Hotel Girassol - Suite Hotel

First rate suite,Room 807. Nice view, all staff very friendly, from reception to pool bar to restaurant, excellent service but a big shout out to Joao Pedro, the young man in the restaurant, so professional with amazing customer service skills, he is an absolute credit to you. Always plenty to eat and enough choice (if I had a criticism at all, it would be that the hot food could be a little warmer). Loved having the suite with a seperate bedroom. Room cleaning excellent. Lift says space for 6 persons but in reality I wouldnt have more than 4/5 people in as its a very tight squeeze up and personal.. Lots of different areas to sit in the hotel which was nice. Nice to have a bathroom with a window to open and also a window that opens in the bedroom. Room had fridge and kettle which we made plenty of use of. Didnt use the spa so cannot comment on this. So much to see and do in Madeira, but strongly recommend Monte Gardens at 15euro per person. You can get there by bus, taxi (barter for the price up) or the cable car which is 20euro return per person or 14.50euro per person single way. We got a taxi up once as already done the cable car we paid 20euro. When the cruise ships are in, or at least more than one, there can be a long queue for the cable and can get very busy in Monte gardens and Funchal but down every street there is something to see. The town is beautiful and full of history and is kept very clean with lovely artwork and statues. The ambassador gardens and the park area next to it are lovely also and there is a great feature fountain on the roundabout into town. Also, look out for the dapper concierge outside the Savoy Hotel. The other end of town is a walk to the tunnel, very nice. Anyway, I would highly recommend the Hotel Girassol, and everything Madeira has to offer.

We booked this hotel via a Jet 2 package as the price was very competitive. Initially we had booked a standard room but having read some reviews about this class we upgraded to a suite and ended up on the 8th floor. We were warned in advance that building work was ongoing nearby…..however only on the very odd occasion did this disturb us. At check in we were told that our room was still not ready so had a drink by the pool and waited. The hotel is well positioned near all local amenities and there were a large selection of bars and restaurants nearby. It is probably around a mile or so walk downhill into the main part of Funchal. There is a main road in front of the hotel which can be noisy especially I think if you are on the lower floors. The pool areas are very pleasant and even though the hotel was full for easter there were always plenty of empty sun beds. Breakfast was a buffet and fairly average in a rather non descript restaurant area. However many tables seemed to be reserved for large coach parties. Our room itself 810 on the third floor was fairly spacious. The bathroom fittings had seen better days and the door to the suite looked like it previously had a self closing mechanism which for some reason had been removed. Needless to say the door didn’t close on its own any more and this was annoying. The bedroom had a ceiling fan which was noisy and the lounge area had air conditioning which did not seem to work very well. We found the room to be very hot and stuffy and did not sleep well. The staff were very pleasant and helpful. Overall I think as mentioned in other reviews this is not 4 star….its 3 star.

Nice clean hotel, very friendly and attentive staff Food was basic but good. Only reason I have to give this hotel only 2 Stars was because the interior walls are absolutely paper thin! Having to listen to our neighbours having a pee 06:30 every morning was disgusting! You have been warned. Sorry Girassol but I can’t see how you will be able to fix this problem.

First time in Madeira, not a great experience. Rooms were comfortable and clean, maid service was good. Some areas of the hotel are a bit dated. The food was not so good, very limited choice and quality not great. A few restaurants round about. Some entertainment. I’m afraid I wouldn’t go back, the area is not suitable for disabled people lots of hills.

A decent four star hotel (official rating). Rooms were good with a lounge area separate from the bedroom with fridge, kettle with tea/coffee and milk. Whilst there is a tv in the room we never switched it on. The main road (Estrada Monumental) runs in front of the hotel but we were never aware of any traffic noise either in our bedroom or in the public areas. Food in the restaurant was good and we could always find something to eat that we liked. The restaurant was busy in the evening but we never had a problem getting a table. Service in the bars was quick and efficient and all staff we encountered were friendly and approachable. As with most places in Madeira you're never far from a hill. For someone with reasonable mobility it's a fairly easy walk down into town and the marina area, although we did get the local bus back for 1.95 Euros pp. . Nos. 1, 2 or 4 stop very close to the hotel. Internally the hotel does look a little dated but given they went nearly two years with little or no income I can undertand why. All in all we enjoyed our holiday at the Girassol

THIS HOTEL WAS SOLD AS 4* WHICH IT IS NOT , Definitely 3* , Hotel is situated next to a very busy noisy main road and is a good walk downhill to a lovely rocky beach, no sand anywhere. Rooms are basic TV is ancient no Bluetooth or usb, No decent shops nearby taxi or bus into town,food and drinks ok but restaurant very busy.