Vidamar Resorts Madeira

Just back from our sixth holiday in six years to the Vidamar Resort Hotel in Madeira, I can say that this hotel does not fail to impress, from the monment you arrive until you leave everyone is so friendly and helpful and nothing is too much for them. You have a great reception staff always polite and smiling headed by Albertina, then there are three guest ambassadors Tatiana,Simone and Susan who are there to answer any queries and book tours etc, their knowledge is second to none.We had our room on the top floor of Tower Block one there are two blocks altogether around 300 rooms, the view was fantastic and with the weather so good you had the sunshine from sunrise to sunset so no need to move from the balcony is you did not want to.. The Vidamar offers a dine around option and instead of the Ocean Buffet you have a 15 euro reduction on any of the 3 other restaurants the Italian, portugeuse and the Japanese Sushi, and there is also the Sabor de Mar restaurant at the sea platform where you can have lunch if needed, you can swap your dinner for lunch if you wish as we did on two days as we tried local restaurants. Everywhere is so clean and tidy, rooms spacious and with everything you need including a fridge.This was a great relaxing break with fantastic weather and a great variety of food everydayin the restaurants. Thankyou Mr Brian(boss) for putting up with us again always a pleasure to meet you and Ricardo. Well done Vidamar cannot wait to return again next november, best wishes to you all and keep up the good work.

Will start with what was 5 star,the room 638 was exceptional,lovely bathroom with great shower and bath,lots of toiletries,spacious room with large bed,tea,coffee,milk,plenty space for clothes and a beautiful balcony with the best sea view you will ever see with a bonus of watching cruise ships pass by to and from Funchal.Also 5 star were the staff who worked tirelessly for our benefit.The cleanliness was also very good and for a large hotel like this was well done. I'm giving the food 4 star but 3 and a half would probably be fairer,I was brought up in a working class family late 1950s 60s and you ate what was placed in front of you or you went hungry so I am very fortunate to be one of these folk who will eat anything.I loved the smoked salmon every second morning and the various cold meats and cheeses were lovely,porridge ok,bacon,eggs,bread all fine,even prosecco was a nice touch but I thought the evening meal could have been so much better,one night it was very fatty lamb chops done in mint which were like a bad Iceland fare,Other nights had dry pork and dry chicken wings but I must say I really enjoyed the sea food when it was there.little moan was when you were shown to your table the waitress immediately asks you what you want to drink and if you say could you wait a few minutes they lift all the glasses away.The outdoor pools were extremely cold and you have to really move around when your in,lots of people went down the ladder to the sea,I did as well and it was same as pool.The indoor pool is in the free spa which also has a jacuzzi,a small sauna and showers.Pool is warm and good to swim in but I found it just a tiny bit dirtier due to people coming into it from outside.Watched the gardeners,they were brilliant and kept everything lovely.Theone massive negative we had was as the hotel is in 2 blocks connected on 4th floor the block we were in had 2 tiny lifts that hold 5 people at a push and one of them was broken our whole stay,We were here because my wife had just come out of hospital and was told to go somewhere hot and totally relax so to get from the 6th floor to dining room on floor 1 it was an awful lot of stairs and considering there were people 4 floors above us we stood forever trying to get in the lift,most of the time I used the stairs and got my wife at bottom to free up space for others.Used the restaurant at pool and food was very nice,entertainment in bar on 4th floor every night was ok as well.For elderly people it is a long way from actual hotel to poolside along corridors that can sometimes take time to light up.This is a very nice hotel with great staff,fantastic views and very handy to get into the heart of Funchal,35 minute walk or 10 minutes bus.Pity you can't get bed and breakfast as there are hundreds of restaurants all around

Am on my third day here and thought an early review was needed. Overall this is a very good hotel, particularly if you’ve booked with saga as you get all inclusive for the same price as others charge for half board. Public areas are spotless as is my room. Generally the staff are amazing, very friendly and can’t do enough to help you. There are one or two (actually one) who walks around like her face has just been slapped with a wet fish (for all you Monty Python fans). Food is of a very good quality but the evening selection is very limited for the main course. I really expected more for a five star hotel. However, the food in the dine around options is amazing and great value. The real test is whether I would return. The answer is yes, except that saga have hiked the price by over £300 next year and I’m thinking that there may be better places for the money.