I have stayed at the Village in December/January for 4 consecutive years now. It is a lovely location and it has beautifully kept gardens and is spotlessly clean. The only drawbacks are that the the restaurant food is average but expensive and the bars on the site are also very expensive. This means that the areas where you would socialise are deserted because everybody has gone out to eat and drink in the many reasonably priced high quality establishments nearby. Its such a shame that more effort is not put into enticing the residents into using the beautiful on site facilities instead of driving them off site by prohibitive pricing.

We spent a week at the resort in a very comfortable and well-equipped 2 bed appartment with kitchenette. The grounds were beautiful and the view from our appartment was spectacular. The only drawback for us was the miserly attitude of the company to their guests. If they can charge extra for it, they will! Examples: over €21 for 2 local phone calls, €14 for parking, €28 for WiFi as well as a ridiculously overpriced restuarant. My advice would be to enjoy the basic facilities but go elsewhere for everything else where possible. Owners do get free WiFi and the code [--] seems to help....

Like other reviewers we enjoyed the intimacy of this hotel, compared with the larger more modern cousins in this group. We had a beautiful room, (Superior Studio) at the front, overlooking the sea (and the Reid's Hotel!) and enjoyed great peace and quiet. We stayed 2 weeks over Christmas and New Year with a package from Jet2, and have to say we were very well looked after: the staff could not have been more attentive. The Buffet breakfasts were of a huge variety to suit every taste and nationality, and the service excellent.
The hotel was very convenient for the regular buses in and out of Funchal, which only took a few minutes. (Its about 20 mins walk into town). The local tour agents will inform you of any trips which pick up at the hotel, if you desire it. Otherwise hire car is great fun, and though a bit challenging on the steep hills and twisty roads, gives one the freedom to go do more in the mountains.
The Gala meals in the hotel at Christmas and New year were a bit expensive for us, so we ate out locally on Christmas Eve and C. Day, but did have the hotel Gala Dinner at New Year. It was a fantastic buffet, (Great chefs) and beautifully set out on lovely table settings, etc. (Dress is slightly more formal... i.e. no shorts ). The service staff all worked their "butts" off to prepare it all in the Winter Garden, and most of them were there very late at night to clear it all away again. Hats off to a great team, specially the Maitre D. and Micaela.
By the way you can see the New Year Fireworks from the Hotel roof at the Miramar, but we chose to go down to the harbour marina, which was brilliant.
Local restaurants and bistros abound within a few mins walk, so we enjoyed getting out and about and tasting the seafood. Prices were generally reasonable, and can match any budget.
We would certainly come back to The Village again next time we visit Madeira.
I would echo another reviewer's remark that the internet is not free wifi in the rooms, and we thought it was a bit expensive. It would also be good if there was a second computer in the reception area to use. However, that being said, we weren't particularly bothered.

Needing a sun break from North Yorkshire, UK, we picked Madeira as our destination of choice for Christmas week. We reviewed many properties on Trip Advisor and picked Pestana Village because it seemed smaller and more intimate than some of the huge resorts. We really enjoyed the room and the atmosphere of the resort. They had plenty of activities and provided helpful advice. The location was great - right across from the famous Reid's Hotel and within walking distance of the town and shopping district. The Christmas lights were amazing. Next trip I would hit New Year's as Madeira is famous for its firework show. We found a car VERY handy and loved driving the small crazy roads as well as the Rapido Express Tunnels. We played golf on the inexpensive Academy course at the local club. Only 9 euros and lots of fun for relatively new golfers. We were a little cold and didn't think to ask for a space heater until the last two days of our trip. The staff brought it within minutes of our request.