Hotel Riu Madeira - All Inclusive

Prime Location: The hotel is situated directly by the ocean with a beautiful promenade and scenic views. Guests appreciated the proximity to the boardwalk for morning or evening strolls and the convenient free shuttle service to Funchal city center.(based on 1 review)

This is the 2nd time we have stayed at this gem of a hotel. It has delighted us both times. The hotel is set right on the sea so we feel we had gorgeous views all around us. We stayed in a room on floor 5 this time, floor 7 last time and could sit on the decent sized balcony looking at and listening to the sea. After a little dip in the hotel pool, there are plenty of sunbeds to choose from to soak up the sun, many of them are positioned so you can watch the sea to relax. Food here is plentiful and hot with a good selection for us, rarely a queue at any of the stations in the main restaurant and the snack bar had enough to choose from to keep us going in between mealtimes. Staff here are all so friendly and helpful, the waiting staff remembered what we liked to drink and the reception staff always had a smile and were on hand to answer any questions we had. The rooms are spotlessly clean, the housekeeping staff do such a good job, in fact the whole hotel had a just cleaned feel throughout. The hotel does have a decent sized gym (again, lovely and clean) with enough equipment in it to keep your fitness regime going, although, honestly, we spent lots of time swimming in the pool or walking on the promenade just outside the hotel gates. We used the hotel shuttle bus into Funchal, and enjoyed some of the beautiful scenery around the hotel on many walks, and lets not miss out the fact that it is only a very short journey from the airport. We can't wait to visit again, thank you for a lovely, relaxing stay!

We returned after 8 years to what was our favourite Riu for our 12th visit. And the changes were obvious. The refurbishment and "downgrading" from a Palace were obvious but did not in anyway affect our views of the hotel. In fact for us the experience improved our holiday, and we will not wait to revisit. Physically the hotel is lighter internally, more airy and less intense (though solid dark wooden wardrobe doors in rooms still exist) The snack bar has been redesigned and is now more comfortable, and there is now a "proper" specialist restaurant. The wall between bar and entertainment area has been replaced with glass, meaning you can see what's going on without being overwhelmed by noise. From the guests point of view the hotel is clean, efficient and well run, and the staff we found were as hard working and pleasant as ever. In fact we were recognised by some "old timers", and made to feel as welcome as ever. The food in my opinion has improved, especially at lunchtime. It may be repetitive to a point but is of a very good quality and varied. The fish selections were the best we have come across, the lamb and beef "chef specials" as good if not better than Riu palaces we have stayed at, and I ate well twice a day. In the past you had to go out for lunches or eat in the limited snack bar, and as the roads are very steep this caused oldies like us problems. Now no need to move from the hotel and a good range of choices. The entertainments seemed good, the bars offered a very acceptable range of non and alcoholic drinks and the whole place had a very relaxed and "carefree" atmosphere. (Though I still think the beer is awful!) Apart from one mystery neighbour with a very loud voice at 1 a.m. you could hear a pin drop after 11.15. The rooms may not all have a good view, but the pool area seemed crowded but not full so sunbathers could relax every day. In fact my wife decided after one full day we were coming back next year regardless, and i concurred. If you want a relatively quiet relaxing holiday this is the place to be.