We have stayed at the Madeira Palacio many times and have always enjoyed staying there, we have reccommended the hotel to many of our friends who have also returned. The staff are the hotels biggest asset and nothing is to much trouble for them, the views are fantastic the hotel is clean and comfortable without being stuffy. We will return at least twice in 2006 and can't wait to get there, we book direct and the hotel send a car to the airport to collect us fantastic service.

We booked this hotel through Expedia as a last-minute Christmas treat. Our main criteria were some measure of luxury and a well-appointed indoor pool and spa, should the weather keep us indoors. We were guided by previous Tripadvisor reviews. The Palacio came up trumps and we were delighted with our choice. The accomodation was more than adequate, and the customer-service ethic of the staff was excellent.

Bedrooms were a good 4-star standard with roomy balconies and the twin-washroomed bathrooms approached 5-star. We always think that it is a treat to have complimentary towelling dresing gowns.

The public rooms are extensive, spacious and elegant, with outstanding ocean views.

One area for improvement is that the bedrooms lacked full satellite TV coverage (though they had Eurosport, CNN and BBC World) so I had to go to the well-appointed clubroom to watch live soccer. The clubroom also had free internet access.

The outside pool was excellent and the poolside service was very attentive although the menu was limited.

The new inside spa and pool was unquestionably worldclass and offered much better facilities than the ritzy Reids Hotel. In fact the weather was very good over Christmas 2005 so we were able to use the outside pool and sun deck for four days out of our five.

The location of the hotel was perfect for us, being on the edge of town - therefore more leafy and quieter that most Funchal hotels. The free bus to the town centre (a 10 minute trip) was efficient and frequent through to 18:00 hours. Alternatively we could walk downhill to the town, for much of the way along along a spectacular cliff-top promenade, and get the hotel bus back up the hill.

The hot breakfast buffet is extensive and sets you up for the day ahead. The hotel restaurants were pretty good although you do want to get out to other places from time to time so we would not recommend a full-board package. The cafe-bar opposite the gates was remarkably cheap, cheerful and good, and there are plenty of other restaurants around. The hotel's Christmas Eve gala dinner of 7 carefully designed dishes with unlimited wine and liquers was excellent value at 75 Euros.

All-in-all the hotel offers good value for money at the mid to upper end of the market, and it is a good place for couples or families.

Having read other peoples reviews I think I must have stayed somewhere else!
The hotel and staff are tired.More like a 3 Sar.
The food was badly cooked and quite poor.
In particular around the pool I found the service poor and the food 3 star.
Eating out was the only sensible option.
The hotel is in an inconvenient and not a very nice area.
Massive hills to access the coastal walk.
Comfortable beds and reasonable quality bathrooms.
I suggest the management saty at the Cliff Bay Hotel to find out what a real 5 Star hotel is like.

Have just returned from a week at this fabulous hotel. We could not fault it at all. Food, rooms, service, amenities, decor all excellent.