Casa Velha do Palheiro Relais & Chateaux

Exceptional customer service from all the staff - who were always very friendly and nothing was too much trouble for them. We would particularly like to thank Sergio, Louis and Tatiana - who all went out of there way to make our stay an incredible experience. The hotel and gardens are beautiful. The breakfasts were amazing , a wonderful array of fruit, fresh pastries, cheeses, hams and hot choices - plus eggs anyway you like. The evening dining experience was superb - clearly they have a very talented chef, again the service was excellent.

The only consideration is that the hotel is up on the hill - a taxi ride into Funchal. The hotel are very good and provide a shuttle service twice in the morning and return service twice in the afternoon. If you do want to go to the bars and other restaurants in Funchal in the evening you will need to book a taxi - the staff will happily organise this for you. Down to Funchal from the hotel was about 15 Euros.

We loved having breakfast served to us outside the main house. So grand!

Tennis court could do with resurfacing

Wonderful locally sourced food at breakfast and dinner - light, creative and great quality. Excellent wines through links with the Blandys wine estate. Helpful and knowledgable staff with deep knowledge of local attractions, who could help book a taxi for us when we were stranded and even gave accurate estimates of how long it would take us to walk to the pickup point. Large and well equipped rooms with air conditioning and Molton Brown toiletries. Excellent location near Funchal, located on a large and beautiful estate that is wonderful for walks. Tea house (linked to the related botanic gardens) on site, along with a wonderful restaurant and second restaurant at the golf course clubhouse.

Minor points only - liquid hand soap and separate body wash could have been provided instead of bar soap. Gym could also have been a slight bit larger. Again very minor points.

My wife and I stayed at Casa Velha in early December 2022. We stayed in a ground floor room in the Golf Wing, which was spacious and comfortable. Breakfasts and dinners were excellent. The public rooms of the hotel are also very comfortable. The Palheiro botanical gardens are just next door, and well worth the 5 euros entry fee for our stay. The golf course halfway house is at the bottom of the garden, and the golf course itself has excellent views. However what marks out Casa Velha is the excellent service of all of the team from top to bottom. They could not have been more helpful, pleasant, cheerful and kind... and that was before I had a medical issue which dumped me for a few days in intensive care in the General Hospital (clean, great care, but not so great food!). All of the staff rose to the occasion and gave my wife fantastic support at a very stressful time. To summarise... the best hotel experience I can remember. I'm looking forward to returning - this time without the medical issue!

Nothing, except my medical issue...

Words simply cannot convey how wonderful our experience was. The resort is stunning, the service is superior, the food is extraordinary, and there are so many thoughtful and meaningful touches that make this truly an experience instead of just a vacation. We received champagne, scrumptious desserts. The hotel staff quickly memorized our names and always greeted us warmly. Thanks to Luis(team), Sergio, Vanessa and Diana. The food is the absolute best we've ever eaten. We didn't want to leave and are already thinking about a return trip in the coming months!

During our stay, they cut trees for spring and summer so the noise is everywhere but didn’t bother us.

Friendly personnel,free upgrade of the room, interesting localisation, nice gardens and views.Good hotel restaurant.

The air condition in the room was not efficient ,we could not sleep as the temperature was too high.This was reported to the reception but nothing could be done about it. The breakfast buffet was very poor.The choice of wines in the hotel restaurant was average.The pool was not heated.

Nice freshly renovated room, beautiful lobby and marvellous breakfast seating outside in the morning. Next to the beautiful garden and golf. Small Madeira wine tasting. Guided tour over the property with the owner.

Breakfast is a bit limited, especially at peak times. Total failure to organise golf experience, likely the hotel staff and the golf club staff do not “speak” the same language.

Fabulous “colonial “ country manor house around a 15 min taxi ride to Funchal. Set in the hills adjoining Palheiro gardens and with its own 18 hole golf course and spa facility. Lovely staff who do all they can to please and peaceful surroundings. Was our 2nd visit and definitely not our last. Would highly recommend.

Breakfast was first class good selection and served in a lovely room, the pool was very good as was the Spa we both had an excellent massage. The staff make the hotel everyone was very friendly and helpful.

Having stayed before when the food was first class we felt this time it was not so good and was trying too hard with unusual menu choices, where the menu is limited that can lead to a lack of choice

Nature, friendliness of all personnel, beautiful environment and gardens, quiet, fantastic overall

Nothing. It is not a criticism but music (live) could be nice (jazzy, classical) in some evenings.