Hotel Caju — Hotel in Funchal

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Hotel Caju. The location in Funchal can't be beat; it's right in the heart of the centre and you can walk almost anywhere. The hotel feels quite new, the entire building seems to have been recently renovated. As a result it feels really modern and stylish throughout. Staff were professional and efficient. ||We stayed in the Junior Suite and loved it. The room was so spacious, modern and well appointed. There was a wrap around balcony with views across Funchal that I really appreciated. The bathroom was huge as well. Robes are provided along with a Nespresso machine for morning coffee. The hotel was so quiet and peaceful, we barely heard anything throughout our 5 night stay.||They offer breakfast though we only had it once, as we were up really early almost daily to get out to hiking trails. The breakfast was tasty the day we did have it, and plenty of options were available. On the mornings we were up early, we took advantage of the hotel's breakfast to go, which was pre-packaged boiled eggs, a couple of small sandwiches, some nuts and some fruit. This worked quite well for us for our early starts and we greatly appreciated this, as nothing on the island is open to source food elsewhere that early. ||We had prearranged parking, which as others have noted, is at the sister property, The Vine Hotel, about a 5 minute walk away. We didn't mind the walk to and from the garage at all. I will say though, on check in it was quite confusing - we had been advised to pass by the hotel first and drop our bags / check-in. But when we arrived we discovered there is nowhere to stop at all without blocking the road, which we ended up doing briefly. I dropped my partner and the bags and kept going, but I didn't know where specifically the garage entrance was. In hindsight, I would've appreciated some more information in advance regarding how this works. The other thing I will note about the parking, is that going to the car early in the morning (around 6AM), we never could figure out any way of getting down to the garage other than walking down the ramp from the street. Not a big deal, but it didn't seem right and was a bit of a hassle. ||That said, these were minor inconveniences and it wouldn't stop me from booking again. I will be...

Hotel Cajú is a delightful boutique hotel in the heart of Funchal. I stayed there before and after an 8-day hiking tour of Madeira for a total of four nights in two different rooms. My rooms were beautifully decorated, and I really liked the stone walls, balconies, comfy beds, and modern bathrooms complete with a rain shower and extra deep sink that was perfect for hand washing laundry. The rooms were quiet, and you could adjust the temperature to suit your needs. I appreciate the sustainable actions this hotel is taking to be environmentally friendly (e.g., supplying glass bottles of water that could be refilled at a water station located in their lower-level fitness center). ||What really makes this hotel great is their wonderful staff and adjacent café, Prima Cajú. I especially enjoyed chatting with Christina, the daytime front desk person at reception. Her warm demeanor and genuine interest in the guests made everyone feel valued and welcomed. She is a real gem! Hélder, at the evening reception desk, was also extremely helpful. Guests were treated to incredible breakfasts made to order (a fantastic way of reducing food waste compared to other hotels’ breakfast buffets). The café staff were also very pleasant and enjoyable to interact with. The café has a funky and creative vibe with what appear to be moss and plants hanging upside down from the ceiling in flowerpots. Christina clued me in that only the moss is real. I also had a delicious and healthy lunch there when I first arrived at the hotel. ||I used their small fitness room a few times (i.e., hand weights and exercise mat). It was great to have a mat to stretch out on after some vigorous hikes!||Although I was travelling by myself, I never felt lonely at this hotel. I highly recommend staying at Hotel Cajú! It is within walking distance to many activities near the waterfront, Old Town, and several museums. The pretty Jardim Municipal Garden is just a few blocks away. There is a grocery store within a 5-minute walk and a tasty Indian restaurant just down the street. I will stay here again if I am able to return to...

Modern and clean, great location. Small hotel with only around 20 or so rooms. Staff were friendly and helpful, not sure if it is family run, but it had that sort of feeling. The restaurant is only open for breakfast and lunch but the food quality is excellent. Very fresh ingredients and healthy options. Booking in is a must though even for guests, it’s very popular but small and open to non-guests, so fills up quickly. For the evening there are lots of good restaurants nearby (the hotel does some snacks via room service but we didn’t try them).

It is a short walk straight down the hill to the start point of the various hop on hop off tour buses, which is really convenient. Also there is the marina where you can take the dolphin and whale watching tours. Can’t fault the location.

We pre-booked transfers to and from the airport (€24 each way) which was really convenient and efficient. This was not via the hotel, however they did offer us a transfer service but it was €35 each way, so we just went with a 3rd party company and it was fine.

The room itself whilst clean and modern was not entirely to my taste, in that the wardrobe area is “open” so all your clothes are always on display just making the place look untidy. In our particular room (304) the toilet was essentially at the end of the bed and the door was basically a glass flap that didn’t fully seal the doorway, so it felt a bit indiscreet. Some people won’t care about, especially if you are a solo traveller, but my English sensibilities would prefer more of a separation between toilet and bed. It would be better if the toilet was around the corner by the shower and sink, but not all rooms are laid out in the same way, so there are options.

On the plus side, the room has an iron and board, along with a decent sized fridge for keeping your drinks cold, and tea/coffee making facilities. It also has a nice little balcony terrace to sit out on a warm evening with a glass of wine.

I would recommend the hotel and would personally stay here again but would take a different layout room...