Hotel Riu Madeira - All Inclusive

The food was perfectly acceptable, with fresh hot dishes being cooked continuously, though the main restaurant has a canteen feel. Rooms are spacious and serviced well. The shuttle to Funchal is frequent and useful, and there's a public bus nearby too. Evening entertainment is quite sedate, but probably suits the guests the hotel is aimed at. For an all-inclusive place, this is among the better ones.

I really liked the location, right by the beach, and the restaurant team made every meal a pleasure. They were consistently attentive and professional, and I'd consider staying again for those reasons. Communication at the front desk could be much better. On arrival, no one clearly explained all the services, so I had to call reception several times just to find out basic things. I also stayed a full week but couldn't get a table at the specialty restaurant because it was fully booked, which was disappointing over seven nights. I hope the hotel improves both the initial information and the reservation process. It was still a memorable stay in Madeira.

For our honeymoon, we found the hotel beautiful, well kept and very convenient. The shuttle runs to Funchal every day, and a little village with shops, a hospital and pharmacies is within walking distance, so being outside the city wasn't a problem. The views were gorgeous, and the bottle of champagne was a lovely touch. Staff were very friendly, and our room was clean, spacious and comfortable. We just would have preferred one larger bed instead of two twins pushed together. A couple of things could be improved. There wasn't a place to plug in a laptop outside the room if you wanted to work. Also, watch the food allergy labels: during our one-week stay we found them wrong at least 10 times. A slightly green "coconut ice cream" turned out not to be coconut, and my husband is allergic to kiwi, though thankfully what he tried was something else. We also tried to make an affogato with vanilla ice cream that turned out to be lemon. At one point the fish was labeled "fries". Even with those issues, we had a very pleasant, enjoyable stay.

We really liked the relaxed feel of the coastal setting. The hotel is right by the sea, away from Funchal, with a shuttle there and back three times a day that takes about 20 minutes. There's also a bus for €2.60, and we used Bolt to get to some places. There aren't many activities nearby. The pools were clean, attractive and very well looked after. Rooms were modern, spacious and spotless, though we were given twins instead of a double and just pushed them together. Service was friendly and attentive. There was a good range of food each night, but I'd have liked more pudding choices. The entertainment was good fun every evening.