Funchal holiday apartment: Funchal

As other reviewers have mentioned - the photos do not really do justice to the apartment. It is a very well equipped, luxury apartment with modern furniture in a newly built block.

Just to clarify, there is a new washing machine and a tumble drier, plus an iron and ironing board (not mentioned on web pages).

Firstly, the flat is right in the centre of Funchal, but the name of the road is similar to another road 400 metres away. The half wit of a taxi driver dropped us at the wrong location and we had to walk to the right street. If you are dropped off in a shopping street, you are in the wrong street! The metered taxi fare on a Saturday evening was an incredible €33 - up a third since last year.

We met Paul, the friendly manager, at the flat, with no problems. The main lift goes to the 5th floor, but during office hours, there is another lift which goes from the clinic on the ground floor to the 6th floor.

We found the flat to be very comfortable - including the beds! And, yes, the yapping dog was still there, making its presence felt now and again, but the noise did not disturb. There was occasional street noise, but as the flat is on the 5th, it was a minor irritant only.

We went in February and the only problem was the lack of heating. In fact, I swear it was warmer outside than inside! Obviously, apartments in Madiera are built to be cool, but this was a bit too cool for us. We contacted Paul and he promptly supplied us with 2 electric radiators, which took the chill off. We plan to return to the flat but will take warmer clothing next time. Of course, it may well be that we are just wrinklies who are too used to central heating! Hardier souls may have no problem.

Overall, this apartment must be one of the best we have ever stayed in - and we will return.

One final point - my wife decided to sample the Madierian health service. She fell and broke her wrist whilst out walking, so we went to the nearest civilisation and requested an ambulance. It arrived with in 10 minutes, despite us being way out of Funchal and she was taken to hospital, examined, x-rayed and a cast put on, most efficiently. I had my European Health Insurance card (the old E111) with me, so there were no problems and we didn't need to use our travel insurance. I don't recommend that you copy her, but it was good to find that the treatment was excellent - despite having a EH Card which had just expired. Ooops!

I would recommend this apartment mainly for it's central location that was accuratelty described on it's websight.
On arrival we found the apartment to be on the sixth floor but easily accessible by way of the three lifts from the main door and from the secure car park and clinic situated below, but would not reccommend this apartment for people with walking disabilities .We found the apartment to be beautifuly clean with most of the amenities you would require for your stay.
The only draw back in booking this apartment is that it has no air conditioning,this would make it very uncomfortable in peak season or any other hot spell.

This is a very spacious flat which is very well equipped and decorated to a high level. The pictures on the web site don't do it justice. There are 2 bathrooms each with bath, shower, toilet and bidet (one is en suite). Kitchen has high quality fridge/freezer, washing machine, tumble drier and good quality oven and microwave and a wide range of pots and pans etc. There are 2 TV's one in the living room and a decent size flat screen in the master bedroom. There is loads of cupboard/storage space. The balcony is spacious enough (runs the length of the flat, but is unsuitable for families with very young children as the gaps between the balcony rails are quite large. Security is good as you have a key to the lobby area and then a 5 digit code to use the lift. The flat is on the 6th floor but the lift only goes to the 5th floor, therefore a potential problem if you have mobility issues. It is also in an ideal location. It is in a flat area of Funchal literally 5 mins from the sea front, cable car, bus station, supermarket and 2 mins from the indoor market and fish market. Therefore ideal for getting around.

The negatives are that the beds are hard and therefore not comfortable to sleep in, plus because of its central location there is a lot of traffic noise, the street below is on one of the bus routes. There was also a "dog from hell" in the neighborhood which started barking at around 9:30 p.m. and would bark at various intervals throughout the night, sometimes constantly for an hour at a time! Obviously something that is beyond the owners control but it must be annoying everyone else in the area as well, so you would hope all the neighbours at some stage they would try an sort it out with the owner of the dog. The noise is not so bad with the windows shut, but as there is no air conditioning the flat gets hot quickly with the doors shut. If the owners installed air conditioning and more comfortable beds then it would be more or less perfect.

Therefore in summary a lovely flat in an ideal location, but is spoilt by uncomfortable beds and lots of external noise, therefore if you sleep through anything it is ideal but if you are a light sleeper I would advise against it.