Enotel Magnólia — Hotel in Funchal

I stayed for a week as a solo female traveller. I booked with Tui UK and paid for a sea view and balcony room. This is worth it as the views of the sea are lovely and the rooms face south east; giving some lovely sunshine. There is a busy road between the hotel and the coast so be prepared for road noise. For a quieter room opt for the back of the hotel, which looks out onto Magnólia Gardens Park. In either case, be sure to ask for a high floor, to maximise views. I was on floor five of six. No noise from other rooms throughout my stay. |The room and hotel were very modern and spotlessly clean. Each morning the whole pool area was rinsed down. Whilst the hotel seemed pretty full the pool area was always peaceful. Robes and pool towels were provided in the room and there were always plenty of sun beds, if that’s your thing. I chose to do island tours and whale/dolphin watching safaris each day and to swim on my return each evening. I usually had the outdoor pool to myself around 6.30pm. There were more takers for the spa pool, which was hotter. All the loungers were very smart. The pool times were 7.30am to 9.00pm. Please note the outdoor pool is very shallow but this helps to keep the temperature up. I managed circuits of crawl though. |I didn’t use the bar but it seemed to offer drinks throughout the day.|I ordered drinks for my evening meal in the restaurant and paid at the end of my stay. The restaurant is well laid out, with lovely views to the ocean. You could sit where you wished each day. |The breakfast buffet was plentiful, including breads, cakes, fruits, cereals, continental, hot and salad type garnishes. Lots of fruit juices including a daily health shot and nice americano coffee. There seemed to be eggs four ways and guests choosing pancakes and syrups too!|The half board evening meal was in the same restaurant. There was always a soup, rolls, lovely salad buffet, fish, meat and veggie options, with hot vegetables, rice, couscous, chips, potato variations on different nights. Desserts included ice cream, gateaux, cake, mousses and fruit salad. While gluten free bread and cake; and lactose free milk and yoghurt was readily available for breakfast I struggled to find dishes for special diets in the evenings. As I have intolerances rather than allergies, I had to make educated guesses as to which dishes would be suitable. I was though well all week, so the food suited me well and was always very well presented and tasted delicious. Show cooking is advertised but this is just a grill at the front of the kitchen, with a little of that day’s fish or meat. More fish and meat options were on the actual buffet. Friday night was Madeira Night. I made a point of trying the local specialities including scabbard fish and beef skewers - very nice!|Evening entertainment was low key but provided seven nights a week for about an hour. The Friday Folklore Show was the best.|Throughout my stay I only spoke to one guest briefly from Holland but the hotel staff were all friendly towards me. Groups tended to keep themselves to themselves, so the atmosphere was calm and respectful. I was the only Tui guest dropped off/collected that week. The other guests were from various European countries, which was nice mix. I had plenty of company anyway on my daily tours; and had no bother arranging hotel pick ups for my trips, which I booked on trip advisor.|Enotel Magnólia is one of the closest hotels to the centre of Funchal. It’s twenty minutes downhill going in but quite a climb coming back. If you cut through Santa Catarina Park it feels less of an ascent! Funchal is beautifully chic and clean. I’m glad I was so close to the centre, for my sea trips and the cable car to Monte. If you want a smart, modern, clean and calm hotel near to the centre of Funchal then Enotel Magnólia will suit...

The hotel itself is quite old but well maintained, the commodities it offers are decent (semi-indoors pool is great), the bedrooms (stayed on the 3rd floor) are spacious enough but lack power outlets, in the bedroom there are 2 available, 1 with the tv power cord (none near the beds themselves) and in the bathroom there is an electric shaver outlet with a trigger for EU/UK voltages, the wireless signal is weak but the bit rate is ok (leading to decent speeds but unstable connection) and there is a second hall door which separates the bathroom from the bedroom due to another (locked) door which connects to an adjacent bedroom (it gets noisy if you don't keep it closed), you also get a nice small balcony with a partial view of the uninhabited islands (instructed by other hotels) and a complementary comfy bathrobe along with pool towels and the typical set of towels (yes you have to give them back).

Regarding breakfast there is some diversity of goods, you can request a custom omelette (prepared in front of you), pancakes are made in batches so you might have to wait a bit, good assortment of allergenic and intolerance alternatives, fruits, veggies, yogurt, multiple kinds of bread, a toaster and more of the typical hotel breakfast.

The food served at the bar failed to meet expectations due to shoddy meat quality and cuts as well as subpar "bolo do caco" (typical bread type of the island) for the same price tag as some of the more than decent restaurants around with service ranging from great to bad depending on the staff.

As for parking space, they stay true to their word on the private parking promise but there are only 22 spaces indoors and 4 outside the private park thus there is a tendency to see parked cars in every nook and cranny possible. Since it was one of my deciding factors I was disappointed.

Friendly and attentive staff (particularly on the reception desk) overall with rare exceptions here and there (mainly cursing in portuguese or a general disengaged expression when greeted). Worse offence was a bar clerk (who replaced a golden standard worker mid meal) which had an empty room to cater to except four of us and upon noticing our signalling and dissatisfied looks (refer to the paragraph about the bar's food) purposely ignored us and forced us to go to him to charge the meal with no apologies or even a trace of guilt.

I didn't take advantage of the nightly entertainment so no comments on that end.

Overall this was a tough choice between a 3/5 or 4/5 but I feel that a 3 would not be fair so I gave it a 4, to be...

We recently stayed at this hotel for a week, and it was a delight! The hotel strikes the perfect balance between luxurious and laid-back. It’s not overly fancy or pretentious, but it still offers an elegant and comfortable experience—a great getaway for relaxation combined with exploring Madeira. We loved our room and the view from the balcony. Even though we were only on the ground floor, we could still catch a glimpse of the sea between the buildings.

The hotel is conveniently situated, just a 15-minute walk to the city center, yet it still feels like a tranquil retreat.

The staff truly stood out for their friendliness and attentiveness. We had both breakfast and dinner at the buffet restaurant almost the entire week. Great quality. There was enough variety for both healthy and comfort food choices, including local dishes. I also saw there were quite some gluten free options.

In the evenings, you can enjoy the terrace and inside bar with service available until 11 PM. After that, the hotel becomes quiet. For those looking for more nightlife, there are restaurants and bars just a few minutes walking from the hotel that stay open late.

The outdoor pool was perfect for swimming and lounging under the sun (in November, the sun was on the pool until about 3 PM). The warm semi-indoor pool was another great feature. Its open-wall design offered the best of both worlds: a cozy environment for all weather conditions with a lovely view of the outdoors.

I haven’t stayed at many hotels before, but in my experience, they often feel less luxurious or comfortable than advertised. However, this hotel delivered exactly what it promised—and even more! From the moment we arrived, it was clear that this place offered excellent value.

Overall, we can’t recommend this hotel enough for those looking for a no-nonsense, modern, and stylish place with great service...