Monte Carlo Hotel, Funchal > Reviews > Madeira hotel with character

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money	Good
Quality of Rooms	Good
Standard of Service	Good
Cleanliness	Good
Quality of Facilities	Good

Advantages:	Appearance, character, central location
Disadvantages:	up a steep hill

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

We had an enjoyable stay at this hotel.
What sold the hotel to us was its look. It has a traditional colonial appearance; a Madeira building that guests must have stayed at a 100 years ago. It has its own unique character and is such a contrast to all the big modern concrete blocks of hotels set along the coast. It may not be luxurious but it more than makes up with charm and grace of a bygone era.

Location
The hotel is situated in Funchal, the main town of the Portuguese island of Madeira.
The airport is located in the outskirts of the town so the transfer time here is short. The hotel is situated close to the centre of Funchal. However, it is positioned up a steep hill without public transport. As such it offers magnificent views over the town, the sea and the mountains. If you have children or you are not very mobile, however, it would be totally unsuitable. The hotel does run a minibus to and from the centre but not frequent enough to be of any use to us. We walked; and it was quite a walk. It was very steep so good for fitness but a bit tiring at the end of the day after going out for dinner. Being so steep it wasn't that easy going down either. We did the trip twice a day usually: once to go out sightseeing and another for our evening meal. It was, though, the closest hotel to the centre that we came across. All the other large family hotels were set so well out from the centre that a bus would be needed to get to and fro.

Accommodation
We stayed in a twin room. This was a good size with a very high ceiling, which was excellent for coolness. It had a bathroom including a shower, toilet and bidet. The room was very basic but comfortable. Since we were out all day, this was all we required. It is possible to have a room with a sea view if you pay a supplement. We found this to be unnecessary as we only went to the room for nighttimes. There were plenty of excellent views from the terrace area and it was more pleasant to sit there than take in a view from our room.

Facilities
We stayed on a bed & breakfast basis. Thus we had limited experience of the restaurant. We had dinner there only once and it was not that good. My partner was vegetarian and asked specifically for food without meat. When drinking the soup, we found pieces floating in the pea soup. On enquiring the waiter he said something on the lines of "It is OK, it is not meat, it is only ham!" There were plenty of inexpensive restaurants in Funchal itself to make it unnecessary to eat at the hotel.
There is a nice swimming pool. It is unusually located round the back further up the hill seeming like it was on top of the hotel itself. There are further lovely views from the surrounding terrace and even whilst swimming in the pool!
The highlight, though, is the terrace where you can sit under the big leaves of banana trees and relax after a hard day's sightseeing.

We found it a great base from which to explore the island. As long you have the legs for the climb up and down into town and prefer style to substance, then this is the place to stay.