and the rooms cost least.
Who should skip it
Anyone who wants a large room, a spa or a pool to spend the whole day by, and anyone arriving after midnight who would rather not depend on a reception that has closed. Families of three in a single room will find the Family Room tight.
Who should book it anyway
Book it for the address and what it costs. For about €150 a night in June, two people get a double with buffet breakfast in a 1969 building by Raúl Chorão Ramalho, beside the Jardim Municipal, six minutes on foot from the Sé and at much the same height, so most walks home are level. The rooftop pool and the Panorama Terrace Bar look over the city to the mountains, Bistrô 13, in the hotel, does brunch and crêpes, and the best tables in the old centre are under ten minutes away. Take the Junior Suite and the room-size catch is answered too.
The catch elsewhere in Madeira
- Reid's Palace, A Belmond HotelFunchal
The entry Superior Rooms are 23 to 26 m² with a partial sea view; the full view of the bay starts with the Deluxe Sea View
- The Cliff BayFunchal
Not in the centre: the Sé is a 33-minute walk along a busy road, uphill on the way back, or a bus or taxi
- Savoy PalaceFunchal
The spa circuit costs €50 a day per guest unless you book a treatment of 60 minutes or more, and it is for over-16s only
- Barceló Funchal OldtownFunchal
A small, shallow rooftop pool, about 10 by 6 metres, where loungers run short on busy days
- Casa Velha do PalheiroSão Gonçalo
Funchal is a taxi ride, not a walk: the Sé is 18 minutes by car off-peak but about 70 minutes on foot, much of it steep
- VidaMar Resort Hotel MadeiraLido
The outdoor pools are seawater, and guests often find them cold outside high summer; the heated pool is the indoor one
- Sentido GalomarCaniço de Baixo
Half-board dinner is a buffet at the Ondamar restaurant in Sentido Galosol, the resort's other hotel, which takes children
- Hotel Quinta do FurãoSantana
A hire car is close to essential: Santana's centre is a 51-minute walk along the road and Funchal about 50 minutes' drive
- Estalagem da Ponta do SolPonta do Sol
The hotel is layered down a cliff: reaching a room can take a lift, a footbridge and several flights of steps, which is hard work with limited mobility or heavy luggage
Things to do from Hotel Madeira
The nearest of the experiences we would book, by car from the hotel.
The food and wineA food and Madeira wine walking tour of Funchal
From €954.8(550)1 min by carWalk there
The west, by jeepWest Madeira by 4x4: Fanal forest, Seixal and the Porto Moniz pools
From €695(650)3 min by carFree pickup
Whales, on a big catamaranWhale and dolphin watching from Funchal on a catamaran
From €354.6(7,900)4 min by car
The sunset sailA sunset sail from Funchal, with a swim under Cabo Girão
From €504.8(2,600)4 min by car
Questions people ask
Good questions about Hotel Madeira
What are the downsides of Hotel Madeira?
Hotel Madeira sells an address and a price, and both are good. What it does not sell is space or a resort day, and five things are worth knowing before you book: how small the rooms are, how little there is beyond the roof, when reception closes, what a car costs here and which weeks of the year the price jumps. The rooms are small, and the cheapest ones are the smallest. Beyond the roof, there is little to spend a day on. Reception closes at midnight. A car costs €11 a day to park, and spaces are limited. New Year and the spring festival weeks cost far more than winter.
Who should not book Hotel Madeira?
Anyone who wants a large room, a spa or a pool to spend the whole day by, and anyone arriving after midnight who would rather not depend on a reception that has closed. Families of three in a single room will find the Family Room tight.
Our verdict
A 1969 Chorão Ramalho building in the middle of Funchal, with a rooftop pool and breakfast included, at about €150 a night. Check availability for the Junior Suite.