Romantic Accommodation in Santa Cruz

We had a fabulous stay at the Hotel RIU in Madeira! Food The food was outstanding and plentiful. There was food for everyone, and a great selection for vegetarians and pescatarians. Salads, cheeses, gazpacho and other soups every night at supper, meats, fish, fresh fruit, desserts and ice cream. Great selection for kids/ picky eaters, too, including plain pastas and pizzas. Snacks available at Pepe’s Pool Bar usually included French fries, battered and fried zucchini/ eggplant/ cauliflower, and some meat options. One small suggestion: at Pepe’s, it would be great to have a dedicated serving spoon/ tongs for the non-meat food, so that us vegetarians don’t have to use, for example, the hot dog tongs to serve our vegetarian food. In general, it might be a good idea in the dining room to put the vegetarian options in its own section in order to avoid cross-contamination with the meat options. But this is very minor. Pina coladas (non-alcoholic and alcoholic) are delicious! The bartenders were generous with Irish cream on the rocks. Location Caniço is approximately 15-20 minutes from Funchal. It costs about 15 euros by Bolt (the Madeira equivalent of Uber or Lyft), or the RIU offers an included shuttle service. The shuttle to Funchal leaves at 9:30am/10:30am /11:30am. The shuttle returning to the hotel departs from Funchal at 3pm/4pm/5pm. Must reserve a spot on the shuttle 1-2 days in advance. An earlier departure option and later return option would be ideal.

Staff was awesome, they knew we had an early flight and offered to have. Breakfast box for us upon checkout. Property is large and difficult to navigate

This is our go to hotel when flying out of Madeira Island. Staff is extremely accommodating. Although we left for the airport at 3 AM, we were provided with a boxed breakfasts. It is only about a 10 minute cab ride to the airport and runs around 10 euros. Perfect and convenient.