Dreams Madeira Resort Spa & Marina

Hotel is a top notch. All Inclusive with lots of food and drinks

We stayed at dreams as a family of 4 (2 kids ages 12 & 14) for 11 nights in mid-late July. On the whole the hotel was okay. We had a good time overall, but experienced frustrations that mean we wouldn’t book this resort again in the future, and wouldn’t recommend it to our friends. Location - the hotel is out on a limb, with very few local facilities. The hotel shuttle to Funchal is more expensive than getting a bolt for a family of 4 (€80 return) and only one shuttle runs once per day. The geography of the island means that the cloud and rain seems to cling to this area, so whilst the hotel may be rainy and windy, Funchal is gloriously sunny. However, the PR8 is walkable from the hotel, and the marina offers boat tours. The location is not ideal is you want to explore the island. Accommodation - we stayed in a preferred club suite. The room was really spacious and beautifully presented. However, there’s a lack of wardrobe/storage space, especially for a family of 4 resulting in it being difficult for us to be organised. The room had three balconies, one of which had two sun loungers with great views. Unfortunately we were constantly battling ants in the room, and had a quite an infestation. The hotel did try to tackle it, but they kept coming back. Housekeeping, mini bar and turn down were all consistent each day. Pools - the pools are Baltic. The only heated pools are adult only, so there isn’t a heated option for families. The lounger space is woefully inadequate with very few loungers (I counted 22 around the lower pool!) especially considering this is a big hotel. Pool towels regularly run out, and the cushions on the loungers shown in all the pr material don’t exist. There is no pool side drinks service, so you need to queue at the bar for drinks, and at peak times this can take a while. We enjoyed the sea pool but unfortunately this was closed for a significant period of the holiday due to unsafe water, putting additional pressure on the other pools. The loungers here are better, and drinks service is available. Waterpark - our kids really enjoyed it with lots of sunbeds. Once again, cold water! Restaurants - it’s been well documented that booking restaurants is challenge, and you have to literally be on the app ready to book at 8am on the dot. However, by being super organised we did manage to secure reservations each day. The quality of both the food and service varied hugely between the restaurants: Oiishi - 3 restaurants in one (sushi, teppanyaki and Asian). Service is here was great, and we enjoyed the food Carveo- great service and good quality food Sabor - pretty terrible. Slow service, rude staff and menus that don’t work. Bad at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Nouvelle - often highly praised but we weren’t impressed. Service was cold and unfriendly, and our starters were just wrong. We ordered poached apples stuffed with blue cheese, served with mixed leaves and walnuts. We received a poached apple, which was hollow with a sin

On very windy part of island but not geared up for it. Cushions not tied down to chairs - the chairs are stacked and therefore you cannot use them. Pool and surrounding area not cleaned enough. Food and trays strewn across. Lots of staff around but only 1 or 2 taking orders, making drinks, and others just standing around watching the queues. A la carte restaurants always got something wrong with our order and booking system is terrible. Restaurants regularly ran out of food half hour after they opened. I didn’t find any staff approachable or friendly. Severe language barrier. Preferred club not worth it, ants in rooms, amenities not replenished or even there in the first place. Snacks not replaced in the lounge. There are waiters in the buffet but they do not assist you with finding a table, or anything you need, they only clear plates (slowly). Kids club was good as was the coffee shop. Entertainment was very poor. Resort has potential but it should not be open until issues are all addressed. First and last time ever trying a Hyatt resort, and we travel 6-7 times a year. Do not book, otherwise you will spend time trying to feel on holiday as opposed to that lovely feeling of being on holiday and feeling relaxed. Service falls down here and you spend your time asking for things you should already have. Staff and management do not care if you are or are not having a good time.