Ajuda Madeira Hotel

We've just got back from a week's stay at this hotel. It is large but very clean and we had a comfortable room albeit I saw no evidence of air conditioning! The staff were - without exception - polite, friendly and very helpful and went out of their way to ensure the guests were looked after. Our room had a nice balcony, we were on the 5th floor so could just see the sea although you had to look past the top of the hotels opposite. One plus point was that all the rooms seemed to be on the inside (ie. away from the road) so there was no noticeable traffic noise. Ajuda is the name of the area and I would say that it is mainly hotels and commercial, it was very quiet on a Sunday, in fact pleasant the whole time we were there.
The swimming pool visible from our balcony (ie. not the Ajuda's) looked better than ours but we did have a swim in ours and it was nice. The man who appeared to be in charge of the pool area was charming and very friendly and kept everything spotless. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble for him. He keeps a small collection of paperback books which you can borrow (or take away) but welcomes your finished ones in return, this seemed a brilliant system and worked for us.
One minus point was the food. We had the buffet on the first night, it was 17 odd Euros per head and the food was very bland and uninteresting, however we were too tired to go out to find anything else. TIP - if you go out of the hotel, turn left, cross the road and walk down the hill there is a decent pizza place on the other side which is a much better bet and this is eat in or take away. The hotel breakfast was as they usually are in this part of the world, plenty to choose from but all pretty uninteresting. I stuck to toast and marmalade, the fruit juice the usual vile watered down stuff. Drink also V DEAR in the hotel, another TIP, walk down past the pizza place to the bottom of the hill and turn right, there is a shopping complex there and a supermarket where the drink is much cheaper.
The hotel seems to have entertainment most nights, we gave this a bodyswerve but thought it was a good thing to have for those who liked it so 10/10 for effort.
I gave the hotel 8 because of the lack of air con, the food and also because there is a mini bar in the room but you have to ask for the key and they don't allow you to use it as a fridge (ie take their stuff out and put yours in), this seemed mean to us and just money making on their part. We ended up buying our drink at the supermarket every day and carrying it back in our coolbag to drink that evening but we would have liked to store our cheese and fruit in a cool place.
There are a few restaurants along the front which looked OK but the maitre d's were usually hovering around outside which annoys me. As you come out of the hotel and turn left (not crossing over but walking part the 'Gardens' hotel), there is a small place at the bottom of the hill called the 'Churruzio' or something like that, there were pix of food outside (look also for the chicken logo) - looks grotty but we ate in there on the first night and the BBQ chicken was lovely, staff also friendly.
Other TIPS - try the local buses, really cheap and fun, at the bottom of the hill from the hotel cross the road and walk down past something called the Madeira experience and you will find a great walk along the seafront, all newly paved and really nice. It goes both ways but if you go right you will end up at a restaurant and steps that go down to the sea where they have made a swimming and sunbathing bit which is lovely.
We felt in general that the island mainly caters for the older tourists (I am in my forties and were the youngest ones on the plane) but as a result we found it peaceful, crime free (we felt safe walking at night). I have to say that in general I was not impressed with the food, be aware that the Madeirans smother ALL salad in vast amounts of oil and vinegar. I would also suggest that you stick to bottled water as I got an upset stomach after a few days, not sure what from but after that I used the bottled stuff for cleaning my teeth etc., I would also peel fruit or wash in bottled water before eating.
Lastly, do try the toboggan run in Monte. It IS a rip off price wise and you have to run away from the people at the bottom of the hill trying to sell you the souve photo BUT it was brilliant fun and worth it. You will need a taxi at the bottom otherwise there is a huge walk back to Funchal so allow this in the cost (say 50 Euro all in for the whole thing). We got there via the cable car, also good.