Pestana Grand Premium Ocean Resort

A terrible experience at the restaurant of the Grand Pestana Garden Hotel. The service was extremely poor, some staff were rude and unprofessional. We were unexpectedly asked to pay for drinks without any prior information. Double the cost of drinks, but the quality was crap. The restaurant management is completely incapable of dealing with customers properly and answering customer questions, a bunch of arrogant and frustrated workers, and with low education and wild behaviour. The food was absolutely disgusting and you didn't even have a choice of what to eat.Everything we tasted was absolutely disgusting. Completely unacceptable for a hotel that claims to have high standards. Avoid this hotel and don't waste your time or money eating here and spending your vacation at this hotel.

The hotel doesn't offer the service of a 5* hotel. Staff is friendly but the service is not aligned with the Pestana Group practices and quality in other units. Check your bill before paying. An additional 10% charge is added to all your bills. Spa is non-existent. No understanding of customer relationship management. We will not be returning.

We came here as a family group and we could not have been made more welcome. A superb hotel in every way; great rooms, fabulous food, great facilities and excellent staff who could not have done any more for us. Quiet, ultra clean with sea views. We wanted some days together without any distractions and it was so nice to relax in the indoor pools or the outside pool.

With a good staf in a cost bar or in a pool bar with Amine me , Hugo , Humberto , Bráulio , chef Emanuel chef Madruga , you will find a good animation with a good cocktails to drink with 20 percent of discount and 50 percent for the soft drinks all this in two separate happy hours the first one begin at 17:30 to 18:30 the second one begin at 21:30 to 22:30 , welcome 🤗🤗 and enjoy with a bar team , 😉😉

I don't really write reviews but this is not a 5Star hotel and like many have already said that this hotel is all about how to make more money from guests..

We went as a couple for our 25th anniversary- most hotels usually ask occasion but nothing.

The hotels is getting dated - the room we stayed in was large. Dining area is small i think as we went this time of year it was fine. but if peak summer or holidays then i don't understand how they would fit guest in. Breakfast is ok.. the station for omelettes is manned sometimes .. or you have to go looking for someone - probably because understaffed and the employee has to do at least 3 people job . Hot drinks and juices are included in breakfast. Dinner you are expected to pay for water.. which I honestly feel is tap water refilled in posh bottles..

There are no waterfilling stations.. only in the gym which again is wrong.. luckily there is a shopping centre i a 5 min walk - this has a supermarket there too so you can buy bottles of water relatively cheap.

When we bought drinks at the bar pre dinner- we are not allowed tap water either we have to pay for water if we want this !

Reception i feel are cold and unfriendly.. I saw a couple of times members snapping at guests.. i get it can be frustrating when guests may be asking for too much an i myself work in customer service but feel there is a way to come across which reception fail to do so.

All in all i would return to Madeira.. it is really a beautiful place but i would not return to this hotel.

Hotel is lovely no problems it was after I got home I noticed an authorised debit for £114 . I settled my bill on leaving and was told nothing outstanding and all my bills were accounted for. On contacting the hotel they said that they would look into it and as yet I haven’t heard anything back. I would just suggest paying as you go.

We (my Wife and I) have been to this Hotel every year for Many years and it never fails to please.The highest standards for the Hotel,Meals,Staff, and nothing is too much trouble if you need any help or information,we just hope we will be fit enough to return for many years to come.
Thank you All once again at the Pestana Grand.

Nice and clean hotel, service was good (housekeeping and general upkeep) A short taxi ride into Funchal - Bolt and Uber now available and much much cheaper than the yellow cabs (4-5 euros at times).

Breakfast can be interesting, very hot and miss what’s available one day isn’t necessary the next and the juice machine was out of order for two days of our stay. The breakfast plates are now the size of side plates, so people are overfilling them.

Out of the entire stay no issues, would recommend that bacon is self service rather than the queue at the omelette station for people who want bacon and to look at the plate size and options for breakfast.

Overall a nice stay, and food very much the same as a all inclusive

I was really looking forward to staying at this hotel. It looked beautiful and had good reviews. We checked in early and the room wasn't ready which was fine since it was early. They held our luggage until we returned. We returned from a long fun day exploring the island. We start getting ready for dinner and shower. I turn on the shower and there is an ear-piercing sound coming from the shower head. I kept turning it on and off and moved the shower head around and no luck. Not only was the sound loud in the shower you can hear it in the room as well. I call down to the front desk immediately. They said that no one is at the hotel in the evening so someone will be by in the morning. We left early in the morning to explore more of the beautiful island. We return back to the room in the afternoon to get ready for our dinner reservation in town. Got in the shower and NO ONE came to fix it. I call down again immediately and they had someone come to the room to fix it. He came to the room to fix the shower head; however we were in the middle of getting ready for our dinner. So now we have to wait to get ready. Finally, he left and we were late to our reservation!!!!
We checked early in the morning to catch an early flight to Porto. I went downstairs and the gentleman at the desk was so rude. Never said anything except 'room number'? He had an attitude as if I was interfering with whatever you do at the front desk early in the morning.
I wrote an email to customer service and she offers me 10% off my next visit. I thought that was interesting since I live in the states and probably won't visit anymore.
It was just an overall disappointment, especially for the price.
There are many hotels around the island, skip this one!!!!

The island of Madeira thrilled me with breathtaking nature, awed me with engineering prowess and what adds to even more pleasure and a feeling of absolute contentment is the splendid blend of the above mentioned features with the extraordinary hospitality of the whole hotel staff, whether it is a room cleaning, reception or a restaurant staff. All these amazing people not only stick out with their politeness, kindness and friendliness, but also with a high level of professionalism, work ethic and knowledge of their jobs. We were delighted with a tidiness and cleanliness of our room, as it was obvious that the whole work has been done thoroughly, the restaurant food was fresh, diverse, abundant and delicious and the reception staff was not just polite, but also eager to engage in conversations, to give some valuable hints and was especially helpful in some crucial moments, such as the situation when the possible misunderstanding with a local tour agency could occur and a reception staff handled it brilliantly. My special thanks go to the receptionist Jessica Goncalves, who was extremely knowledgeable and helpful in numerous situations, always eager to give some hints and never annoyed with my frequent questions. She planned all my excursions masterfully and all her recommendations were on point. Among restaurant staff I would like to mention Ruben Pereira and Alam, whose kind, polite, friendly and vivacious presence always cheered me up. I regret for not being able to remember the names of some other really amazing people who were also doing great job in all hotel departments.
To conclude, it may sound a bit like a cliche, but I am definitely planning to come back again to this beautiful island of Madeira and I will have nothing against the idea of booking my stay in the same hotel. I hope you guys will continue to keep up the great work and amaze lots of other guests!

We stayed here for 10 nights and on the whole we enjoyed our stay.
The location is fabulous, right on the coast, the gardens and grounds were lovely and well maintained. The rooms were big, and nice balcony and outlook. The cleanliness of the hotel was superb, I’ve never seen such a clean pool area, loved being in the pool! Cleaning of room was great and friendly staff.
2 negatives that have to be stated to give a true reflection of the hotel… the food is definitely sub par, we had the buffet 2 nights and 3 nights in the Al a carte dining. Only one of which was decent. We ate out the last 5 nights. The breakfast is ok, but nothing special. It has to be stated otherwise people may be disappointed with this being branded as a 5 star, the food is probably 3 star at best. The other minor issue was that the beds were relatively soft, however this is more personal preference than anything else.
Overall don’t expect a 5 star but we were prepared for it being more 4 star than 5,l star, we did enjoy our stay once we had decided we would have our evening meals out with the hotel.

We stayed in the hotel for 2 weeks. The location was amazing but the hotel was about 45 min. walking distance from the city centre.
We chose this hotel because of the advertised " magic spa" facilities, wich turned out to be very disappointing. For us, the sauna is an essential part of a relaxing holiday.
The spa had a Finnish sauna which was operated at 60 Celsius. When we asked for the temperature to be increased, we were told, that it was the policy of the hotel chain to operate the sauna at this low temperature. Well, Finnish sauna is expected to be operated at 90- 95 Celsius , or it shall not be called and advertised as a Finnish , sauna. Later when we complained, the temperature was increased to 75 Celsius " as a good will" for the remaining days of our holiday.
The steam room was great though.
The food was medium, so we ended up eating out frequently.
The reception staff was unfriendly and behaved as if they did us a favour when we asked for help.
The staff members in the restaurant worked incredibly hard and they were kind and helpful.
All in all we left the hotel with bitterness. We felt cheated and disappointed. If spa, sauna is important for you, I would not recommend this hotel. We shouldn't have to beg for something that we paid for. Moreover the hotel shouldn't advertise something they don't have or can't properly operate.

A good few days away on the beautiful island of Madeira.
The staff work so hard keeping the hotel lovely and clean.
Bar staff are always so friendly and welcoming.
Food was good in the restaurants so do book it is well worth it.
Entertainment was varied

Just arrived back from another holiday at the Pestana Grand, this being our 3rd stay.
This year we had a full sea view in room 1346, as opposed to last year which although a sea view looked over to Cabo Girou. Room service as last year was excellent, nothing too much trouble.
The location of the Grand, although at the far end of the Lido suits us fine as it's a very quiet area but only a 20 min walk to the centre of the nighlife restaurant areas & bars. It's also well placed for a walk along the new front to Camara de Lobos a nice fishing village famed for some of Churchill's paintings, In fact the new hotel there now is the Pestana Churchill.
Reception staff were great, nothing too much trouble & always so polite.
This year you can use your Half board to visit any off the 3 restaurants, those being the Mediterranean, the Moroccan & the Italian if you want to give the main restaurant a miss. In addition you can book an evening meal at the Pestana Miramar on the same basis.
My only "but" this year is the breakfast arrangements. The Maitre 'd' is amazing always there to help, but on some days essentials like cereal bowls were missing, cereal dispensers empty & waiting around for milk. There's also a very unusual morning egg service this year. Despite most of the extra breakfast "musts" being inside the restaurant , the lady in charge of eggs is now placed outside, for many you have to walk through the smoking area to get there. Also they only have a frying pan to cook a m maximum of 4 eggs at a time, In addition to those waiting for an omelette, it can result in a lengthy queue in busy times.
The above should not in any way detract from this hotel being an excellent choice, we've enjoyed every minute there (as last year) & will be booking for the same weeks next year - please pass on thanks to all the staff>>

I booked this hotel through Jet2 as “4-star plus” accommodation on a half-board basis at a cost of £2,000 for seven nights including flights. Although the hotel markets itself as 5-star and was advertised as being in Funchal, it is not—it’s actually located in São Martinho, which is about a one-hour walk from the outskirts of Funchal.

The room was adequate and offered a lovely sea view. However, we encountered several issues: the mini fridge was broken, the bed was extremely hard, the pillows were unusually large, and no towels were provided for the pool.

On a positive note, the cleanliness of the hotel was exceptional—credit to the housekeeping staff. In contrast, the reception staff we dealt with were unfriendly and rude. For example, when we asked about pool towels, we were made to feel as though we had either taken them or were too foolish to notice them in our room. When we reported the broken fridge, the response was similarly dismissive. At checkout, no one asked whether we had enjoyed our stay or wished us a safe journey.

The food is the main reason this review is reduced to one star. It was entirely inadequate for a hotel with this star rating. The buffet lacked variety, the organisation was poor, and the overall quality was very disappointing. The on-site restaurants were acceptable, but if you must stay here, I would strongly recommend eating elsewhere.

Finally, the pool was unbearably cold—like taking an ice bath.

We had a good stay, the reception staff are very welcoming and friendly. Room was clean and there was plenty of spare towels, pillows etc.

We went on half board basis. Although there was plenty of food, it lacked taste. Buffet menu needs to improve, especially the hot food for vegetarians. Very insipid.

Also we felt cheated because we asked for tap water at dinner and got charged for it! The head waiter takes the order for drinks and we felt it was his duty to inform customers that they charge even for tap water! It is ironical that they give free prosecco and at breakfast, but charge for water at dinner!!
Customers can make an informed decision about ordering water if the hotel can make them aware of their charges.
Overall, the staff are hard working and try very hard to do their best. Not a bad place to stay but be prepared to pay for your water at dinner!

Amazing views and staff. The room was very spacious and had an incredible view. Top location too.
Lovely hotel :)
5/5 ⭐️⭐️

Amazing staff and view. The food is great and the bedroom is nice. The location is near the center of Funchal and has lots of transfers all day.

We are only half way through a one week stay and so far everything has been perfect now wish we were here for two weeks . What a great system for booking meals in there many speciality restaurants in pestana grand and sister hotel Miramar where we had an excellent meal last evening . All the staff here are so helpful and happy to help always with a warm smile ,the entertainment in the evening around the bar has been first class from great singers to guitar player. Breakfast in or outside is a real treat with lovely omelettes made to order also so many tempting and delicious pastries not good for my waistline but why not so I will diet when back home . Thank you all for making our stay so special. Regards Robert Bruce .

A very comfortable hotel. Staff very friendly and helpful. Room had a great sea view and the flora and fauna were wonderful.