QUINTA DAS BISTAS HOLIDAY REVIEWS
Quinta Das Bistas
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Christine Tailor. Date of travel: Aug 2004
We first visted Madeira in 1988 and this year we returned for the first time. We were amazed at how much Madeira had changed, especially the addition of a new motorway that practically runs across the island and many new hotels, shops, roads and tunnels. We booked on the internet with Strawberry World and though a little apprehensive about booking this way, Alice the salesgirl was very helpful and seemed to have a thorough knowledge about everything in Madeira, and having spoken to other couples in the hotel - it seems we got a very inexpensive deal indeed. Top Marks to Strawberry World. We flew with Excel Air and I must say that landing in Madeira was effortless and quite safe. Nothing compared to the white knuckle landing I remembered in 1988. We arrived at our hotel Quinta das Vistas with the Strawberry World bus, which was nicely air conditioned and very welcome because the weather was absolutely gorgeous and quite out of character for February we were told. The hotel is very new and perched on small hill above the main city of Madeira - Funchal. Spectacular views all the way down to the harbour and wonderful garden areas and pool. The room was very clean and nicely decorated - but I would have prefeered a softer mattress, however my husband was quite pleased. The waether was very warm during the day and quite cold in the evenings. The staff were all very friendly and I beleive Madeira has not changed at all in that respect. Wherever we went - locals were friendly and helpful. The hotel spa was especially enticing and all the facilities were available at no extra cost. Food was consistently of a high standard, but I recommend having breakfast before nine thirty to take full advantage of the continental buffet. After that, the selection tends to dwindle. Lots of new things to see and do including a visit to the caves on the north coast which wrere formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago - and a ride on the new cable car from Funchal sea side to the village of Monte. What didn't we like? Apparently a very, very rare phenomena - but during our stay Madeira was visted by clouds of Grasshoppers that has apparently been blown over from Africa. These two to three inch long insects were in fact very hard to find but we did come across a dozen or so during our stay. Quite unusual for an island that seems void of any insect or wildlife. We were however assured that they do no damage to the loacl plants and disappear after a couple of days. All in all a very special week for us and we highly recommend Madeira, particularly with its new cosmopolitan face. Tour Operator: Strawberry World
We first visted Madeira in 1988 and this year we returned for the first time. We were amazed at how much Madeira had changed, especially the addition of a new motorway that practically runs across the island and many new hotels, shops, roads and tunnels. We booked on the internet with Strawberry World and though a little apprehensive about booking this way, Alice the salesgirl was very helpful and seemed to have a thorough knowledge about everything in Madeira, and having spoken to other couples in the hotel - it seems we got a very inexpensive deal indeed. Top Marks to Strawberry World. We flew with Excel Air and I must say that landing in Madeira was effortless and quite safe. Nothing compared to the white knuckle landing I remembered in 1988. We arrived at our hotel Quinta das Vistas with the Strawberry World bus, which was nicely air conditioned and very welcome because the weather was absolutely gorgeous and quite out of character for February we were told. The hotel is very new and perched on small hill above the main city of Madeira - Funchal. Spectacular views all the way down to the harbour and wonderful garden areas and pool. The room was very clean and nicely decorated - but I would have prefeered a softer mattress, however my husband was quite pleased. The waether was very warm during the day and quite cold in the evenings. The staff were all very friendly and I beleive Madeira has not changed at all in that respect. Wherever we went - locals were friendly and helpful. The hotel spa was especially enticing and all the facilities were available at no extra cost. Food was consistently of a high standard, but I recommend having breakfast before nine thirty to take full advantage of the continental buffet. After that, the selection tends to dwindle. Lots of new things to see and do including a visit to the caves on the north coast which wrere formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago - and a ride on the new cable car from Funchal sea side to the village of Monte. What didn't we like? Apparently a very, very rare phenomena - but during our stay Madeira was visted by clouds of Grasshoppers that has apparently been blown over from Africa. These two to three inch long insects were in fact very hard to find but we did come across a dozen or so during our stay. Quite unusual for an island that seems void of any insect or wildlife. We were however assured that they do no damage to the loacl plants and disappear after a couple of days. All in all a very special week for us and we highly recommend Madeira, particularly with its new cosmopolitan face. Tour Operator: Strawberry World
