Pestana Carlton Madeira Hotel

This was my second visit to the Pestana Carlton, the first being in 1999 when I was just 14 years old. I could remember the hotel being good back then, but it???s even better now. As there is so much to say, I will keep to bullet points: Positives: - The Carlton looks great. The lobby is quite grand and gives a good first impression. The garden pool area is really lovely with brightly coloured flowers and plants everywhere. The lifts in the hotel part are nice (for lifts!) - All the staff are friendly and helpful, particularly at the pool, where they will do their very best to position the parasols exactly where you need them so you get the right amount of shade - Even fellow guests are all nice ??? we met so many lovely people - The garden pool bar offers a nice variety of food for lunch at decent prices. The turkey burger, apple and cinnamon pie and honey and walnut ice cream were particularly good. The drinks are a bit more costly, with cocktails at just under 8 euros, so we avoided those - The Taverna Grill also does nice food - There is live music and themed buffets and dinners every night - We stayed in the Madeira Beach Club timeshare apartments (also reviewed separately), and ours was very spacious with the perfect view from the balcony straight out to sea. Listening to the noise of the waves hitting the rocks sent us into a lovely deep sleep every night! The air con was effective, the kitchenette had all the supplies we needed, the bathroom was huge, and the beds comfortable - The cleaners do a great job - Towels for use in the pool areas are provided in the room - There is 24 hour room service if needed, although it???s quite costly - The Carlton is in an ideal location, with a good choice of bars and restaurants directly opposite and only a short walk into main Funchal (beware there is a bit of a hill though on the way back). If you can, make sure you visit Hemingway???s for dinner ??? it???s amazing! Negatives: - The hotel is large and it can be easy to get lost. On our first day while we were wandering around trying to find our way, we met two other couples doing the same. It doesn???t help that our room 2511 wasn???t actually listed on any of the signs, which ended at 2509 ??? quite odd - The lifts broke down frequently, although there was always another available and they were fixed quickly - The Taverna Grill lacked atmosphere. It was quite empty on a Sunday evening and the table arrangements meant you were almost facing another couple, which we found a little strange - Our apartment was a bit dated, although that didn???t bother us at all ??? I???d just read that all of Madeira Beach Club was due to be renovated in 2017, which hasn???t happened. The TV I think was the same one that would have been there when I last visited 20 years ago - Use of the safe costs 15 euros per week (quite standard in most hotels but I still begrudge paying it) - Wifi was only available in the public areas for us, however I don???t know if that???s the same for hotel guests rather than us timeshare guests - The firework night was a bit of a let down, just because the terrace wasn???t open long enough. For 10 euros each, I???d have liked the opportunity to have more sparkling wine, but the terrace was only open from 10.15 until 10.45. (This was for the Festival Atlantico, where there is a firework show in the harbour every Saturday in June, and the hotel open the 18th floor terrace so people can watch from up there with a sparkling wine service) None of these negatives impacted our holiday, however. I wouldn???t hesitate to recommend the Pestana Carlton. We had a lovely week and can???t wait to go back!

Friendly clean welcoming hotel and pleasant staff but restaurants and bars are very tired dark dingy areas food is dull uninspired but edible. I have a feeling that when the new savoy hotel is open this will be refurbished as soon as to keep pace with savoy. Will most certainly lose customers.

What a good place to stay with reasonable access to the 18th floor to see the fireworks. Helpful staff clean comfortable rooms. No noise. Easy to walk into town and on a bus route to come back if you have difficulty in walking up hill.