Pestana Grand Hotel

We stayed at the Pestana Grand for 7 nights and enjoyed the stay. The hotel is excellent and we found the staff to be very helpful. The rooms are really spacious and comfortable with excellent bathroom facilities, although our room faced west and overlooked the kids section of the pool so was a bit noisy at times and sometimes too hot & sunny to sit out on the balcony early evening with a drink - the sun sets very late in Madeira, about 9pm. The only downsides to the hotel were the breakfasts, which weren't great - the hot food was only ever warm & the selection was not what you might expect in 5 star - we rated it a 3 star breakfast. Also, if you arrived at the pool late (we like to go out in the mornings) then it was difficult to find sunbeds that weren't already draped in towels - they should get a rule organised that beds left for more than 1 hour have the towels removed. That said, we learnt by the end to join the others and reserve our beds early! The spa facilities at the hotel were great - my husband loved the sauna, turkish bath & jacuzzi & the water therapy pool was great fun. The hotel is well out of town - you need to take a bus or taxi, its not really walkable with all the hills that are in Madeira. However, there are several good restaurants within easy walking distance, so we didn't go to town much. The Italian & Fish restaurants just round the promenade were both excellent. If you want to take a trip, we used Strawberry World (near the lido area) - they were very efficient and good value for money. Also did the time share presentation & got a free night out in the casino - not worth the hastle! The food was awful, the show very second rate & the casino was totally lacking atmosphere & no fun at all - couldn't say the roulette was rigged, but suffice to say we saw no-one win anything whilst we were there - give it a miss. We looked around a couple of other hotels for next time - The Tivoli Park (5 star) was not a patch on the Grand, rooms were very tired & the pool area very small for the size of hotel. The Crown Plaza looked superb - very modern but a bit too minimalist for our tastes, the furniture looked really uncomfortable! They have a fantastic pool complex area right next to the sea but the rooms weren't nearly as spacious or well laid out as the Grand, so on balance we were happy that we were in the best hotel for the price. Would go again anytime!

have just returned form a week at this hotel. very nice, good pool area for kids and our4 yr old loved the pool. Did not pay 5 star prices, but we think it is because while you are there Pestana will try to sell you timeshare. We did spen a morning havinga look at the new apartments, with no intention of buying and got a free trip out of it. Not everyone's cup of tea. Did not eat eveing meals at the restaurant, if you go out on to the promenade and turn right there are a couple, one a pasta place the other a very nice fish rest. The brasserie along the promenade was very good food, not that acommodating for kids at the start. The staff could do with more 5 star training, our rooms were cleaned daily, but cups etc were simply rinsed out, often left dirty. The reception staff looked like the cleaning staff at times and did not know what was going on at times. the welcome drink and food that seemed to be out for arrivals when we lft, was a mess in the fpyer when we arrived, not sure what that was about. room was very nice, partial sea view was excellent with west facing room, saw the see and lovely sun sets. ther is building work in the shape of a huge crane next to the hotel ,but no noise problem . Our daughter found the crane quite exciting when it moved! Lots to chose for for breakfast, but could vary it a bit more.

Had 10 days in the Pestana Grand in July and enjoyed it very much. It's a touch bland, though nowhere as soulless as the Ocean Park and Crowne Plaza. The staff were helpful and the rooms very comfortable, although we decided to upgrade to a seaview. The only negative was the price of meals in the in-hotel restaurants - the same as Reid's - and quite unjustifiable. Better value to eat in the good choice of restaurants in the Lido area, or in town. There are fewer choices locally. The Pestana Grand has a lovely pool area, but it can be quite windy given its position high up on the cliff. Handy gate onto the prom/walkway and the Magic Tea House nearby (under same ownership) is an afternoon haven.

Just came back from a 10 days vacation at the Grand and we're really happy with the choice we made. Pool is great, service was attentive, SPA was professional, breakfast excellent, rooms spacious and comfortable, location is very good. Less positive: prices on everything not included in the packages. It's hard to understand why a ham&cheese sandwich costs more than 10 euros... Restaurants are also extremely expensive, average 35€ per person, without any luxuries. As they promote the hotel with competitive room prices I suppose they want to catch up with the prices on everything else. Too bad, as people tend to go to other places for their meals and tend to go to local supermarket for their daily needs (water, snacks...). It’s not nice to see so many people entering the hotel with so many plastic bags from supermarket. Apart from this, I highly recommend as a holiday/family destination! Ah, and for lunch, don’t forget to pay a visit to the next door tea house: very good snacks, fantastic staff and more reasonable prices (belongs to the same group).

Just spent a week with my family at the Pestana Grand. Wife, plus 18 yo son, and 16 yo daughter. Excellent modern hotel, with spacious well equiped rooms. Very nice bathrooms with powerful shower. Dressing gowns, tea/coffee making facilities provided. The fridge is empty apart from a couple of complimentary bottles of water and milk. Best to stock it up youself from the nearby supermarket rather than pay typical hotel prices. We had a "partial sea view", but there didn't seem to be that much partial about it. The more mature clientel that Madeira attracts means there was always loungers available, and the fantastic heated pools at the Pestana Grand were rarely busy, and as my photo's show were often completely empty! Note these are seawater though, so be prepared for the taste. There were rules about not reserving loungers with your towel before breakfast, and one of the 3 outdoor pools was meant to be reserved for adults only, but these seem to be ignored and not enforced by the staff. But like I say, it clearly wasn't a problem. My son also made a lot of use of the well equiped Gym and saunas. The indoor pool looked nice, but we never used it. The spa treatments and hairdressing were all quite good value, but in the end my wife never used them. As other's have commented, the breakfast buffet is great. It might be a little unexciting. but you will never go hungry and there's lots of variety, though the lady cooking fried eggs, pancakes and omlettes didn't understand poached eggs. Nice to have sparkling wine included and even beer on tap. We used the poolside bar a couple of times for a snack and drinks. Typical inflated hotel prices but nothing to complain about (just walk a short distance to one of the local snack bars if you want to save a little money). We also used the coast bar in the evening for a cocktail or two. They were showing the world cup on a big screen using a projector, so it was quite busy those nights. We ate at the hotel's Italian restuarant one evening and that was superb. Highly recommended. Even better that we were given a complimentary meal voucher by the hotel management (pushed under our door one day for no apparent reason) which we used here and so it didn't cost us anything apart from drinks. There are lots of other good restuarants within walking distance. I recommend the Monumental grill and Le Chef for a reasonable meal. Had no problems with service. Rooms were spotless and cleaned promptly every morning. Restuarants had plenty of service on hand. There is a free coach service into town, but be prepared to find the coach is full so get there early. However, a taxi is only 7 euros. There is an excellent new shopping centre a 100 metres away with a wide range of something like 100 shops, probably better than going down town for shopping anyway. There is some building work nearby, but I would it seen you could say the same about every hotel in the vicinity. It was nearing completion and didn't disturb. Overall, not quite what I would describe as a genuine 5 star hotel, but a very good 4 1/2. More like a top rate business hotel (the modern styling contributed to that). We couldn't fault anything. On the other hand, no 5 star luxury hotel comes as cheap as this did. The package we went on from Strawberry World was truely excellent value for money. As for Madeira, it's a very nice place, though downtown Funchal was looking a little tired and run down in my opinion. Best to go and tour the rest of the island. We hired a car and the modern new roads that have cut tunnels through the mountains are excellent. Not much traffic and very quick to get around the island. However, going to some of the best viewing places requires quite a climb up some steep roads. But worth the trip

Spent a week is this wonderful hotel in Funchal, Maderia. Very high standards with regards to room, bathroom,service,cleanliness,pool facilities and in particular the breakfast. Would you believe HOT coffe every morning, freshly cooked eggs,omletes,pancakes. Bottles of Bubbly the works. You could spend an hour at breakfast and not want to eat the rest of the day !!. Friendly staff and good service from reception to breakfast waiter,especially the new one who started the week we stayed, he was very attentive to all our needs. Great standard, Great staff, Great Hotel in lovely grounds. we will be back next year, I hope.

My husband and I have just returned from a week at the Pestana Grand and had a relaxing and very comfortable holiday. We found the hotel to be clean and our room was spacious, with an excellent en-suite. The hotel was very quiet and there were very few children. Laying beside the pool was peaceful and although still some nearby building work this did not disturb us. The staff were attentive and helpful and we found the food in all the hotel restaurants to be of very good quality. The sea view from our balcony was lovely. The garden was disappointingly small but the nearby promenade very convenient for an early morning or after dinner walk. We would recommend the Pestana Grand to anyone wanting a quiet, relaxing holiday.

Spent a week here with my seventeen year old neice (probably the youngest in the hotel) but really enjoyed our stay. Room was really big, reasonable sized balcony and not too bad a view. Breakfast included and loads to choose from, from eggs to fruit to pancakes to complimentary champagne - how civilized to start your day with a couple of Bucks Fizz. Hotel ran a free bus in to the town and a taxi back was between 6 and 8 euros. Did the cable car to Monte then down on the wicker basket sledge - i screamed - my neice laughed - do it- great fun. Quite a few decent shops around including Zara and Mango for the younger generation. Really enjoyed the stay and hopeto return with hubby at a later date.

Spent a week at the Pestana Grand from 15th May. We had originally booked the Atlantic Bay (for the 4th time), but were offered a free upgrade as the Atlantic had been over-booked. The hotel was everything we had been promised, food good, good sized room -kept clean, prompt service and an excellent gym/spa. The evening entertainment isn't anything special however and neither are the hotal gardens. For an island where the views are a highlight the panorama here is unspectacular. Building on adjacent land seems complete and there was no building noise. What the hotel lacks however is a soul. The bar area was usually deserted (except for the excellent bar manager). We are in our 50's so we're not looking for wall-to-wall partying, but it would have been nice to see some signs of life. Next year we're back to the Atlantic

My wife and I have recently returned from a week's holiday at the Pestana Grand via a special offer from Atlantic Holidays of Gloucester..We were very well looked after in all respects and overall our short break was exceedingly good value. The hotel being relatively new was very clean, had large bedrooms with impressive en-suite bathrooms. The staff were very friendly despite the fact that they were rather overworked and this shortage of staff in some areas is the only criticism which could be levelled at the hotel. Nevertheless our room was always made up early but in contrast on some days only one person was available to service the busy poolside bar. We mainly ate in the 3 speciality restaurants providing full waiter service but the service was a bit patchy, due no doubt again to the shortage of staff. Given the large number of excellent restaurants in close proximity to the hotel I think we would opt for bed and breakfast should we visit the Pestana again. We found Madeiran people to be very friendly and helpful and in particular Alison Law the proprietor of the Vienna laundry situated in a nearby shopping centre who went to extraordinary lengths to advise us on what to do and where to go to get the most from our visit. We will most probably return to this hotel later in the year.