PESTANA CARLTON MADEIRA OCEAN RESORT HOTEL

this hotel was very good located 15-20 minute walk from centre of funchal.room we had was poolside and was very clean towels changed when needed. kettle in room and fridge which was handy. food in hotel was good with a good choice at both breakfast/dinner. staff we met very friendly.

The hotel was very good, breakfast good, room safe and WiFi are free. The location of hotel excellent, however if you walk in to Funchal which is about 10 minutes walk, you have a steep hill to walk back up but good exercise. Hotel drinks are very expensive but there are bars over the road which are very reasonable. Good views from the hotel, there is a new hotel being built over the road , however, we had no real problems with that. I would defiantly stay here again. We Stayed BB which I would recommend, there are excellent restaurants which are not over priced. Overall excellent holiday.

We stayed for a few nights here and on the advice of other travellers booked an ocean view room and I'm so glad we did. Not only was the view stunning, but the rooms facing the other direction were right by a building site and some noisy bars. The extra that you pay for the ocean view then well worth it. The pools were excellent and we really enjoyed spending some time enjoying them and there are some excellent restaurants nearby. My main issues with the hotel were the attitude of some staff members - it just didn't seem a very friendly place, with some surly responses at times. There were some aspects of the hotel (the tv in the room for example) which were extremely outdated and in need of upgrade. Finally the food was really quite bad - breakfasts ok (largely due to some good pastries and bread) but the 'Asian Buffet' we paid for one evening was absolutely appalling, the 'miso soup' with chicken and vegetables being a particular lowlight. So in summary, there were enough positives to make me glad I stayed there but a few areas that could be quite significantly improved as well.

We have just got back and had a wonderful b & b holiday, however that is in no way thanks to Pestana. Just to say I stayed in a Pestana last year which was superb, so much so I recommended it that much, some friends have booked Pestana for next month. This hotel needs some serious tlc!! The sea view upgrade is looking into a hotel building site which works 8-6, this hotel I would say is going to be another 10-12 months at least before completion and it completely drowns any idea of a relaxing view with the noise and overbearing size of it.... 18 floors!! the balcony is 3' deep at most with a bistro table and chair, absolutely no possibility of relaxing on anything but the chair. The sea view room gets 2 small pots of milk which has to be paid for after that, so woe betide any 2 people that like milky coffee, buy or share. The room only had one of everything and when we told them it took till the next day to sort it...no glasses and one teacup for 2. The bar staff were just glum all the time, and woe betide asking for a cocktail whereby you may like it slightly different to the 'norm'. The staff with the exception of housekeeping and Taverna were just so miserable all the time and tutted lots... what's that about' Our other room which was a sea view suite was in a totally different part of the hotel, was very good, great view and good balcony, however again not enough cups, glasses and milk. I cannot recommend the Taverna Restaurant enough, they were just superb and for coeliacs, completely on the ball with what is suitable, atmosphere was amazing!! Housekeeping couldn't do enough for you and always smiling and chatty. There were so many things that tried to dampen the holiday but fortunately we were only b&b so we went out a lot, it's my third visit to Madeira as I love the island and the people, I will be back. Would I Book Pestana again.... 50/50 on my part based on last year, my parents who paid for the celebratory trip and ended up nowhere near us on a building site have said not in a million years. What a disappointment, especially when I said on booking I would only do Pestana following last years holiday to Porto Santo. Suggestions, go b&b and experience the wonderful cuisines within a ten minute walk. There is a shop outside the front door to the right which is fab, has an amazing range for coeliacs and alcohol, foods etc. Again we had an amazing holiday but definitely wouldn't undertake a visit with this hotel again.

We enjoyed very much a lovely holiday in Carlton Madeira. Hotel was in a very good location, beautiful view, friendly staff, good size of room (although we didn't have a sea view room but a twin room with street view and big balcony was also good enough), toilet-separated bath room, big wardrobe, and, very good breakfast---almost everything was perfect, apart from a small wifi problem which was unstable signal in the room. But still, not a major problem for a relaxing holiday. I had my birthday during the holiday and had a pleasant surprise from Carlton staff. A birthday letter was waiting for me for the day when I stepped into for the breakfast and then a bottle of champagne was in the room when we went back in the afternoon. This very kind and thoughtful thinking made my birthday in beautiful Madeira and Carlton even more nicer, thank you so much for it. We will be back for next holiday and will definitely recommend to our friends.