Pestana Carlton Madeira Ocean Resort Hotel

“A rather outdated hotel with friendly and helpful staff.”

We have been to Madeira before and had previously stopped at some of the Portobay Hotels (which we like) on the Island. We decided to try somewhere different - I have a Pestana loyalty card as we had stopped at some of the chain's hotels on the Portuguese mainland. We chose the Pestana Carlton to s… more

We have been to Madeira before and had previously stopped at some of the Portobay Hotels (which we like) on the Island. We decided to try somewhere different - I have a Pestana loyalty card as we had stopped at some of the chain's hotels on the Portuguese mainland. We chose the Pestana Carlton to stay in for its location and its 5* rating, and the New Year's Eve dinner. First impressions were that the hotel looked dated, and that was an impression that stayed with us the whole time we were there. I think this impression was emphasised more when we had an invite from the hotel for a drink in the 'English' pub. Instead of the expected social drink, it was actually to try to sell to us a Pestana time-share deal -- might work for the average British punter - pub environment, etc, but not for the seasoned traveller. When the 'salesman' realized that we were the latter - he excused himself quickly. It made us laugh as the experience took us back to the 1970s when package holidays were in their infancy! Overall we couldn't fault the staff at the hotel, they all worked very hard and this couldn't have been more obvious at the New Year's Eve dinner. At the dinner everything appeared to run like clockwork. However, formal Black wear was expected, but it was soon apparent those adhering to this simple rule were in a minority. The various food courses at the dinner were cold-ish and uninteresting. The first course was lobster - it came with a few trimmings, but it was bland and tasteless, and the third course was fish decorated with mussels - same comment. Perhaps the only warm course with any sincerity was the beef. Musical entertainment was good and so were the staff, but overall I felt the price I paid (over 300 euros per person was a rip-off) - but the wine wasn't too bad and kept coming! After the dinner one could go onto the 18th floor terrace (at a cost of 60 euros) to enjoy the midnight firework display and a glass of champagne. Elsewhere on Madeira we had previously enjoyed the occasion, but not this time. We did get a prime position initially, but my wife decided, after being skewered with a stiletto heel to beat a retreat to the back of the crowd. I stood it out despite being consistently pushed and squashed. We thought that some people had actually gate-crashed. Bear in mind that this is the 18th floor terrace - no crowd control and everyone was pushing - clearly a health and safety issue here. Again the experience was not worth the money. That said, it was the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff that were the good points about this holiday, but as mentioned before the hotel is showing its age. We will choose another hotel next time we visit to Madeira,

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“Great Location”

Spent 2 weeks here end Nov/beg Dec. Weather was perfect; 20 deg C virtually every day. Outdoor pool area beautiful to see but a bit chilly for swimming. However indoor pool was much warmer and only busy before breakfast. Fantastic breakfast buffet. Rooms well maintained and spacious and having a fr… more

Spent 2 weeks here end Nov/beg Dec. Weather was perfect; 20 deg C virtually every day. Outdoor pool area beautiful to see but a bit chilly for swimming. However indoor pool was much warmer and only busy before breakfast. Fantastic breakfast buffet. Rooms well maintained and spacious and having a fridge in the room was useful. Even the city view was a great view of the hills surrounding Funchal. Hotel was spotlessly clean. Hotel is a 2 min walk out onto the main road down into Funchal. My mobility is not great so we bought 7 day bus passes and got the bus outside the Savoy Palace. It takes about 5-10 mins down into the centre of Funchal and buses run approx every 5 mins. Great value for money compared to neighbouring hotels. Guests seemed to be mainly English and retired and because it was in term time the hotel was very peaceful and uncrowded.

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