Duas Torres, Funchal

Advantages: Cheap in parts, Great beaches
Disadvantages: Hawkers, Long Flight

...BALI AND NUSA DUA, KUTA I went to Bali in September 2002 and we stayed in the tourist region of Nusa Dua, which is only about 15 minute drive from DENPASAR, Kuta Airport. The hotel we stayed at was called Melia Bali which is one of the top hotels on the Island. Before I tell you more about my experience here I would like to tell you all about the VOA which stands for Visa on Arrival and you will have to pay for this on arrival and is available to the following countries, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States of America. People of these countries above will be able to apply for a VOA, which is valid for either 3 or 30 days upon arrival... Read review

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Advantages: Good rooms, helpful staff, free bus into town
Disadvantages: Its a bus ride from town.

...into the capital city Funchal and the harbours. The room was a really good size with decent aircon, a fridge and a nice bathroom. All rooms have a balcony. The cleaning staff did a good job and everyday the room looked as new when we got back from our trips into the island. Breakfast was excellent and you can eat in the restaurant or outside near the pools. The quality and selection of the food was impressive. Breakfast is serve yourself, buffet style but as soon as we sat down we were asked if we wanted tea or coffee and it always arrived quickly. Sparkling wine was also always on ice in case you wanted a bucks fizz with your brekkie. The buffet included a good selection of cereals, muesli, yoghurts and fresh fruit. Hot breakfasts were available including everything you could want for a full english plus more. Eggs were cooked to your requirement... Read review

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Advantages: Informal, clean, decent food, right near the beach
Disadvantages: Hideously expensive bar and wines

...We stayed at the Pestana Bay "Aparthotel" four-star hotel in Funchal (the capital of Madeira) in August 2005 and I'm happy to recommend it to anyone reading this. It was clean, conveniently placed (i.e right near the beach and with a nearby bus stop for trips into town), not too formal or "stiff upper lip" and the breakfasts were pretty good. COSTS: We paid just over £500 each including flights, for a 2-week stay in August, which we thought was pretty good value given that it's not the cheapest of locations. This included buffet breakfast each morning. The bar is expensive and probably best avoided if you need to watch the euros- we paid something like 10 euros for a Southern Comfort and coke, and a small bottle of beer. There are plenty of bars in Funchal where you can get the same drinks for under four euros, so I would advise... Read review

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