Baia Azul

Our first visit to Madeira found us staying in the Western suburbs of Funchal at the Baia Azul 4* hotel. It's location overlooking the bay with the solitary rock we liked to call Dwayne was ideal for coastal walks in both directions. A good hour walking to the west is where you'll eventually find the gorgeous fishing village of Camara de Lobos, a favourite with Winston Churchill. Also navigable via bus. There's a handful of bars along the promenade for the odd pitstop which also applies in the opposite direction towards Funchal to the East. There's plenty of eating establishments locally and lots more a short bus, taxi ride or free hotel shuttle into Funchal city centre. We tried a few and didn't find any to be a disappointment. The hotel itself is 4* and is worthy of it's status. All the staff are friendly and attentive albeit some of the waiters during the breakfast service prefer not to engage in any pleasantries. Lots of choice for all tastes at breakfast. We didn't try the two other restaurants. Evening entertainment is varied, very good and chilled. Bar prices very reasonable for a 4* hotel. Shout out to a very hard working young gentleman called Arif. My wife really appreciated the little chocolate squares served with every hot beverage. Our sea view room on the 3rd floor had a comfy bed and everything you need and always clean and tidy. However, the cleaners do not replenish tea bags. I'd suggest bringing your own. Fridge is great and was ideal for chilling our locally purchased beer and mineral water. The pool and pool bar area is great although I think that some of the loungers are stretched and worn and could do with replacing. Bring your noise cancelling earphones if lounging near the edge of the pool. The infinity pool's slurping noises are a bit loud when the pool is being used. All in all, I'd definitely recommend this hotel.

We have recently returned from a fantastic 2-week holiday at this hotel. It was our first visit to this Island and it definitely won’t be our last.

What makes this hotel so special is its staff who are always smiling, helpful, friendly and very efficient, despite the long hours they work. From start to finish, we were made to feel so welcome.

On arrival, we were warmly greeted by Marisa at Reception and every day we would pass by just to say hello, which would also give me another opportunity to practice my very limited Portuguese! Marisa was very informative about everything to do with the hotel and its surrounding areas. Every member of staff on Reception seemed to be interested in what we had done each day, and any mishaps/experiences we had!

We were very lucky to be allocated Room 1123 which was spacious with a safe, fridge, kettle, nice balcony and plenty of storage space and was more than adequate for our needs. It was very clean throughout our stay so thanks to the team for their hard work. The bed was massive – and extremely comfortable.

We were staying on a B&B basis and the breakfast was amazing. There was always a wide selection on offer, both hot and cold, and everything was regularly replenished. Plenty of fresh fruit, cold meats, cheeses, various salads, cereals, yoghurts, a large selection of different breads, so many pastries and cakes … I could go on for ages. However I would like to add that it wasn’t the same selection each day, so we enjoyed seeing what options were on daily. We definitely didn’t go hungry! In addition, there was a selection of vegetarian and gluten free options available so all tastes were catered for. We are early risers, even on holiday, so preferred to go down for breakfast at 7am so that we could then go off exploring in the mornings.

The hotel provided some entertainment each evening on the outside bar terrace which guests could enjoy whilst having a drink looking out over the sea.

We loved the location of this hotel as it was overlooking the sea and there was a long promenade in both directions to enjoy whilst walking off some of the breakfast. There were also some cafés and a lovely ice cream parlour! There are various restaurants across the road from the main hotel entrance where we enjoyed some good and reasonably priced meals. Funchal City Centre is a 30-minute walk away but there is a bus stop just outside the hotel in case you don’t feel energetic enough. The hotel does provide a courtesy bus service to/from Funchal which you book via Reception the day before. We cannot comment on it because we walked every time but it’s a nice feature for the hotel to offer. In addition there is a large supermarket a 5-minute walk away in The Forum Shopping Centre.

I would love to be able to name every member of staff who we interacted with but that would be impossible. However, I would like to specifically mention Marisa, Isilda and Mariana on Reception.

Thanks to everyone for making our holiday so very special and we hope to come back again in the not too distant future.

Philippa and Peter Flynn

JUST WOW!

Hotel is immaculate as are the restaurant and pool area. Staff friendly and welcoming. Room cleaned to perfection each day.

The food - another level, never seen such an amazing buffet. Fresh fruits, seafood, meats, vegetables, and desserts.

Pool side bar offers a delicious range of snacks and divine cocktails. The draft beer is also very good.

I cannot recommend this hotel enough. Already planning a return visit!