Savoy Palace

A fabulous stay for my husband’s 50th birthday. We absolutely loved this hotel and had a wonderful week. I was apprehensive about staying in such a large hotel as our usual family holidays are always in villas with private pools. I needn’t have worried as the hotel has some many different spaces that it didn’t feel crowded at all, despite being fairly full. The pool area is stunning with a wide choice of places to sit and different styles of loungers. We enjoyed eating in several of the restaurants (Pau de Lume, the Italian restaurant and Almeda) and found almost all staff to be exceptionally welcoming, friendly and efficient. Food was excellent quality. The ice cream parlour was also excellent! We chose a superior ocean view room on one of the higher floors - the view was great but I think next time, I’d prefer a room with a slightly larger balcony even though these seem to be lower down. In truth we didn’t spend much time in the room - the view was better from the fabulous Skybar and we were out and about exploring or relaxing by the pool the rest of the time! Amazing breakfast buffet with everything imaginable. I had a manicure in the spa - lovely therapist. Sadly didn't have time to experience the rest of the spa. Next time! The hotel is also in an excellent location -you can easily walk into town, access the chairlift up to Monte etc… We did have a few tiny niggles… Storage in our room was minimal. One very small wardrobe, only part of which was full length (I mainly wear dresses on holiday) and only two tiny drawers for other clothes. No hooks for hanging wet towels or swimwear (just two in the shower where things remain damp). If you want to eat in the hotel, make reservations well in advance. We were disappointed not to be able to eat in Terreiror at our preferred times on other nights. Of course Funchal has lots of choice so it wasn’t the end of the world! We’d just plan further ahead next time. We did feel the restaurant staff could have better training on the wines. We are wine enthusiasts but are not hugely familiar with all Portuguese wines and would have appreciated some better guidance - we felt the staff assumed we knew nothing and just recommended bottles at random without taking into consideration our food choices etc… I’d been looking forward to trying the beautiful infinity pool on the top of the hotel - it was disappointing to find that it was closed (for a private event, I think) on our final afternoon. This was a shame. Final niggle was that no recognition of my husband’s big birthday was made. We did mention this when booking and at other times. Whilst nothing is expected, a birthday card/note or small offering would have made the experience particularly special. By contrast, we enjoyed a poolside lunch at Reids one of the days and had a special birthday greeting from the restaurant manager, complimentary glass of sparkling wine and a little mini birthday cake with a candle. It was unexpected and a wonderful surprise. These are tiny niggles though - overall we loved every moment of our stay and would return in a heartbeat. The hotel is spotless, the communal spaces plentiful, welcoming and comfortable, the service excellent and the location ideal. We cannot wait to return!

Let's start with the good Breakfast was amazing! The room was OK with niggles! Sunbeds, plentiful and comfortable! Pool warm! Location great! Nice beds and pillow selection Negatives. The service is poor for a five star, particularly the pool team who would probably like you to leaves soon as possible. The cleaning service, our balcony was left wide open on two occasions, so use your safe wisely. The prices are astronomical, go across the road to "On the Rocks", half the price and great food . The Hotel itself seemed dead and lifeless, due to its size. The Wifi is very slow! (first world problems). Overall, a nice experience, not a great one!

Lovely location within walking distance of the cable car and old town. The hotel is marvellous. It’s large but there is enough space so that it doesn’t feel crowded. Large with plenty of poolside beds. Lovely relaxed atmosphere. We had an ocean view room. Very spacious. Great bathroom layout. No noise from any other rooms. Lovely balcony. Spotlessly clean rooms. Excellent service throughout, from restaurant staff, bar staff, poolside staff and housekeeping. A quality hotel stay worth every penny.

Well, where to begin? What a great experience from the beginning to the end we went under American Express platinum card benefits, immediately received an upgrade at check-in, which is always a lovely surprise. We had an oceanfront suite as our first stop after a long day of travels. The attention to detail from check-in to check out was superior. Thank you Paula ! The staff was well trained and looked after our needs. We were particularly impressed with the concierge staff Bernadette and Bruno made our stay uniquely tailored to our specific interests . if you want a great dinner do not miss the restaurant AKUA a quick walk into town! We wish we had a few more days to soak in the sun and enjoy the gorgeous pool and head over to the sister property for the ocean front views. Highly recommend you won't be disappointed!

We stayed at Savoy Palace at the beginning of September and were amazed as soon as we walked through the doors. It is a beautiful hotel with fantastic facilities, and the staff throughout our stay were very friendly and helpful. The only real issue we experienced was with the pool service, which was very inconsistent. We often found ourselves having to look for bar staff, On a few occasions we were told to wait, but nobody came back to us. Unfortunately, this became a bigger concern for us because my husband has a severe nut allergy. We specifically asked which foods were safe and were initially told that the club sandwich and beef sandwich were nut-free. However, when I went to order a chicken burger, a member of staff we hadn’t spoken to before told me that the bread contained nuts. I then asked for a club sandwich, only to be told that this also contained nuts. When I explained that we had previously been told it was safe, the response was essentially, “If you’re okay with it, then that’s on you.” We found this extremely upsetting, particularly given the seriousness of his allergy. Thankfully, our experience at the Sky Bar and Sky Pool was completely different. They were much more accommodating of my husband’s allergy, and the gentleman serving us was exceptional — friendly, attentive and very reassuring. Unfortunately, we didn’t get his name, but he really was lovely. The Sky Pool experience was much better overall, and being able to order drinks through the app made everything much easier and meant we felt looked after. The restaurants were also very good when it came to accommodating allergies, which we really appreciated. Apart from the issues at the pool, we had a fantastic stay. The hotel itself is amazing, our room was cleaned regularly, and the spa was absolutely fantastic. We would 100% return to Savoy Palace. It is a beautiful hotel, and with a little more consistency and training around pool service and food allergies, it would be absolutely exceptional. Thank you for a lovely stay!