Hotel Baía Azul

“You won't regret it”

We normally book middle of the road hotels so were pleasantly surprised at how swanky this place was. The decor in the communal areas was lovely, I've never seen so many different types of seating options. Lots of spectacular views. (Except from our room which was a "mountain view" but we live and … more

We normally book middle of the road hotels so were pleasantly surprised at how swanky this place was. The decor in the communal areas was lovely, I've never seen so many different types of seating options. Lots of spectacular views. (Except from our room which was a "mountain view" but we live and learn - it did mean we could monitor the busyness of the various restaurants over the road). There were extra touches for the flower festival which runs throughout May. Breakfast was good, lots of variety and relaxed, no sense that they'd run out of options if you didn't turn up early. The pools were good. A bit cold for my liking and my 10 year old wished they were deeper! We also played snooker, and used the garage for several days. Didn't eat in the restaurants.y only gripe would be there's sometimes a long wait for the lifts. Fab hotel and loved Madeira

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“4* but 5* experience”

Gorgeous hotel in a great location. No idea why this isn't rated 5*. Staff excellent offering 5* service. Rooms are large, lovely bathroom with walk in shower, balcony. Whole hotel is spotless. Bar area good, drinks served to your table. Reception and lobby beautiful with gorgeous marble floorin… more

Gorgeous hotel in a great location. No idea why this isn't rated 5*. Staff excellent offering 5* service. Rooms are large, lovely bathroom with walk in shower, balcony. Whole hotel is spotless. Bar area good, drinks served to your table. Reception and lobby beautiful with gorgeous marble flooring. A wide variety of seats outside, all different and interesting styles. Only minor gripes were the beds were a little hard, the pillows lumpy, and the towels provided in the bathroom are very small, but everything else was perfect. 30 minutes slow walk into town, but plenty of restaurants nearby. Seaview room is a must, as is dining in the hotel Italian sal restaurant, possibly the best food I've ever had! (Beef fillet madeira style) Pool area great, no sunbeds reserved and always available. Would absolutely recommend this hotel.

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“Mixed views”

Overall we had a good holiday at the Baia Azul, but there are some things which let the hotel down. The reception and bar areas are well laid out, and when we were there , they were beautifully decorated with floral arrangements as it was the flower festival. The pool area is quiet and we always m… more

Overall we had a good holiday at the Baia Azul, but there are some things which let the hotel down. The reception and bar areas are well laid out, and when we were there , they were beautifully decorated with floral arrangements as it was the flower festival. The pool area is quiet and we always managed to get a sunbed - there was no reserving of beds. Our room was spacious with plenty of storage, comfortable bed, walk in shower. We had a sea view room on the 10th floor and the view was fabulous, unfortunately we found the noise from the nearby padel tennis courts and soft play annoying at times - especially at the weekend. We had bathrobes which we hadn't expected. It would have been helpful to have a drying rack on the balcony. The cleanliness of the hotel was very good, we saw the meticulous cleaning of the pool area and our room was always cleaned well. Staff were generally friendly and helpful. The Atlantic restaurant and food offer were disappointing. The layout of the restaurant meant that tables were close together and often difficult to move between. There was nothing in the way of soft furnishing (chair seats, tablecloths etc) to absorb noise, and at times the noise was loud. At breakfast the coffee machines were in corners near to food areas which meant that queues for the machines blocked the way for those getting food, and vice versa. The food was inconsistent, we had some good meals, but also some poor ones. Food was often lukewarm or cold. We did inform the staff of this. The hotel is situated outside the centre of Funchal, but operates a shuttle bus which you book the day before. We found this very efficient. A taxi from Funchal costs about 10 euros. There is a shopping centre about 5-10 minutes away (uphill) which has a good supermarket and higher end stores. We enjoyed Madeira and would return, but probably not to this hotel, due to the disappointing food.

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“A mixed bag”

My fiancé and I stayed here for 7 nights and had a mixed experience. The hotel itself is spotless and the rooms were cleaned every day to a high standard. The view from our room of the sea was outstanding. On the negative side you have to pay for everything else - such as bath robes, room safe etc.… more

My fiancé and I stayed here for 7 nights and had a mixed experience. The hotel itself is spotless and the rooms were cleaned every day to a high standard. The view from our room of the sea was outstanding. On the negative side you have to pay for everything else - such as bath robes, room safe etc. We were even quoted 180 euros to be allowed to use another room to be able to shower and change for 5 hours - which I think was wildly excessive.

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