Baia Azul Funchal

El Baia Azul cuenta con un personal muy amable. Las habitaciones eran espaciosas y en completo silencio. Está muy cerca de un paseo marítimo nuevo, junto a la playa y de varias pozas naturales de agua de mar, de hecho hay una gratuita al final del paseo, próxima al acceso del túnel de Praia Fermosa. Me gustaría recomendar un restaurante cerca del centro comercial (junto al paseo marítimo) que se llama "O barqueiro" con un precio entorno a los 50 euros por dos personas y sirven porciones enormes. Cerca del Baia Azul está el "O Almofariz", un restaurante que ofrece comida casera deliciosa a precio bajo (unos 20 euros por dos personas).

The hotel is a long walk from the town or a 5/6 euro taxi ride. The hotel is 4 star rated although this rating must have been done in the 1970's as the decor most certainly is.

Entertainment was non- existant or dire, Food at breakfast was poor, watered down "orange " juice etc. One morning asked for a table outside as there were plenty available we were told this was not possible by the officious resteraunt manager who i never saw smile all week



On a more positive note the pool area was clean,and did have a lifeguard. To be charged for parasol hire was a strange anomaly. We enjoyed our week in Funchal eating and drinking at the local bars and down by the marina, particular mention to an asian restaurant called SHENG on rua imperatriz which served thai, chinese ,hong kong ,sushi was good value and excellent.

People in Funchal very friendly and it was a safe and hospitable place to spend a week.

Baia Azul hat sehr freundliches Personal. Die Zimmer sind geräumig und überhaupt nicht laut. Das Hotel liegt sehr nahe einer neuen Strandpromenade und in der Nähe von mehreren natürlichen Meerpools. Es gibt einen kostenlosen natürlichen Meerpool am Ende der Promenade, nahe des Eingangs zum Praia-Fermosa-Tunnel. Ich kann Ihnen das Restaurant im Zentrum empfehlen, es heißt 'O barqueiro'. Für knapp 50 Euro bekommt man zwei große Mahlzeiten. Nahe Baia Azul findet man das 'O Almofariz', das günstig ist (ca. 20 Euro für 2 Personen) und lecker zubereitete Hausmannskost anbietet.

Wir waren für 14 Tage in diesem Hotel, vom 5. bis 19. Dezember (wenn die Insel ruhiger ist und es nur wenige Touristen gibt). Das Hotel war nicht einmal halbvoll und der Service vom gesamten Personal war exzellent. Wir haben noch nie in sauberen Zimmern übernachtet. Teppich in den Zimmern bedeutete, dass man die übliche Geräusche der anderen Gäste nicht hören konnte und so hatten wir 2 sehr friedliche Wochen. Das Restaurant ist angenehm mit schönem Blick aufs Meer und die Kellner sind alle charmant und sehr gebildet. Wir haben erst später herausgefunden, dass das Restaurant vorher einen Menuservice hatte und erst seit ein paar Jahren dem Trend der Büfetts gefolgt ist. Der Hotelbus fährt einen jeden Tag (einige Hotels machen das Sonntags nicht) in die Stadt (Funchal ist 2,5 km). Wenn möglich, wollen wir im Dezember wiederkommen. Ein tropisches Inselparadies, nur ein paar Flugstunden entfernt.

We recently stayed at the Baia Azul in the Hotel Zone on the outskirts of Funchal. At first, we thought that being out of the centre of the town would be a problem, but it turned out to be a bonus. For one thing, the hotel area seemed to get better weather than the town itself! This is not a hotel for the very young, as the clientele appeared to be 40's and above.

The hotel was absolutely spotless, the beds comfortable and the staff were lovely. Our room had a sea view and balcony - I would recommend specifying a sea view, otherwise the back rooms look towards the main road through the zone and do not get the sun. The room also had air conditioning, which came in very useful on Friday and Saturday night when the local youth were partying just down the road and parked outside, with much revving of engines at 4.00 in the morning.

The pool is clean, towels and recliners with mattress are free, but you pay a small amount for a parasol. It overlooks the sea, just across the new promenade and gardens.

The breakfast offered a selection of English cooked, cold meats, cheese, fruit and 8 types of bread - selection changed each day. We couldn't fault this, and everyone seemed to be of the same opinion.

Having said that, the food generally was a bit uninteresting, and we were glad we had gone B&B - with so many restaurants within walking distance it would have been a shame to have missed them. Special mention goes to the Summertime Restaurant, with an open terrace looking towards the sea - a free glass of Madeira wine on arrival, and friendly staff offering Madeiran cuisine. The wine is a very good price in the local wine shop at Eden Park.

We had a wonderful relaxing holiday and are definitely going again, and will stay at the Baia Azul from choice.

We stayed at this hotel for a fortnight from 5th to 19th December (when the Island is quiet and few tourists are around). The hotel was less than half full, and the service from all the staff was excellent, we have never stayed anywhere with cleaner rooms. Fitted carpets in the rooms meant that the usual sounds of other people in the hotel were deadened, and it made for a very peaceful 2 weeks. The restaurant was pleasant, with good sea views, and the waiters were all charming, and were incredibly smart, we found out later they originally operated the restaurant as silver service, moving to buffet style a couple of years ago to move with modern trends.

The hotel bus goes into town (Funchal is 2.5K) every day (some hotels do not have buses on Sundays).

We plan to return next December if possible, a tropical island paradise only 3.5 hours from our home in Bournemouth, England.

Baia Azul had very friendly staff. The rooms were spacious and not noisy at all. It is very close to a new promenade path by the sea, and close as well to several natural sea pools; there is a free natural sea pool at the end of the promenade, close to the Praia Fermosa tunnel entrance. I would advise a restaurant close to the commercial centre (you pass it walking by the promenade) called "O barqueiro": around 50 euro for two with huge portions. Near the Baia Azul, the "O Almofariz" offers cheap (around 20 euro for two people) delicious home-made food.

The Baia Azul is in need of upgrading. It makes you feel like you've stepped back in time to the 1970's. The food has to be the most boring and blandest we've ever tasted. After a couple of days we had to eat out, to confirm that we still had functioning taste buds.

Having said that the staff were all very friendly and helpful, and the hotel was spotlessly clean. The rooms are of a good size, and the sea view is excellent.

We had a stay of 15 days. The room was very nice and comfortable. They cleaned it every day if you wanted. The staff and employees were most helpful in answering our questions about where to go and what to do. I highly recommend the Porto Moniz tour. It is worth every penny. I also recommend the Typical Night, Very interesting. The pool is not heated, so in the early days of May, the water will still be a little cold, But we enjoyed swimming anyway. The pool cleaners were very efficient and very good about cleaning. One has to acquire a taste of Portuguese food, We found some very good diners. The hotel breakfast food was good, a mixture of hot and cold. But aftr 8-10 days, we had to venture out for something else. Room service was good and the food was okay. I would go there and stay again. Be sure and get a 220 adapter for you curling irons and battery chargers. I would reccommend this hotel and Madeira itself for couples only or a tour group. Small kids and teenagers would not be sastisfied because there is not a lot for them to do. Other than swimming. We did find a movie theatre which we visited quite often.

Excellent hotel. Staff friendly and attentive. Rooms spotlessly clean and good size.Ate several meals in hotel which were of good quality and reasonably priced. Lots of facilities and excellent pool area with lifeguards and a strict cleaning regime. All in all thoroughly recommended and would go again.