The catch at VidaMar Resort Hotel Madeira
Five things sit between the photographs and the stay. None of them is a reason to pass on a family resort with a sea platform, a children's pool and two-room family rooms on the Atlantic, but each one decides when you go, which room you take and how you plan the evenings.
On our shortlists
- Best beach hotels in MadeiraA 2,000 m² sea platform with seawater pools, kept for guests
- Best family hotels in MadeiraFree kids' club in season, a children's pool and two-room family rooms
- Best spa hotels in MadeiraA thalassotherapy pool, plus a free heated indoor pool for all
- Best hotels with a view in MadeiraA sea view from every room, over the gardens and the platform
The outdoor pools are seawater and often feel cold outside high summer, so the warm swim is indoors.
The three outdoor pools on the platform and the 25 m² children's pool are filled with seawater, and the hotel describes only one pool as heated: the indoor pool in the Aqua Area, free to every guest, with a separate area for children, a sauna and a hot tub. Outside high summer, guests often find the outdoor water cold, the children's pool included. The infinity pools are kept for adults. The Thalasso Sea Spa has its own thalassotherapy pool and Jacuzzi, but it is for guests aged 16 and over, costs €25 a person per entry, and its pool cannot be used after a treatment.
What to do. In winter and spring, plan long swims for the indoor pool and keep the platform for sunny afternoons. If you book a spa treatment, add the thalassotherapy area for the hour before it, which costs €10 a person.
There is no sand: the sea is reached from the hotel's platform, and the nearest beach is a 40-minute walk.
The hotel stands on the cliff above the Atlantic, and its beach is a 2,000 m² platform at sea level, with three seawater pools, lifeguards and direct access into the ocean, kept for hotel guests. When the sea is calm, a swim from the platform is easy; when the swell is up, the pools are the swim. The nearest beach, Praia Formosa, is 40 minutes on foot to the west, and the Complexo Balnear do Lido, the city's seafront pools, is 10 minutes along the promenade.
What to do. Keep sea swims for days when the water is flat and the lifeguards are on duty. For a day on a beach, take a taxi or drive to Praia Formosa rather than walking it with a family.
Most rooms look dated, and the hotel says a renovation is planned.
Every room has a balcony or a terrace and a sea view, but outside the junior suites of Tower 1, guests repeatedly describe the furniture, fittings and bathrooms as dated and tired. The junior suites, on the first to fourth floors of Tower 1, are fitted differently, with sustainable materials in the bathrooms, a separate shower, a smart TV, turndown and a pillow menu, but they sleep two only. In replies to guests in 2025 and 2026 the management says renovation works are planned and will be carried out soon. No dates are published, so work during a 2027 stay cannot be ruled out.
What to do. When you book, ask whether any renovation is scheduled for your dates and ask for a higher floor away from it; the sea views are best from the upper floors.
Aquatica Kids World is free, but it runs in season and the hotel publishes no dates.
The club takes children from 3 to 11 without charge, daily while it runs, in two groups, Dolphins for ages 3 to 6 and Sharks for 6 to 11, with games, crafts, face painting and water play, and it has its own pool, 25 m² and 40 cm deep, reserved for children. The hotel's own family offers describe the club as seasonal and give no opening dates. Children under 3 cannot join; babysitting is available on request and has to be booked ahead. Cots are free. Only two categories take four people: the Superior Sea View, in one room, and the Premium Family Sea View Room, in two.
What to do. Before you book school-holiday dates, ask the hotel which dates the club runs, and book babysitting for under-3s with the room.
Half board's other restaurants need booking, and each keeps its own days.
Half board covers breakfast and dinner at the Ocean Buffet, served from 18:30 to 21:30, with drinks extra. Its Dine Around option lets you take dinner at the participating restaurants instead, but only with a reservation made in advance. Ristorante Mamma Mia opens Wednesday to Sunday, Casa das Espetadas, 100 m outside the complex, Friday to Tuesday, and Koi Sushi every evening from 18:30 to 22:30. The dress code is smart casual, with jacket and tie only for the Christmas and New Year's Eve gala dinners, and the rooftop view of Funchal's New Year fireworks is for guests on the Gala Dinner package.
What to do. Book your à la carte nights at check-in, and plan Mamma Mia for Wednesday to Sunday and Casa das Espetadas for Friday to Tuesday.
Who should skip it
Anyone who wants to walk onto sand, swim in a warm outdoor pool in winter or sleep in a newly designed room. Families with children under 3 who want a kids' club, and couples looking for a small, quiet hotel with character, since this is a resort of 300 rooms built for families.
Who should book it anyway
Families who want a week of sea, pools and sunshine in Funchal. The platform on the Atlantic is the hotel's own and kept for guests, children have a pool and, in season, a free club of their own, the indoor pool stays warm all year, and every room looks at the sea. Book the Premium Family Sea View Room for a door between parents and children, check the club's dates, and the centre is a gentle 33-minute walk or a bus ride away. For a family base on Madeira, the trade is well worth making.
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
- Hotel MadeiraFunchal
Small rooms: a Standard Room is 17 to 20 m², a Standard Balcony Room 16 to 20 m²
- 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
- 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 VidaMar Resort Hotel Madeira
The nearest of the experiences we would book, by car from the hotel.
The east, in comfortEast Madeira in a day: Pico do Arieiro, Santana and Ponta de São Lourenço
From €38.704.7(3,900)1 min by carPickup included
The food and wineA food and Madeira wine walking tour of Funchal
From €954.8(550)4 min by carWalk there
The west, by jeepWest Madeira by 4x4: Fanal forest, Seixal and the Porto Moniz pools
From €695(650)5 min by carFree pickup
Whales, on a big catamaranWhale and dolphin watching from Funchal on a catamaran
From €354.6(7,900)7 min by car
Questions people ask
Good questions about VidaMar Resort Hotel Madeira
What are the downsides of VidaMar Resort Hotel Madeira?
Five things sit between the photographs and the stay. None of them is a reason to pass on a family resort with a sea platform, a children's pool and two-room family rooms on the Atlantic, but each one decides when you go, which room you take and how you plan the evenings. The outdoor pools are seawater and often feel cold outside high summer, so the warm swim is indoors. There is no sand: the sea is reached from the hotel's platform, and the nearest beach is a 40-minute walk. Most rooms look dated, and the hotel says a renovation is planned. Aquatica Kids World is free, but it runs in season and the hotel publishes no dates. Half board's other restaurants need booking, and each keeps its own days.
Who should not book VidaMar Resort Hotel Madeira?
Anyone who wants to walk onto sand, swim in a warm outdoor pool in winter or sleep in a newly designed room. Families with children under 3 who want a kids' club, and couples looking for a small, quiet hotel with character, since this is a resort of 300 rooms built for families.
Our verdict
A Funchal family base with seawater pools on the Atlantic, a children's pool, a free kids' club in season and rooms that all face the sea. Check availability for the Premium Family Sea View Room.
Last checked: October 2026