Reid's Palace, A Belmond Hotel, Madeira

“Lovely hotel, a true experience!”

I loved my stay at Reids Palace. Service was friendly and accomodating. Extensive facilities and eating options. I especially liked the gardens and pools. The staff went out of their way to accomodate late check-out. Our room was only a bit above average but we had use of a lovely upgraded room aft… more

I loved my stay at Reids Palace. Service was friendly and accomodating. Extensive facilities and eating options. I especially liked the gardens and pools. The staff went out of their way to accomodate late check-out. Our room was only a bit above average but we had use of a lovely upgraded room after our original check-out time--above and beyond! I only wish the pools were open later and perhaps had a hot tub option for off season/evenings and that the hotel was not quite as pricey!

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“Good but not quite worth the money”

I've stayed in 12 Belmonds. This was my least favourite. The decor is mostly what you'd find in your grandma's house. Some of it is nice but it's a bit too old fashioned for my liking. I booked a room with striped wallpaper and apparently there's only 1 of those in the hotel so I didn't get it. T… more

I've stayed in 12 Belmonds. This was my least favourite. The decor is mostly what you'd find in your grandma's house. Some of it is nice but it's a bit too old fashioned for my liking. I booked a room with striped wallpaper and apparently there's only 1 of those in the hotel so I didn't get it. They were going to give me a room with flowery wallpaper but (when I said it's so busy it's giving me a headache) they changed us to a room with simple white walls. Unfortunately we found an old sandwich that smelled badly in the mini bar. Not great! The intern at check-in was lovely and helpful. But the breakfast staff were quite slow. Good tennis court. Live entertainment at the bar was excellent. The singer had an amazing voice. Comfortable beds. Overall, unfortunately it wasn't worth the £800/ night we paid for.

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“Cocktails at Reid's”

Visiting iconic hotels on our travels is a pastime of ours and during our cruise stop in Funchal, Madeira, we visited the renowned Reid’s Palace hotel. The initial impression was positive, the entrance lobby opening onto a sitting area and cocktail bar, which extended to an elegant, covered terrace… more

Visiting iconic hotels on our travels is a pastime of ours and during our cruise stop in Funchal, Madeira, we visited the renowned Reid’s Palace hotel. The initial impression was positive, the entrance lobby opening onto a sitting area and cocktail bar, which extended to an elegant, covered terrace with ocean views. The quality of décor and furnishings was exceptionally high and gave the feeling of a grand hotel. We decided to have a cocktail before lunch and took a table on the wonderful cocktail bar terrace only to be told that drinks were not served until 4:00pm. The only venue open for a cocktail was the pool bar. Our walk through the hotel, descending five floors to the pool area, further affirmed the property's spaciousness and elegance. We sat on a sofa in the sun by the expansive pool. The head waiter took our order of two Singapore Slings, and we sat back and took in the views. An attendant provided guests with hotel-branded sunglasses cleaning cloths, which was a thoughtful detail. The drinks arrived but to our disappointment the main ingredient was soda water rather than pineapple juice. We did not want to make a fuss in front of other guests so continued to soak up the atmosphere and persevered with our less than enjoyable cocktails. Lunch service had now started, and pool side service had evaporated. My wife went inside the restaurant to pay and found a suited female manager. Stating that she wanted to pay for our drinks and pointing out that what we had received were not Singapore Slings. The manager advised her that that is how they made them at Reid’s and we should have requested no soda water. My wife explained that the recipe for a Singapore Sling is standard worldwide and should contain pineapple juice rather than soda water, therefore such a request would have been unnecessary. She was told, ‘You are not in Singapore now’. Not the response that had expected. Despite this, we were generally impressed and would add this hotel to our bucket list of places to stay.

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“Anniversary colonial experience”

Booked evening meal at Williams Classic colonial hotel and cocktail lounge was great but the view that was impressive in 1870 is now blocked by the savoy hotel and the cruise terminal 🤨 Williams restaurant reminded me of a 1970 office conversion with little architectural merit The food, wine and s… more

Booked evening meal at Williams Classic colonial hotel and cocktail lounge was great but the view that was impressive in 1870 is now blocked by the savoy hotel and the cruise terminal 🤨 Williams restaurant reminded me of a 1970 office conversion with little architectural merit The food, wine and service was excellent but hugely overpriced for what it is. £500 for a less than average experience Better places to eat and better views

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