More about Pestana Promenade Ocean Resort Hotel
Fantastic Modern Hotel in a Great Destination
by TripAdvisor Member rx8man
Stayed at the Pestana Promenade from the 3rd - 10th October 2009 on the sixth floor on a standard bed and breakfast plan. Room was very spacious, comfortable and had great views out to the sea and pool area. Breakfast was OK. Never really varied and was generally of a good quality. We didnt eat evening meals in the restaurant as it was quite expensive.
There are a number of good restaurants nearby which are worth trying. We liked "il basilico" which is a short walk down the promenade and the "Taj Mahal" indian restaurant near the Marina. This was better than the "Bombay Palace" in the lido area.
WiFi should be free of charge nowadays in these modern hotels, no excuse for charging. There was also NO tea and coffee making facilities in the room which surprised me.
All in all, an excellent hotel, in an excellent location in a fantastic holiday destination. I shall certainly stay here again when we next return to Funchal. Oh, and try the levada walks. We did Rabacal and 25 Fontes on the Tuesday with Madeira Explorers - worth the money, excellent excursion.
go and try it !
by TripAdvisor Member cybilh
We booked this holiday with the pestana group (atlantic holidays) days before we went and they were very efficient and all arrangements went smoothly . We were very happy with the hotel , our sea view room on the 3rd floor had everything you could wish for including a small well equiped kitchen (incl dishwasher etc). The room was spacious contemporary and comfortable as was the bathroom . The staff in the hotel were at all times friendly and happy to help in any way they could .Breakfast was organised and always fresh with plenty of choice . We only ate in the hotel on 1 occasion at night and the food was okay but expensive compared to local eateries.There was a singer on this evening also - DIRE ! this marred our dinner and we could not leave the area quick enough ! The meal was served in the breezes area but the hotel did not make use of the beautiful outdoor deck and patio area for dining in the evening which was a real shame as the holiday ex;perience is always enhanced by dining al fresco .
Overall we found the Pestana Promenade to be a very clean , contemporary hotel with lovely warm friendly staff and the best pools and sunbathing area in the area . we will be back !
Would go again.
by TripAdvisor Member getawaychick
We arrived at Pestana Promenade on August 24th and stayed for 1 week. We had actually already been in Madeira for a week previous as we have a timeshare at Porto Mare Residence, three hotels east along the promenade. We were invited to stay at Promenade on a 'referral scheme' as we were giving some thought of buying a second week in Madeira.
Our overall impression of the hotel was very good. Check-in was quick and easy. We were given good directions to our room which was a studio apartment facing the pool area and a good view of the sea. We were directed to the lifts and stayed on the third floor. The corridors were, at first, very dark. BUT that I suspect was due to being a bit more enviornmentally friendly (so as not to waste electricity) and lights were motion activated. We found our apartment easily.
The room was very spacious. We were plesantly surprised at how much space we had. The balcony was large with a table and four chairs, two of which were reclining. The downside was that they were a wicker design but made of plastic and in the sunshine they were impossible to sit on unless you had a towel as they got VERY, VERY hot. The air-conditioning was extremely noisy so we had to sleep with the patio doors open instead. I liked the partition between the bed and the sitting area. The beds were twins pushed together. Drawback was the floor was wood and the beds moved. The kitchen was very well equipped and also came with a dishwsher which was handy. The bathroom did not have a separate shower but the shower over the bath was excellent. Thre funniest thing in the room was the 'naughty window'. So if you want to spy on your other half taking a shower or give someone a thrill then this is the hotel for you. Don't worry the toilet had a separate frosted door for ulitmate privacy! A negative was storage. The bedside drawers as well as the unit holding the TV and DVD player were tiny. There were only two drawers in the wardrobe, not enough, but the wardrobe did have lights!
The pool area was fantastic and a feature of the hotel. There was a jacuzzi and three separate pools separated by a wooden walkway. One of the pools had red rubber chairs but were difficult to sit on. The sun loungers were arranged around the pool. There was little ground space to put some of them elsewhere to allow for 'private sunbathing'. I thought that when the hotel gets busy and more established (it had only been open 6 months when we went) this would be a problem. I'm probably wrong but there is ony average 150 sunloungers and they seemed crammed together. They were comfy and whilst a guest, the hotel was quiet and peaceful and you had your pick of sunloungers. At the welcome meeting it was said that a 'holiday owner' had reported 50 reserved sun loungers at 9am one day. This was dealt with quickly and so no reserving (apart from getting a quick breakfast or lunch) went on.
The spa seemed small and unused. Again, I don't think the hotel was in full use so this may change. An advantage over the Porto Mare Residence was the steam and sauna rooms were free of charge and they had a massive jacuzzi that could accommodate up to 20 people, albeit it was noisy!
We used the deck bar for drinks, lunch and the barbeque meal. Very impressive. The bar area is set slightly below pool level so when seated you are in fact at head height with the pool. There are also windows to watch all the goings on under the water!!!!
Food is delicious. We loved the barbeque. It cost about 29 euros each and for that you got as much as you wanted plus soft drinks/water with either wine/lager and coffee or tea afterwards.
Staff were attentive and polite. They didn't rush us when we, along with Carol and Jonathan, were too busy nattering on our last night during the barbeque!!
We had a look around the hotel, as part of the referral scheme, and their sales team are much better than the Savoy sales team who sold their hotel as 5 star and who were pushy. Pestana are not; like Porto Mare. They have a certain professional attitude whereas they give it ti you straight and they DO NOT push you to buy. In fact, what they offered was excellent value for money - but we didn't buy. Why?
1. Their term was slightly longer than what I wanted.
2. The hotel was very good, couldn't fault it, but the decor and ambience didn't fit my mood. In fact, we are thinking of looking at Pestana Village and Mirimar which is more of our style.
3. The term to pay for the apartment was short for our circumstances.
We loved Pestana Promenade, even the strange lift on the left hand side that seemed to break down and do weird things! They had in fact got the hotel in perfect shape but the minimilistic look is not my style. I would certainly recommend this to a friend and even as a holiday ownership as their sales team were excellent and the prices reasonable.
Lovely Hotel better than expected.
by TripAdvisor Member jily43
We have just spent 12 days on half board at the Pestana, had read the good reviews but was still a little aprehensive as we usually stay at 5 star and wondered what would be lacking minus that extra star. Well if there was anything we failed to find it, we were very impressed with everything, of course it was lovely to be in very new property with all furnishings etc in first class condition. The situation is very good with lots of walks on either side of the hotel and some nice little places to eat. Now we realise this, we would probably go B and B next time. However, the food was very good in the Hotel and the fact it was served in the more intimate Deck Bar which has fabulous views made it more enjoyable. I think the intentiion was to serve it in Breezes also very nice, where breakfast is served but it is much larger. Maybe when the Hotel is full they use Breezes.
The pool area is fabulous and the large jacuzzi very large with the infinity view. The staff are all very professiional and friendly nothing is too much trouble. Quite refreshing as we haven' t always found that in Madeira. The room was of a good size with everything you need, drawer space was a bit limited, but we managed. There is a flat screen t.v. you can get BBC if you can't live without it! The balconies in the guest room are very small, but adequate for a couple of chairs and a small table which is wll you really need . I would certainly recommend this Hotel we are a retired couple, but it would also apeall to younger guests. Any downside ? I thought the drinks very expensive, so stick to the Happy Hour or have a nice G and T on your balcony, you have a fridge in the room. Otherwise nothing that concerned us, just go and enjoy it, you will. We will be back next year.
Impressed with Hotel and Staff
by TripAdvisor Member elginsandy
Lovely large room with twin beds, chaise lounge, settee, table and the inevitble telly and 'phone.
Bathroom very well equipped with hair dryer and the usual soap, miniature bottles of shampoo, shower gel, shoe cleaning kit, ooh and a shower cap for the ladies.
The staff were friendly, helpful and courteous at all times and most of them spoke excellent English.
Breakfast on the terrace was a lovely way to start the day and evening meals around the "Deck Bar" were to be enjoyed at a leisurely pace.
The Hotel is situated down a flight of steps from the main road and bus route into Funchal town. Getting the bus in and out of town was simple and cheap.
Lots of very good restuarants within a short walk of the Hotel and lots more in the way into town and in town itself. You must try both the Espada (fish) and the Estepada (Beef) dishes, and of course the local Madeira, Madeira Cake and wines.
A very good and much cheaper meal can be obtained in most of the "Pingo Doce" supermarkets where you pay for your food by weight. (A kilogram of food costs about 10 Euros - and that's a lot of food).
Local bananas and other fruits were delicious and plentiful from the market in Funchal and shops along the road.
The gardens around the Hotel are a blaze of colour and I would dearly love to see the island in the spring, but that will have to be our next rip.......
Absolutely perfect
by TripAdvisor Member Nevada177
That was really perfect vacation. The hotel was fantastic - all is brand new, the stuff is very helpful and friendly. We felt like at home all the week, I was very sorry to leave Madeira and our room :-) We will definitely come back
Nice hotel, shame about the food.
by TripAdvisor Member MidlandsBrummies
We booked a week here through Travelzoo. Our room was conveniently situated on the ground floor by the pool area. It had two good sized twin beds, and was very comfortable, although the lack of tea/coffe making facilities came as a surprise.
The pool area was excellent, and the main restaurant was ideally situated to take full advantage of the morning sun. The downside was the food. Breakfast was OK, but nothing special. The evening meals at the Deck would struggle to get a 3 star rating, even though the standard buffet was around £30 per head. So, if you do go here, think about staying in a self catering unit, and eat out. There are many reasonaby priced good eating places close by. The cake/coffe shop just down the road from the hotel, (next to the Spar) is not to be missed!
Excellent Location
by TripAdvisor Member Dogsbs
Booked a week through Co-op group and Atlantic Holidays. Holiday started off well because I won an Ipod !
First time visitor to Madeira/Funchal and loved the place. Hotel was about an hours stroll to the west of town center but not too much of a problem as buses were frequent and cheap, and even a taxi was only about 6 euros.
Very friendly and helpful staff except they didn't appear to have anyone who could fix the air-conditioning in our room. Other couples had a similar problem so we just left the door out to the pool are open.
Room was on ground floor leading out to the garden and pool area. Standard hotel room but good size, comfortable (and large twin beds) and bathroom with a window looking into the main room. (fortunately it also had a blind)
We were on a B&B basis with a couple of evening meals in the deal, one of which was a BBQ but the problem with this was it was a buffet style meal and you ate indoors and not outside which was a lovely area to sit.
Pools were good size and again very clean. Staff were always on hand to assist with sunbeds/umbrellas.
One down side was the number of people being shown around the hotel by the sales people selling time shares, although there was no aggressive sales pitch to those not interested. Did find it a little more aggressive outside the hotel.
Would definately try some of the restaurants outside the hotel as the food was alwyas good
All in all a very pleasant experience and would be more than happy to stay there again
EXCELLENT
by TripAdvisor Member golfersanon
Our first time to Madeira and we were not dissapointed this hotel was first class We would recommend this to anybody going to Madeira could not find fault with anythng we look forward to May when we are going back----- cant wait !!!!!!!!!
SUPERB - WOULD RECOMMEND WITHOUT HESITATION
by TripAdvisor Member LESLEYANNENorthEast
This hotel was wonderful, nothing is too much trouble for any of the staff, service is very good, very clean, food good, going back without a doubt !
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