Pestana Grand Premium Ocean Resort

Lovely hotel situated on the cliffs in Funchal West with Atlantic views and east to Funchal and west to Cabo Girao. We stayed in a balcony sea view superior room which was well appointed. Hotel facilities are many with indoor and outdoor pools, gym, spa, lovely gardens and 4 restaurants. All staff were friendly, helpful and professional, particular mentions go to Shankar and Rui from the restaurant team and Dina on Reception. Food was good, a breakfast buffet to die for and the Trattoria, Au Tagine and Cabo Girao restaurants serving delicious speciality cuisine in a more intimate setting. The local bus (No. 2) gives a regular service into Funchal centre and is good value at 2 euro per journey. Most organised tours offer hotel pickup and drop off. We certainly enjoyed our stay and are already planning to return next year.

My wife and I along with two friends stayed at the Pestana Grand from 8th September 2025 for eight days. We had Seaview rooms which overlooked to pools and pool bar. Our room, 1216, on the second floor was very spacious and comfortable and had a walk in shower, which we did ask for when booking the holiday. The hotel was very clean throughout. It was amazing how quiet the hotel was even when there was entertainment by the pool. The food on offer was very good and very varied to meet all peoples needs. We were on a Half board basis. Food was buffet style and there was as much or as little as you required. All of the staff, including reception, waiters, cleaners etc were very friendly and were always polite and helpful. Nothing was too much trouble. Aside from the buffet evening meal there were other restaurants in the hotel you could choose, which also came under the banner of half board. We chose the Italian on one evening. There was also a Moroccan and Madeira restaurant to choose from. The hotel also had a couple of specialist nights for dinner around the pool area. There was a Madeira night and a Paella night. I would certainly recommend this hotel if staying in Funchal. Please be aware that there are a number of Pestana hotels in Funchal and if travelling by taxi make sure you know which one you need to go to. To all the staff at the Pestana Grand on behalf of my wife and I, thanks very much for making our holiday a great experience.

This was booked for a solo holiday group. On arrival it was the most chaos I’ve ever seen at a hotel check in. The room was nice with a balcony over looking the “garden” the car park, hang over the balcony can see the sea. Sea view rooms have a stunning view. The room is spacious, there is a safe, fridge and air conditioning. You only have 1 key and electricity requires the card in the slot, therefore air con only works when you are in the room. Maid service hit and miss, some days they give you a clean glass or cup others they rinse it out! The bathrooms have a bath with a shower in it, the showers all seem to leak, the baths are slippy so ask for a bathmat. The towels are on the whole really thin and need replacing. The hotel has a buffet dinner and breakfast, food is plentiful but hot food is generally cold. The staff waiting the tables for drinks are very hit and miss, took me 3 days to get a decaf coffee. The trattoria is excellent hot food and delicious offerings. The pools are nice and the gardens stunning. You can access the cliff top walkway from the hotel. There is entertainment most nights by the pool bar, generally really good singers and one night a great dance exhibition. The pool bar does great cocktails and they have 2 happy hours. The sangria is excellent. The bar staff are hit and miss some of them excellent, helpful and polite but some are rude and don’t want to wait on you.

Great beach hotel.

Nice place, a very good experience, amazing service, great food, great music and a very good ambient in general. Going again

Amazing hotel and the staff, specially the Restaurant and bar, always gelo Full and ready to help. Would definitly recomend.

We were a family of 4 + 2 grandparents, two excellent spacious rooms cleaned every day and with all the required amenities The hotel itself has an ideal relaxing setting, very quiet even with a few younger families around & plenty of space for sun loungers, a seat at the pool bar or on the tables for something to eat We used Uber to get about as the walk up to main road is steep and Funchal was not really walkable in the heat (about £4 to get to Funchal which is a 10 minute drive) Food was good, particularly breakfast, albeit the advertised daily different buffet offerings didnt really seem to be what was expected (!), decent regardless quality and options Indoor pool area, gym, evening singers, spa and shop all add to requirements, plus we used the concierge to book a few things (try Vila de Carne and Vila de Peixes they even come and pick you up/drop off - outstanding) Only one thing i would say is unusual and to brace yourselves is the odd billing system - 10% tip is added on every item when you sign which is fair enough i guess - every transaction is ‘pending’ on your bank account until you leave and settle bill - you are invoiced for the total on check out but your bank will still hold pending until hotel release which is just odd Reception did explain this would happen but im awaiting the pending being cancelled and imagine the ££ i await ‘back’ after 2 weeks and 6 people, not an insignificant sum Nevertheless a great experience

Good

Grand Hotel is a decent hotel, but its five-star rating creates expectations that it does not meet. I would personally rate it as a four-star property. The food was tasty with a wide selection, but during breakfast several dishes were often empty at the same time and plates or glasses were frequently out of stock. Juices were basic concentrate, not fresh. Staffing seemed insufficient – for example, there was only one bartender at the pool bar. The three à la carte restaurants are included with reservation, but the menus are limited and food quality only average. Facilities show wear and tear; in the shower the water temperature changed unpredictably and sometimes became scalding hot. Housekeeping was good and the room was clean, but service overall felt distant and at times unfriendly. I even witnessed a complaint about a too small lunch portion being ignored and the bill simply handed over. In theory it ticks the boxes for five stars, but in reality it delivers more of a four-star experience.

I enjoyed every minute of our stay in this hotel and i really recommend it for family vacation as it has everything for all member of the family