This hotel is filled with very good points, the hotel itself is perfect, cleanlines is of the upmost, absolutely faultless. The bedroom service is second to none, the room was perfect, the bar was perfect as was the restaurant. The staff are extremely polite, there is nothing you could find that would give you cause to complain.
Our only gripes would be as follows, my wife phoned England from the phone in the room because her Father was gravely ill, she was on the phone for an hour, when we came to pay for our extra's, we recieved a phone bill for the one call for £206, which when we questioned it , was dropped to £100, so be warned, the food is not perfect, the breakfast was very good, the Christmas Eve dinner was very nice indeed, but the rest was very average. And whoever chooses the piped music should be shot, constant Opera music, which is not to be knocked if you are an Opera fan, but to the rest of us, not very enjoyable. And the bar entertainment leaves a lot to be desired also. We stayed for a week and there was entertainment on every evening, which is fine, but if you can spend money on a beautiful hotel, then why waste it on inferior entertainers to play for your guests pleasure. That said, this hotel is very nice indeed, I would recommend it to all.

We enjoyed a very quiet week here with a lovely sea-view room. Previous reviewers are correct in identifying the target client here as being of the "more mature" variety so if you have teens or teenies, then this may not be the right choice for you. On the other hand, there were ramps and, I believe, wet rooms for those who are disabled. The location was wonderful - if you are able, go for the seaview room and enjoy sunrise on the balcony in the fluffy white robe. (False economy not to?) Access to town is easy either by bus, shuttle or a longish walk. Service was excellent with constant reminders to ask if there was anything further anyone could do for you. The massage from the highly skilled Rosano in the spa had my stressed-out, knotted-up back moving and feeling better than it had in years - despite regular massage at home.
There is a lovely fish restaurant a few minutes walk from the hotel. From the promenade at the hotel, turn away from town and follow the steps downwards towards the caves. The Doca do Cavacas sits looking out to sea in prime sunset position and cooks simple fish dishes to order all day.
If you are looking for action and activity on-site, avoid this hotel. If you are looking for comfort, peace, good service and a superb breakfast, book right away. We will be back.

We visited the Grand on the basis of the good reports.
However whilst we found all the staff were very friendly, helpful and efficient the hotel is definitely not 5 Star.
The room was OK, but nothing special. There was a poor choice of beverages, the shower had a curtain, not a screen and the water in the sink kept draining away, due to poor fitting plug. On the plus side I must say the beds were very comfortable.
They even had the audacity to charge 5 euros for use of a cheap iron and ironing board.
Breakfast was OK but nothing special, a bit inconsistent.
The hotel did provide very efficient free travel to the main town.
It is a lovely walk into town (about 40 mins) and taxis cost approx 8 euros if you need to use them.
The island is beautiful and will be going back, but will not stay in a Pestana again.
There are a good choice of hotels nearer or in the town.
Sorry to be so negative Mr Pestana, but you need to raise your game.

Having stayed here last year and enjoyed it immensely, we decided to go back. However for this stay we decided to upgrade to a suite. Although the upgrade is not cheap, it is well worth it as you get a vast amount of space, a much larger bathroom with a separate shower cubicle instead of just a shower attatchment over the bath, and two balconies. An additional surprise was a knock at the door shortly after we arrived, only to find a waiter with a complete honey cake and a bottle of Madeira wine - compliments of the hotel.
The only disappointment was that if you wanted to use one of the first two courtesy buses, into Funchal, in the morning they usually turned up with only 2 out of the 52 seats available. This was because the bus picked up first at the Pestana Bay Hotel.
The hotel restaurants were a bit expensive for evening meals, but there are plenty of good choices within easy walking distance. The choices at breakfast were very good, the only disappointment being that many of the hot buffet items were often only luke warm.