Appartement in Funchal

We found this smart apartment to be spotlessly clean, spacious and extremely comfortable (especially the bed). It has been very tastefully furnished to a high standard and is extremely well-equipped - everything we could possibly have needed was there.

The small balcony affords sea views and we enjoyed watching the huge liners come into the harbour. We were even able to watch dolphins frollicking between two of the tourist catamarans one morning, so don't forget to take your binoculars!

The pool area was equally good - the large pool was beautifully clean and it is set alongside well-tended gardens. There are plenty of sunbeds - no umbrellas, but there was always some shade to be had under the trees.

The central location of the apartment is a real bonus - a ten-minute stroll downhill will take you past the beautiful Santa Catarina park and to the start of central Funchal with its various bars, cafes and restaurants. From here you can take a level walk to the old part of town (very characteristic, especially in the evening), either along the promenade or through the centre of town. Of course, it's uphill going back but anyone with a reasonable level of fitness would have no problem at all.

Worth a mention is the handy little grocery store (which always seemed to be open) that we discovered very close by - cross at the top of the road and take the small road almost opposite to the right of the Pestana Casino Hotel, the road goes downhill and bends to the right and the shop is on a corner right opposite Bernini's restaurant.

The airport bus will drop you by the garage, very close to the top of the road. Going back, the closest stop was the one outside the park, opposite the hospital gardens, and it arrived about 15 minutes after the start of its journey at Praia Formosa.

Claudio dealt with our enquiries and booking very promptly, and I would recommend this apartment to anyone looking for a smart and comfortable base close to the centre.

We stayed in the apartment for 5 nights and loved it. The location was perfect - a ten minute walk into Funchal Town Centre - a bit of a climb coming back from town but we soon got used to it. The apartment is very tastefully decorated and has everything you need for your stay. It was lovely having evening drinks out on the balcony and watching the sunset. If you go in the forseable future the nearest supermarket, Pingo Doce, is closed, but we found a smaller one in town (just past the tourist office and more or less next door to Zara) which had everything we needed, although not such a good choice as Pingo would have had.

We sat by the pool most afternoons, athough didn't venture in.

The apartment was very quiet and peaceful and most of the time it seemed as though no-one else was around.

We got a taxi from the airport but the airport bus going home - it is not clear where the bus stops but we can confirm that it does stop at the bus stop on the other side of the main road (Rua de Infante) going towards Funchal and comes about 10 minutes after it leaves the start of its journey. You can get a timetable from the Tourist Office.

The apartment was lovely: sparkling clean, perfectly adequate facilities and modern, good quality furnishings. Full size kitchen meant we could eat in most nights. The balcony, to echo what previous reviewers have said, was a little on the small side, especially for those with vertigo, but thereagain, more than adequate for two people. We did enjoy watching the cruise liners coming and going from the balcony! The climb up the hill from the town was good excercise, but no problem if you have average fitness levels.
Claudio's representative was very helpful and welcoming on our arrival and gave us some local information.
Forget about the expensive pre-arranged tours and sightseeing trips - we made good use of the local service buses. You can get a ticket which can be topped up with the amount of journeys you wish to make. You can get information from this from the official Tourist Information office near the cathedral (beware the many others who are just commercial ones hoping to sell expensive tours), The bus journeys are so much more intersting and you get to meet the local people. All busses depart from the promenade area, there are different companies serving different parts of the areas. Some of the journeys are a bit of a white knuckle ride around hairpin bends but we felt completely safe! We did a long lavada walk between Palheiro Ferreiro gardens (disapointing) and Monte - this was a great walk with views and delightful tea garden on the way. We also wenet up to Eiro do Serrado and walked the nun's path to Curral das Freiras which was another lovely walk, these were all by public buses. But the highlight of our bus travels was catching the service bus to the far north west at Porto Moniz which was a 3 +hour trip each way, but included two stops for refreshements each way. It cost a fantastic 4.80 euros each! The driver was great and slowed down at viewpoints for us to take in the breathtaking coastal scenery - this is a must if (when!) we visit again.
We can thouroughly recomend this apartment and would visit again.