Funchal - adults only trip any hotel or apartment recommendations please?

[rookiemere]

Hi
I've used BA companion voucher to book Madeira for DH and I ( DS is 17 so only likes coming if its AI to the Canaries)

I'm a bit bewildered by all the choice of accommodation and torn between spending a bit less on a an apartment or staying in a nice hotel, so would appreciate any recommendations please.

We stayed in a lovely quinta on the edge of town. Away from all the big hotels, but close enough to walk in (we taxied back... the hills are something else...)

I got the impression that we'd have been well below the average age in many of the hotels, and we were glad not to be staying there.

How long are you there for? Madeira is a gorgeous place, with loads to do outside of Funchal (once you've ticked the Funchal boxes).

Good point about the age of the other hotel residents, we're in our 50s.
We're going for a week, so could also split our time if there is somewhere else amazing to stay.

We love Madeira and are back in September. We've decided to stay outside Funchal this time, in a village called Santa Cruz in the Vila Gale hotel. We're going to get out and about to explore since we've done the tick box activities in Funchal.
The hotel have a free shuttle bus to Funchal so I'm sure we'll end up there for a day or two.
The only thing I'm slightly worried about is the fact that Santa Cruz is only about 20 mins away from the airport so it'll be interesting to see how much we get to see and hear of planes departing and arriving.

Hope you have a wonderful time Op.

This is where we stayed in Funchal. Was lovely! https://www.quintasantaluzia.com/

Will you have a car? It makes exploring so much easier (but get one with a decent amount of power to get you up the hills).

I can't recommend this place highly enough https://fajadospadres.com/faja/
It's a working farm, growing all sort of tropical fruit and veg, and is primarily a restaurant. You can only access it by cable car. You can either spend the day, having a long lazy lunch (I still remeber the incredible octopus, and huge jug of white Sangria) and sitting on the beach, or you can stay overnight in the little cottages there. We stayed 2 nights and it was a highlight of our trip. 1 night would be enough, but we had 11 days on the island so were taking things at a leisurely pace.

Other highlights were a food tour in Funchal, a trip to the Valley of the Nuns, the sea pools at Porto Monitz, the amazing mountain scenery in general, a trip to the very eastern tip of the island.

Personally I think a day or 2 in Funchal itself is enough, and I'd split your time and stay somewhere else too - somewhere further west, like Calheta perhaps. Means you have easier access to all the things there are to see. But then I never spend a whole week in one place, and I realise that moving around isn't for everyone!

I don't quite know why it has a reputation for attracting an older crowd (you'll feel young in Funchal!). Outside of Funchal we noticed it less, but the average age of tourists was definitely more than elsewhere in Europe. I'm glad we didn't stay in a big hotel, for that reason.

I'd go back in a flash though - amazing holiday destination.

What's your budget as there is a huge range available? Do you want to spend much time where you are staying, wanting to relax by a pool etc, or are you going to be out and about most of the time?

Hotel Porto Santa Maria is a good hotel, adults only, the rooms have a mini-kitchen.
Good position in town for restaurants, buses etc.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, @ReviewingTheSituation you've made me remember that on our recent trip to Tuscany I wished we had moved about a bit rather than staying in the one apartment all week.
@Dogsitterwoes we would like a mixture, so sightseeing plus a pool to relax by. Budget would be maximum £1k for the week's accommodation which would get us the 5 star that looks nice, but ideally we would spend less than that.

I was going to suggest this hotel too

There's not many families holidaying there, so I wouldn't worry about an adult only place.

I tend to go more budget end, but a lot of people rate Cliff Bay as a good mid-range.

Last time we stayed in a gorgeous apartment in a residential block opposite Reid's hotel, but although there was a pool it wasn't really useable for sitting round, so wouldn't recommend it for you. We had a lovely day at the lido instead.

Thanks for recommendations of Hotel Santa Maria - like the idea of having some catering facilities, we get a bit bored eating out for a full week so it's nice to have options for the odd lunch or salad meal .

We stayed at the Cliff Bay in 2021. We actually took our teens with us but there really weren't other children there. We loved it. Breakfast was fantastic and rooms well appointed.

I totally recommend Chris's Place for dinner which is about a five minute walk from the hotel and the little shopping arcade near the Lido just up from the hotel had a restaurant that did incredible sushi.

Cliff bay sadly out of our price range, but does look lovely.

I've stayed at the Royal Savoy which is just a few minutes walk from the centre of Funchal. Not the new Savoy, the older one on the seafront. We do b & b. It's lovely being able to walk into town along the sea, have a lovely meal (and poncho!) and meander back afterwards. Excursions bootable from the hotel as well. You can walk to the cable car from the hotel which gives access to the botanical gardens.
We've also stayed in villas at Arco de Calheta which is amazing to walk out in the morning to the wonderful views. I think a car is necessary from Calheta though if you want to get around.

We went with TUI and stayed at the Vine Hotel in the centre of Funchal.

Cliff Bay and Savory are the two I stayed in. It's a lovely city. The tobogganing and fish market were my FAVOURITE things and the giant tortoises.

Savoy bloody spell check

We stayed there last year, it’s very modern and very well located in the centre of town. There’s a fabulous roof top pool, but no gardens.
Lots of the hotels are located on the hillside just out of the town., we spent a little time scoping out the other hotels in the area. We’ve booked The Porto Santa Maria on the beach in the old town for our next visit, near all the restaurants. I’d second booking the food tour of Funchal, don’t eat before hand. There’s lots of places to visit on precooked trips or by public transport.

Pre booked! Not precooked! I focused too much on food 😂