Pestana Grand Premium Ocean Resort

Excellent stay at Pestana Grand! Beautiful ocean views, clean rooms, friendly staff, great facilities, and a relaxing atmosphere. Highly recommended for families and couples.

A lovely hotel in beautiful surroundings, BUT...the beds are absolutely awful. Sooo hard. I folded 3 duvets and put them on top of the mattress, but was still getting very little sleep and aching the next day. It really spoilt my time in the peace and quiet of the beautiful surroundings. Maybe I should have complained right at the start, but it's not really something you expect to have to do in a 5* hotel. I did speak with a 'Deputy Manager' when I left and she said she could possibly have moved me to another room or given me a mattress topper. Does that mean some rooms have better mattresses than others? A mattress topper is a very poor solution. Looking back I have seen a number of reviews that highlight this problem, so it is not something that is going to change any time soon. For this reason I would not visit this hotel again.

In October 26 we stayed at this five star hotel for the third time ! Maybe this says it all ! The hotel is great value for money. It is booked on half board basis and although originally (when we booked for our first visit in March 25) we weren’t too keen on this idea we have come to love it . The hotel has 3 à la carte restaurants and you can use two other à la carte restaurants at another Pestana hotel closer to Funchal city. They do of course also offer buffet dinner but that isn’t really our “cup of tea”. The quality of food and service in all à la carte restaurants is really good. However, you need to ensure you book ahead to secure a table. Breakfast is buffet and massive selection including fizz. There is plenty of fresh fruit , yogurt , porridge , cheese and meats, hot breakfast items including sausages, tomatoes, pancakes , french toast and there is a fresh omelette station and fresh bacon . The little Portuguese tarts are to die for ! But very naughty . If you like your coffee our tip is to say no to the coffee offered by the waiters at breakfast ( it is pretty awful) but instead get your coffee from one of the bean to cup machines. The facilities at the hotel are great - outdoor pools are lovely and with great sea views too. There is also a gym and indoor pool and sauna . The hotel runs a good happy hour where most drinks are half price. This is great value and we have utilised it on most days of our stay . However, to be honest we have never found drinks to be expensive here given it is a five star hotel . We feel they are reasonably priced . So let’s talk location - it isn’t for everyone - this hotel is a good 45-50 min walk outside of Funchal centre including some very serious hills. We enjoy walking so this doesn’t bother us and actually attracts us to the hotel . It is close to numerous lidos , an out of town shopping centre , numerous restaurants and a black sand beach. It is located right on the promenade and provides lovely sunset and sunrise views. It is also a nice walk to “Churchill’s village” along the promenade in the opposite direction to Funchal centre . The rooms here are spacious with great views and everything you need . Our only minor complaint would be that beds are two twins pushed together rather than true zip and links made up as a super king bed . However , we didn’t find beds uncomfortable as a previous reviewer has commented. We love this hotel, funchal and Madeira and will return again ( hopefully next year ). We think it has a loyal following ! We once met a retired GP and his wife from the north of England who had visited 33 times !