To escape the rain in good ol' GB, we booked a "last minute" to Madeira. To be honest, there was little else available and having heard good reports of Madeira, but never having been, we thought we would try it out.
We were not disappointed. It would be hard to find any grumbles. The Hotel was clean, reception greeted us in a friendly way and with efficiency, the room was spacious, clean and had a wonderful view (being on the 5th floor) right the way down to Funchal and over the sea. The Restaurant was clean (if a little warm), the food was buffet with plenty of choices, all of them tasty and plentiful (we were half board). Restaurant Staff were the best, service was faultless and they were up for a laugh and made our stay really enjoyable.
The Pool area was spotless, always beds available with only one couple insisting on "booking" their beds with their towels(when are hotels going to stop this stupid practice!).
There was always a pianist/guitarist playing/singing in the evening, tastefully and well done.
The Hotel was a little far out of Funchal, we took a 45 minute walk, but the Coastal Path (only some of the way) is lovely and Service Buses are cheap and plentiful, as are Taxis. In all, we loved it and will certainly return to Madeira to see more of this beautiful Island.

After reading reviews on the website I was a bit wary of what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised! Comfortable Hotel, well situated,helpful staff, good food,clean rooms,although some decor was in need of a bit of TLC. Overall we had an excellent holiday and enjoyed our stay at the D'Ajuda.

Ajuda is the area (a couple of miles out of central Funchal), so there are one or two other hotels with that in the title (Jardins d'Ajuda, Musa d'Ajuda, for instance).

The Ajuda Madeira is a pleasant enough hotel with generous room space and extremely helpful staff. Guests were a mixture of English, French, German and Dutch. Breakfast is expansive, dinner is buffet-style, with a usual choice of two fish and two meat dishes (My wife and I are not vegetarian, but there didn't seem much on offer for those who are -- apart from salads). There's a floor show on a couple of evenings during dinner.

The pool is quite small, with beds (free) and umbrellas (1 euro 50 to hire). We went slightly out-of-season (September), so space wasn't a problem. The pool man keeps a close eye on activities.

There's a courtesy bus into Funchal centre and back. One pleasant surprise was the rather stylish shopping mall a short walk from the hotel. Another was that we were assigned a holiday rep., even though we booked independently through lastminute.com. Joanna was able to arrange excursions and a much cheaper option of getting to the airport at the end of the holiday.

To sum up, a relaxed and comfortable hotel that will probably appeal more to couples than families. Happy holiday!