Quinta Splendida Wellness & Botanical Garden

Amazing garden and restaurant ‘La Perla’ (a la carte, no idea about half pension buffet) I upgraded to the Spa suite with ocean view, extremely comfortable!

Booked a holiday but hotel we chose had issues fulfilling our booking so we chose this hotel on a whim - BEST MOVE EVER! Canico is a fairly quiet town, this beautiful hotel is set in the most stunning gardens. The rooms are over two floors, all spacious, well equipped and comfortable. Ours certainly felt like we’d stepped onto a film set with two full balconies and a Juliet balcony all with great views over the ocean or gardens. The gardens are amazing with different “rooms” a zen garden, herb garden and veg garden (all produce used in onsite restaurants which are excellent) You could spend ages wandering around the gardens or be sat with a drink in the pool bar admiring views over the ocean with banana trees, bird of paradise and many other spectacular plants. The staff are a wonderful friendly caring group of people who clearly love where they work. There is a lovely spa you can book into for a great range of treatments. I want to return for flower festival in may…

I spent 7 nights at this hotel as a solo traveller. The hotel is ranked 4* however, in my opinion this lacks the normal quality expected for 4*’s. My room 1067 was well appointed just outside the pool but inside was dreadful. It’s very old and tired with a moldy smell to it. No AC ( I don’t think there is any in the hotel) a 1980’s electric fan and plug in heater. Low quality tubes of shower gel in the bathroom. The bar area was nice, good service but some nights I was on my own. Busier when there was entertainment on. The spa was good and the breakfast great to set you on your day. Dinner expensive and not much around for choice in the town. A lot older clientele. A good public bus service to Funchal.

We had a three day stay. The room was huge with a large terrace overlooking the sea. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful. Spa was excellent and the gym pretty well equipped. The gardens are stunning set this hotel apart from others. Breakfast was excellent and we tried two of the hotel restaurants in the evening. The service was super and the food perfectly ok. The meal we had in a local restaurant was also pretty average and we got the impression that was par for the course maybe in Madeira. The island is stunning, the levada walks were breathtaking and it has a feeling of being in a time warp to 30or 40 years ago which is not a bad thing in many ways.

Hotel or botanical garden? Both! We spent a week in this truly unique hotel in Canico. Room was ok and big - it is whole apartment with kitchen and living room. There were also sunbeds in front of room. The staff was kind and helpful. Food in "Galeria" and "La Perla" restaurants was very good. And what's better to do after dinner than evening walk through illuminated botanical garden? Indoor and outdoor pools were ok - we enjoyed both.

I booked Quinta Splendida after reading all the great reviews on Trip Advisor, and we were not disappointed. This is a special resort, set in beautiful gardens with the most amazing spa setting. The staff are all attentive and so friendly. The breakfasts are amazing, so much fresh fruit, vegetables and variety (I'm vegetarian). We ate in the evening twice and chose the al la cart menu, and were not disappointed. The apartments look a little dated but when you read the history of this place, you realise it's this way for a good reason. There is no AC, and this might be a necessity for some, and perhaps in the peak summer months, it might just get too hot indoors. For us in September, it was perfect. The gardens are amazing, so relaxing and the view of the ocean takes your breath away. The only gripe (if I can call it that), is the issue of parasols around the pool area. I'm unsure why this has not been addressed by management. There was very limited parasols that actually worked so for others like me who had none, it was unbearable to sit poolside during the daytime when the sun is at its peak. What I found quite sad, was that some other holiday makers actually took 'their' parasol back to their apartment ready for when they used it next....selfish I think. Fortunately we were out for a few days, so didn't have the time to stay poolside. But for others who just wanted to chill by the pool, I'm sure it was not comfortable. Apart from this, everything else was perfect and I would still recommend this place to others. Our visit to Funchal was good (cable cars etc.), but we couldn't wait to get back to the resort 😊