Pestana Carlton Tower Suites, Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal

A handy base for exploring Funchal, with easy tour pickups and a great location. The hotel has lovely indoor and outdoor pools, plenty of roomy shared spaces and bars, and very spacious rooms with a great bathroom. Breakfast had just about anything you could want. They knew their gluten-free options well and brought a plate of gluten-free bread and pastries each morning for a coeliac guest. Definitely recommend it.

Marcelino, our waiter in the bar, was amazing and gave excellent service. The Pestana Carlton is a lovely, very well located hotel, and although it's quite large, there's room for everyone. Breakfast has a good range of choices. I did find the information about hotel events lacking. You have to scan to see what's on, but it would be better to have something on the TV or in newsletters.

The staff's care made a huge difference for my family. When our 4-year-old disabled son had a medical emergency in the middle of the night, the night team quickly got us the help we needed and kept me calm. The manager called the next day to ask how he was doing, which meant a lot. Later, our son came down with chickenpox, and the staff arranged for a doctor to come to our room, brought us food every morning, and supported us throughout. Pedro at reception also made things easier by having our new room ready before my husband and daughter flew home today. I'll be here another four days and feel at ease knowing the team is here to help me and my son. I can't thank them enough for their kindness and support. The hotel itself is amazing too. The facilities, location, and rooms are all perfect. We had only been here 25 hours when we booked a return stay.

The kids had very friendly staff looking after them. The pool is big, and breakfast has a really varied buffet with good quality food. We were happy there was a kids club during the week, though we would have liked it to run on weekends too.