My wife and I stayed for eleven nights at this lovely, old country house. The owner, Jeremy, kindly met us at the airport and led us to the property, a 10 to 15 minute journey.

It is a step back in time into large-rooms with comfortable furnishings. It was clean and well maintained internally although the exterior was in need of some TLC. The views of the surrounding countryside were excellent, although often shrouded in cloud; the property being around 600m above sea level. Because of this, temperatures were often some 8 degrees lower than those in Funchal and on one of the evenings we felt it necessary to light the log fire in living room. We had taken our own DVD's to watch in the evenings but they did not play well on the small,old TV.

Beds were very comfortable and the nights were incredibly silent and peaceful. We did not use the pool although the two young boys staying in the neighbouring cottage seemed to love it.

All in all, we found this location to be an excellent base from which to access most of the island. It was our fifth visit to Madeira but our first stay on this side of the island giving us a chance to explore areas we had not been previously. The scenery is much greener and far more lush than other areas we've stayed at.

There's ample space at the property for a large family and It is a great base for those wishing to sightsee and explore but perhaps not for sun-worshipers.