Villa São Tiago by Amazing Madeira

Great location.The apartment was located directly near the old town of Funchal and a 3 minute walk away from a beach (which you have to pay for). Short response time and friendly staff! Whenever we needed anything, the staff was a text away to help us.

There are cockroaches (which we have been told is normal in this tropical weather). Whenever you come back to the apartment or are just waking up in the morning, you'll find - after entering different rooms - that there are dead cockroaches lying about. The host has done a great job of minimizing their entering and have also set many unnoticable traps that kill them right away. The disposing of their carcasses is the most tedious part and the fact that you'll be on your guard makes the stay somewhat more unpredictable.

The location

The drainage smell that never faded away.

Location was brilliant right in the centre. Very spacious apartment and well kitted out and very clean. Views of the sea. Very comfortable bed. Great restaurants nearby.

The furniture outside was a bit tatty and 2 chairs were a bit unstable. We did let them know.

The balcony and terrace provide plenty of outdoor space. The apartment is in a great location for the old town. We were very grateful for the fan as the apartment was hot at night and doesn't have air con. The kitchen is small but sufficiently equipped for cooking basic meals.

The apartment is quite basic and isn't serviced so we didn't get fresh towels or bed linen during our 11 night stay. Unfortunately the apartment is on a busy road so it was very noisy, even at night (we had to buy ear plugs to be able to sleep at night). The sea view from the balcony is largely obscured by a large tree in the neighbour's garden. The pillows were too soft for our taste so we contacted the staff to ask if they could provide firmer pillows but they didn't respond.