Hotel Riu Madeira - All Inclusive

Guests appreciate the spotless cleanliness, sea views, and modern facilities. The staff's friendliness adds to the welcoming atmosphere. Convenient location with complimentary shuttle bus to Funchal.

Had a lovely week at the Riu, I had a fall the week we left home so emailed prior to arriving to see if we could have a room near to the lifts and if we were able to check in ealier because I didn’t know whether I would be able to walk or not. When we arrived Paula immediately took us to the side desk and checked us straight in and said our room was ready which was fantastic. This got our holiday off to a fantastic start. Got settled and had a call from reception to make sure everything was OK which was lovely. Be aware there is an environmental tax when you check in, this can be paid with card. The safe was in the wardrobe and free to use. Not sure if it was worth upgrading to the sea view as most of the view was of the roof, but we wasn’t overlooked and perfectly happy. Cocktails weren’t the best either, but Whisky cream (baileys) delicious. Food was really good, always something different on each night so didn’t get bored. Pepes at lunch did the best Ribs ! We had a meal at the Kulinaruim gormet restaurant which was tasty. My favourite was the breakfasts though, getting up early, having breakfast on the terrace with the view of the pool and ocean. Bliss! There were plenty of sun beds, we didn’t need to get up early if we didn’t want to. The pools were quite cold, but the one on the left if you are facing towards the sea is a little bit warmer. Found the pools hard to get into but as I got better as the week progressed it got easier. All the staff were really friendly and went above and beyond. The lift down to the pool is from the resturant terrace and thankful that someone pointed this out to me after navigating the steps on crutches. It’s a shame the indoor pool was closed, would have liked an indoor swim. The evening entertainment was enjoyable, we didn’t watch everything but the bands we saw were good. We did two full private day tours with “hit the road Madeira” who were exceptional, very good value for money and we had the jeep to ourselves so could go at our own pace. Swimming in the volcanic lagoons was amazing. Also took the free shuttle from the hotel into Funchal (you can book a time slot there and back), so we did the cable car and monte palace gardens. Gardens were a tough walk down but got the little car on the way back up for 5euro each. After being in Funchal I’m glad we chose this hotel slightly out of town. Peaceful, relaxing and quite simply amazing. Thank you to everyone at Riu, I really hope we can come back one day.

This is our 5th consecutive year at this hotel which I think should speak for itself. The overall standard and cleanliness of everywhere from the rooms to the restaurant and pools is excellent. The food in the restaurant is always of a high standard and in two weeks certainly never gets boring. However, for us, the most exceptional feature of the RIU Madeira is the quality of all of the staff. Rarely have we ever come across such a friendly, welcoming and helpful team of people. Always smiling and always ready to help. We will be back next year with certainty.