My wife and I spent four nights in the Windsor to celebrate our wedding anniversary. It was a last minute decision and we had no prior knowledge of the holtel. We could not have chosen better. Our room was spacious and comfortable, the food (half board) was excellent and the hotel was ideally situated for us to explore the old town of Funchal. The icing on the cake was the rooftop sundeck and small swimming pool with fabulous views of the town, the harbour and the hills behind. The staff were extremely courteous and helpful and most of them spoke excellent English. We would not hesitate to recommend this hotel and we shall definitely consider a return visit.

Hotel Windsor is situated smack in the middle of Funchal among some narrow back streets. The location means there will be some homeless in the doorways late at night, but they are no bother. It also means you are in an excellent location to enjoy the centre of Funchal. However, having stayed at the lido end previously, I would favour that and come into Funchal centre when you want to.
The rooms vary here; our friends room overlooked the front, was larger but noisy; our room faced into the courtyard, which was quiet, but smaller and darker. For a short break this was fine.
The rooftop pool is small and needs an update, but views of crowded rooftops and up to the hillsides are worth a look. Breakfast area is too small for the number of rooms, and whilst it never varies, it's OK.
Overall, this was a budget break for us, and it worked well on that level. Don't know how it earns it stars, but I would say this is 2/3 star, but for what we paid it was VFM. Don't over expect and it won't disappoint - if you are paying 4 star price for it - change the hotel!

"Cheap & nasty"- sums up this travesty of a 4 star hotel. Scruffy rooms, poorly cleaned bathrooms, no aircon, a mean and low quality breakfast, adjacent streets with an interesting collection of vagrants, and they don't take credit cards.

Don't go there!

We chose the Windsor Hotel on the recommendation of a close family friend who is himself from Madeira. We did all the usual TripAdvisor checks and decided to go for it.

If you want a good four star character hotel within easy reach of all amenities, then The Windsor is for you. It is a beautiful Art Deco building with five floors and a swimming pool on the roof, situated one minute from a large supermarket and various pharmacies should you need them. The old city with lovely romantic pavement restaurants and the marina are each ten minute's walk away, as well as access to local and island wide bus routes.

If you do hire a car there is some parking space at the hotel which is necessary because parking on the road the hotel is situated on is very limited.

The staff at the hotel are multi-lingual and extremely helpful. The rooms are spacious, fully carpeted and include a fridge and TV. Other reviews talk about the noise, but this is part and parcel of staying in the city centre. The Rua das Hortas does get busy during the morning and evening as it is used as a traffic thoroughfare, but we suggest closing the windows and using the fan if you are sensitive to this, or asking for a room at the back of the hotel. We were in a front room, but our sleep was never disturbed by traffic noise.

The only criticism we would make is that the breakfasts lack variety and we ended up going around the corner on a couple of occasions to break it up a bit. We did not try the restaurant but it was busy every night.

The hotel is like any hotel in a busy area and therefore you will see local people in the same situations as in any other city - but we never once felt unsafe.

All in all, we would recommend The Windsor for anyone who wants to experience normal Funchal life in a comfortable and accessible setting. A lovely hotel.