Enotel Lido — Hotel in Funchal

We have just returned from this hotel after a 10 night break and oh what had fabulous time we have had.||The hotel is well presented and is very clean throughout. The only criticism to this would be toilets by the snack bar and indoor pool these were not always clean as they should be.||Our allocated room was on the 2nd floor overlooking the pool. The noise from the entertainment wasn't an issue in the evening as we out of the hotel or watching it. I should imagine a pool facing view would be an issue if you had children in tow or required an early night for whatever reason.||The room was well presented and was very clean complete with x2 chairs and a table on the balcony. As other review s have commented on is the issue of drying wet swimwear as the line provided is in the bathroom with no heat or airflow so we ended up placing our wet swimwear on the balcony chairs. An airer attached to the balcony wall would solve this issue.|||The bedding was changed several times throughout our stay and towels upon request. There was no instructions about towel changes unlike other hotels around the world so we just placed dirty towels in the bath. There was no specified place to get pool towels replenished so I don't know how you could have requested them if your holiday consisted of 100% pool time like many guests are. This didn't affect us as we chose to explore outside of the hotel throughout our stay alongside pool days.||The AL inclusive food and drinks were exceptional and is the best offering we have ever had and have stayed at many inclusive resorts with a 4* rating as a minimum.| Some of the alcohol offered was branded and the local alcohol was of a good standard. The food in the restaurant was wide and varied and always included a variety of meat and fish dishes along with an extensive choice of salads and desserts.||There was an omelette station at breakfast and a pasta station in the evening along with a station for freshly cooked meats and fish. I am sure a fussy eater wouldn't starver here.|The snack bar served freshly made pizza's from a pizza oven alongside hot, dogs , burgers, chicken, salads, ices cream, fruits and deserts. It was lovely to see fruit on offer as used to struggle when our son was a child as he used to snack on fruit throughout the day so used to end up taking fruit from the restaurant at breakfast.||The staff at the restaurant provide a waiter service for hot drinks at breakfast and drinks at lunch and evening and keep your glasses well topped up along with service with a smile.||All the staff we encountered were very friendly, hardworking and appeared happy in their work. A management presence was always visible and they were very hands on too which was lovely to see.||The promenade is accessed from the back of the hotel but don't expect it all the way into town as it doesn't as is interrupted by hotels on the waters edge. The walk into Funchal is a good 30 mins and is not flat so appropriate footwear is required as there are some steep gradients.||We walked into Funchal one night and used the bus the rest of the time which was 2 Euro each each way. The bus stop is a 2 minute was outside a hotel to the left and there was always the option of a taxi as they congregated near to the bus stop to.||We met people who were returning guests and it it was lovely to see these people being recognised by staff members and being well looked after especially to towards the older clientele with obvious mobility issues.||The daytime entertainment was very low key but suited us.||The evening entertainment was on a weekly rota so if you were staying for longer than a week expect the same acts. I think there is room for improvement in both the daytime and evening programmes but this didn't stop us enjoying ourselves.||The pool area is very limited in peak season and the beds were literally on top of each other during our 1st week. During the 2nd part of our stay sunbeds were removed to account for the footfall of guests so do bear this in mind if you are travelling in peak season and this was more comfortable. There are no tables provided for this reason I would imagine. The pool area becomes very slippery so shoes are needed. We did witness a few people fall so do be mindful of this.||I would say this hotel attracts older clientele rather than families but when we were out and about this also appeared to be the case. I wouldn't let this put of younger people or families visiting but just to bear this in mind when booking a holiday in Madiera as it is such a beautiful island with lovely friendly welcoming people||We had a great holiday on this beautiful island and look forward to returning in the near future and wouldn't hesitate in staying at this hotel again and to continue to explore the...

This is NOT a five star hotel. Let me preface by saying that this isn’t a BAD hotel, it’s just what you would consider maybe a 2, max 3 star resort. I’ve included some pictures for you to get the idea. We came here from a true 5 star hotel in Lisbon thinking we’d get the same results. We could not be more disappointed. This hotel caters to 60+ British pensioners. If you are below the age of 60, I highly advise you to stay away if you’re looking for a true 5 star experience. The hotel is old and outdated. There is no doorman to greet you, the rotating door at the front squeaks so badly that most guests avoid it altogether and use the side doors instead. There are two tiny elevators on either end of the hotel, and when I say tiny I mean TINY. It can fit maybe 3 people comfortably with no luggage. They are also slow and always full, so we ended up taking the staircase most of the time we were there. And other guests quickly saw us doing the same thing and often just followed suit. The place SMELLS like a nursing home. Just old cafeteria food smells wafting throughout the hotel. I felt like I was back in my college dorm. Don’t even get me started on the rooms. We had a standard room and it came with two twin beds that were hard as a rock. The window looked out to nothing and the bathroom was on par with a Ramada or red lion back in the states. Dingy and brown and old with huge red pull tabs for old people to pull on when they fall. The hallways were out of the shining. Dark, eery, with no decorations and sometimes flickering lights or no lights at all. I’ve included a picture for reference. I had to go back to my room by myself one night and got so creeped out just walking the halls alone. We paid for an upgraded sea view room and what we got was laughable. The “deck” as shown in the pic is larger than the entire suite itself. However you CANNOT see the ocean if you sit in the loungers or the couch in the living room because the wall isn’t glass, it’s cement. The only way you can see the ocean is if you’re standing up. The bedroom is in the back so no ocean views from bed! Why the bedroom isn’t in the front where the living room is, is beyond me. For five stars you get POWDERED instant coffee and a hot water kettle. Even in the states you usually get a coffee maker. The wallpaper was also peeling off the living room wall in several places, there was no luggage rack to set your suitcase on, and yes, you have to fill up your own plastic reusable water bottle they give you. (For reference we moved to a true five star hotel after our stay here and they give you free boxed waters twice a day). Housekeeping will only make the bed. They otherwise didn’t take out the trash while they were there or tidy. If anything is on the bed before they make it they just toss it back onto the bed when they’re done. The all inclusive food (which apparently is why it’s called a five star hotel according to the hotel staff) is dreary and miserable. It’s on par with an old country buffet. It clearly services the British middle class. So if you’re British youcc be an be sure to get an average full English breakfast. But if you’re American or any other nationality, you will most likely find the offerings poor. Most of their hot dishes were lukewarm, and a lot of the bread was stale. Sure, drinks are free, but I think that’s so that you stay drunk and don’t notice the poor quality. With only one pool in the entire hotel, it’s crowded and the deck is stacked with pool chairs. The “indoor” pool is just covered, it’s not truly indoor. You don’t have an ocean view from the pool because of trees that block the view. We saw a kid fall THROUGH the pool siding while we were there. The night entertainment was something from a nursing home.. They had one pool table that didn’t have a complete set of pool balls. And the “teen room” was some bean bags and a couple of computers. The whole hotel gives off an air of sadness and fatigue. Do not recommend unless you’re 60+ and want free cheap...

We stayed here for 10 nights as a family of 4. The first thing to say is how great the staff are, particularly the breakfast staff. They were all so polite and extremely hard working.

We had a family room. We were surprised to see 2 double beds, so the kids weren't too enamoured about sharing a bed. However, when I looked back at the booking, it was clear it would be like this, I just hadn't paid attention. The room was clean and had a little mini fridge with free drinks that were topped up. The only improvement would've been if there was more storage space, as there was nowhere we could put our suitcases out of the way and there wasn't a lot of room for clothes. A drying rail outside would've also been handy as you weren't supposed to dry things on the balcony rail, however there was nowhere else to dry things as the one pull out line in the bathroom only fitted one towel on. The balcony was handy to sit out on when the kids were settling to sleep. There were some English language channels on the TV like Disney, which was handy for the kids. There were pool towels also provided in the room.

The food in the main buffet restaurant was nice as buffets go. Some nights seemed themed and went down wel. We particularly liked the sushi night. I did miss fresh cooked veg, though. There was some steamed veg present, but it tasted quite odd and was overcooked and not at all pleasant to eat. There was a good selection of food at breakfast and always enough tables for everyone. It was nice to be able to sit outside to eat. The snack bar in level 1 was handy for lighter lunches by the pool. The only disappointment was the continental breakfast available at earlier times, which we needed as we had an early transfer for our flight. There wasn't a lot of choice and the toaster was hopeless. It looked as though the food had been out all night without being topped up, so by 7am there was barely anything left.

There are also 3 themed restaurants on site, and we ate at them all. All offered 5 set courses, or a smaller menu of the same courses for children. With the exception of the Asian restaurant, which was for over 12 years only. We were pleasantly surprised at how good the food was at these and again the service was very good from the staff.

We never had any issues getting sun beds by the pool, and the kids enjoyed playing. It did get quite busy, but there was always room for people. The tiles around the pool were slippy and we saw a lot of people go flying, but there wasn't really a lot that could be done about this as they were bound to keep getting wet right by the poolside.

There was a kids club that you could leave children at. Our kids really enjoyed this. There were a couple of occasions where the activities differed from what was advertised. This is the first time we've been somewhere that we could leave the kids at, so it was nice as it allowed us to enjoy the Asian restaurant and have some relaxation time. The children were signed in and out, and little ones escorted to the toilets, so it was pretty safe.

The entertainment was varied but not the best. However, we didn't really go to much of the late night entertainment with us having younger kids. We were initially concerned because our room was close to the piano bar and above the lounge on level 5, so we were worried about the noise. This wasn't an issue, however, and it didn't disturb us at all.

The hotel's location was really handy. You could walk out the bottom gate right onto the lido. It was only a 10-minute walk to the local shopping precinct. We spent one day walking down to Praia Formosa and took taxis or Bolts into Funchal centre for very modest fares.

This was a perfect hotel for us as we had trips planned out every day. If you're the type of person who prefers to stay in the hotel, then you might find the entertainment a bit lacking. But there's so much to see and do on the island that I can't imagine why you'd want to do that anyway. We'd definitely return for...