- Madeira Holidays
- Funchal
- Pestana Grand Premium Ocean Resort
1/23
View 22 Photos
Pestana Grand Premium Ocean Resort
Portugal, Europe
Funchal
When you choose a luxury hotel, make sure it excels in every way. The Pestana Grand Premium Ocean Resort, formerly the LTI – Pestana Grand Hotel in Funchal, is a truly spectacular venue. This beautifully designed five star hotel features awe inspiring views out over the ocean, and gives holidaymakers plenty of wonderful vantage points to appreciate the azure blue sea.
As well as its own amenities and attractions, the Pestana Grand Premium Ocean Resort is your stepping off point into Funchal, Madeira's capital city. Visitors flock to Funchal for its excellent and diverse shopping, its historical sites (including the Santa Clara Convent and Sé Cathedral) and the insight they afford into old Madeira. Gourmands will enjoy a trip to the old town in the west, with its many excellent restaurants.
Experience five star living at the Pestana Grand Premium Ocean Resort:
The sea dominates views from the Pestana Grand Premium Ocean Resort, but the hotel is a landmark in its own right. Set in rich, tropical gardens, it has the look and feel of a luxury hotel – and once you're here, you'll have no choice but to give in to the relaxing holiday lifestyle.
Views from each of the hotel's 177 rooms are suitably amazing. Just getting up in the morning and gazing out over the sea is a great way to start the day. All rooms maintain the five star feeling, with excellent furnishings and subtle colours emphasising the space. All are equipped with cable TV, phone, hairdryer, mini-bar, tea/coffee facilities. Room upgrades are available at a supplement.
With so much to do in Funchal, as well as right here at the hotel, you may have to mix and match your activities. But this really is one of those occasions when time at your hotel really is time very well spent. Both the large outdoor saltwater pool and the Jetstream indoor pool really have to be experienced. There is a well-equipped games room and gym – and for the ultimate indulgence, a relaxing massage is available.
And talk of a day well spent inevitably leads us to the four hotel restaurants – try to sample a little something from each before you go! The hotels main restaurant is a buffet restaurant which serves breakfast and dinner. Other restaurants are subject to reservation locally.
There isn't really anything on a par with the Pestana Grand Premium Ocean Resort. It's superior outlook, accommodation and amenities make it the ultimate destination in the heart of Madeira.
Facilities
- Car parking*
- Saltwater outdoor pool and children's pool
- Indoor pool
- Gym
- Sauna
- Jacuzzi and steam bath
- Massage*
- Billiards
- Games lounge
- Bars
- *Some facilities may incur an additional fee
- Themed restaurants bookings are subject to a reservation after check-in at the hotel reception and will be confirmed according to availability; the opening days and times of all restaurants and daily activities must be considered as per hotels' weekly program.
Room Types
The Local Area
Although this hotel enjoys a most spectacular and scenic location on the top of the Ponta da Cruz headland overlooking the ocean, it is within walking distance of the sophisticated attractions of Funchal. Set in a beautiful tropical garden which features a large saltwater swimming pool, there is access to a promenade to allow guests to walk beside the sea.
Tripadvisor Reviews
4.5 Excellent3,821 reviews
Excellent
66%
Very Good
24%
Average
8%
Poor
2%
Terrible
1%
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Feels closer to 4 stars not 5
Even though we went in mid August the hotel was really quiet which was quite nice. Always easy to find a sunbed and the pool was always quiet. The room was clean, water pressure in the shower was excellent and most the staff were nice. Unfortunately the food was not great which was a real let down. I was so grateful I didn't have to eat all my meals here because we would leave the buffet Hungry. Thankfully the customer service manager was really good and booked us for the a la carte restaurants for dinner for the rest of our stay. The Mediterranean and Moroccan restaurants were good but the Italian wasn't. Given how expensive the hotel was to book I really did expect more from the food. Another issue I didn't bother complaining about as there's not really anything they could do about it was how loud the AC was, which made it quite difficult to sleep. The atmosphere of the hotel feels a little corporate, it lacks warmth. You know sometimes you walk in a hotel and you just feel it's a luxurious 5* place? This isn't one of those. So overall it definitely feels more like a 4* hotel. The old town is only a 10min taxi away which costs about €8 or it's a straight bus ride so the location of the hotel was pretty good. It's also next to the sea, though it's rocky so take swim shoes.
Food hygiene issues and underwhelming hotel
The hotel has some positives, particularly the location and views. The pool areas were clean, and the room itself was fairly average — nothing particularly wrong with it, but nothing that stood out either.
Unfortunately, there were several issues that made the overall experience disappointing.
During our stay, my child became unwell with what appeared to be food poisoning.(Vomiting and diarrhea) I obviously cannot prove that it came from the hotel, as we did not have it medically confirmed, but the hotel was the only place we ate during the relevant period. The spaghetti bolognese that my child consumed looked questionable on the night in question which understandably raised concerns.
I personally saw a member of staff using the same utensil for handling raw and cooked chicken. This is a serious food hygiene concern and, given that my child subsequently became ill, it made the situation particularly worrying. This was raised with management at the time.
This happened on the third day of our seven day stay and so we cancelled the half board for the rest of the week.
The attitude of some of the bar staff was also disappointing. A few appeared disinterested when serving customers and, on occasions, their manner came across as bordering on aggressive. This really detracted from the overall experience.
Overall, the location and views are good, and the hotel has potential, but the food hygiene concerns and poor service from some staff are significant issues that need to be addressed. Based on our experience, I would struggle to recommend staying here at present.
Review by davo2010 Tipperary, Ireland
An honest balanced review
Just returned from a week’s holiday at this hotel. We were very worried after reading some of the negative reviews on here as we were celebrating my 40th birthday. We found it to be a nice hotel. The decor is dated and the halls could do with a bit of TLC. The restaurant staff were lovely. The food was good-lots of options for breakfast and a lovely selection for dinner. We are a family of 4 and our children will generally try anything, however on ‘vegetarian night’ the waiter stated that if the children couldn’t find anything to eat that they liked, they could order from the kids menu. This was great because our eldest has a fish allergy so we ordered a pizza for the kids at not extra cost.
The hotel is quiet. There’s always sunbeds available. It is around a 10-15 minute taxi drive to Funchal (we used bolt at around 10 euros each way) There’s a kids room with a ping pong table and games.
The only negative was the bed situation. We had a pull out bed that was not made up for us on arrival and was extremely uncomfortable. This is why we have rated it 4 stars and not 5.
Review by Coastal59022658221 Warrington, United Kingdom
Chewy Steak
I was utterly dissatisfied with the chewy steak, it was like eating rubber. I spent 2 minutes of my life chewing a tiny piece of steak.
.
Great Hotel, good rooms and the staff it’s amazing
