Savoy Palace

A fabulous stay for my husband’s 50th birthday. We absolutely loved this hotel and had a wonderful week. I was apprehensive about staying in such a large hotel as our usual family holidays are always in villas with private pools. I needn’t have worried as the hotel has some many different spaces that it didn’t feel crowded at all, despite being fairly full. The pool area is stunning with a wide choice of places to sit and different styles of loungers. We enjoyed eating in several of the restaurants (Pau de Lume, the Italian restaurant and Almeda) and found almost all staff to be exceptionally welcoming, friendly and efficient. Food was excellent quality. The ice cream parlour was also excellent! We chose a superior ocean view room on one of the higher floors - the view was great but I think next time, I’d prefer a room with a slightly larger balcony even though these seem to be lower down. In truth we didn’t spend much time in the room - the view was better from the fabulous Skybar and we were out and about exploring or relaxing by the pool the rest of the time! Amazing breakfast buffet with everything imaginable. I had a manicure in the spa - lovely therapist. Sadly didn't have time to experience the rest of the spa. Next time! The hotel is also in an excellent location -you can easily walk into town, access the chairlift up to Monte etc… We did have a few tiny niggles… Storage in our room was minimal. One very small wardrobe, only part of which was full length (I mainly wear dresses on holiday) and only two tiny drawers for other clothes. No hooks for hanging wet towels or swimwear (just two in the shower where things remain damp). If you want to eat in the hotel, make reservations well in advance. We were disappointed not to be able to eat in Terreiror at our preferred times on other nights. Of course Funchal has lots of choice so it wasn’t the end of the world! We’d just plan further ahead next time. We did feel the restaurant staff could have better training on the wines. We are wine enthusiasts but are not hugely familiar with all Portuguese wines and would have appreciated some better guidance - we felt the staff assumed we knew nothing and just recommended bottles at random without taking into consideration our food choices etc… I’d been looking forward to trying the beautiful infinity pool on the top of the hotel - it was disappointing to find that it was closed (for a private event, I think) on our final afternoon. This was a shame. Final niggle was that no recognition of my husband’s big birthday was made. We did mention this when booking and at other times. Whilst nothing is expected, a birthday card/note or small offering would have made the experience particularly special. By contrast, we enjoyed a poolside lunch at Reids one of the days and had a special birthday greeting from the restaurant manager, complimentary glass of sparkling wine and a little mini birthday cake with a candle. It was unexpected and a wonderful surprise. These are tiny niggles though - overall we loved every moment of our stay and would return in a heartbeat. The hotel is spotless, the communal spaces plentiful, welcoming and comfortable, the service excellent and the location ideal. We cannot wait to return!

2nd time here and wont be the last. We have decided that now that we have found the perfect hotel we will return every year. Great location, great staff, facilities, service and room, faultless. Ronaldo likes it apparently so high praise. Joined the Vacation Club there and very happy to have done so. We are fairly well travelled and have never returned to the same location/hotel/resort (despite having some wonderful stays) until we came here. Madeira is beautiful as are the people. Great vibe everywhere. Not brash, not loud, no golden sand beaches (rocky/volcanic) probably better suited to an older demographic, hikers, honeymooners and also couples with very young infants. Perfect weather great bars and restaurants. Cant wait to go back. Thanks to everyone there.