The downside: uncomfortable beds; bathroom badly needed refurbishment; bedroom old-fashioned. The upside: everything was clean; excellent, friendly service; a substantial breakfast; a short, pleasant walk to the town centre. Overall, it has to be excellent value.

Don't get me wrong - everything in the rooms works - shower, electrical points, TV and so on. The worst negative for me was the beds, which were hard and oddly contoured, giving little support for the back. There's nothing that would in itself ruin your stay.

Agostinho (the proprietor) is cheerful, friendly and helpful and speaks excellent English. Breakfast is basically continental-style, but cooked eggs are also offered. As well as a range of breads, meat and cheese, there is also fresh fruit every day, and tea or coffee. A fridge and microwave and a south-facing patio are available for guests' use. There is wi-fi access.

Car parking is an issue. Just below the hotel is a public (paying) car park (€3), which fills up rapidly in the morning, though there is usually space after lunch. However, if you arrive and the "completo" (= full) sign is up, ask the attendant if he can find space for you. Parking is free 7pm - 9 am. Do not attempt to park in spaces marked with "M" - these are for residents ("moradores") only.

Arriving by car is a big challenge to your navigational skills. It's probably best to follow signs to the Avenida do Mar, which runs parallel to the sea-front, and go to the western end of it, where there is a roundabout at which you turn right. If you fail to identify the roundabout and continue too far west you will be between hoardings marking the edge of the port reconstruction on the left and, above a wall, a park on your right. At the correct roundabout turn away from the sea into a short tunnel and immediately get into the left-hand lane. After emerging from the tunnel and the right hand lane has filtered off, keep right and go straight up the hill. Keep going until you see a road on a bridge high above you, spanning the ravine you are in. Just before you get to it, there are two turns on your right, very close together. The second one is signed "Aeroporto", but take the previous one, which is a sharp, narrow right turn. Go leftish/rightish through a dog-leg and you will see the car park in front of you, with the hotel up the hill on the left side.

We found Vila Teresinha on Tripadvisor and our experience after one week in Funchal met very well our expectations, formed by reading others experiences at VT. The rooms may not be of latest standard and we had a room along the street (with some traffic), but they are clean and if you're sensible to road noise it's killed with some ear plugs. We did excursions to different parts of the island every day and found it was pretty simple to get in and out of Funchal (even after the floodings late February). There's no designated car park for VT, but there is one just outside which costs 3 euros a day. Breakfasts were good, with that and a small lunch break we made it through the day, and in the evenings the central location offered quite close distance to Funchal restaurant streets.

We stayed here for a week over the New Year 2010 and found it very suitable. The room while small was cleaned daily and it was also quiet both within and vis a vis barking dogs etc. The breakfast was substantial and there is cheap public parking facing the building should you rent a car.

Funchal itself is pleasant for walking and brousing and prices are inexpensive by Irish standards (which are high within Europe). The road system is a combination of narrow one-way streets, tunnels and fly-overs. Difficult driving and we would probably opt for the bus system next time.

Maderia is great for hill-walking and even though we had lots of rain, the temperatures were constant at about 20C. Most people we dealt with had some English, and the propriators of Vila Teresinha are fluent in several languages including English.

This is the right place to stay if you intend to be out and about a lot. For a passive holiday, a large hotel would be better.

In a place where cheaper hotels are hard to come by, this place is a little gem. We paid a little extra for a private balcony which was great. We actually "ate in" on 2 occasions, just getting nice bread, cheese etc from the nearby supermarket and soaking up the great view across the whole of funchal from our balcony.

The hotel is centrally located (although at the top of steep hills so you'll keep fit!!) and the owners are friendly. Brekky is a good continental with very fresh bread and eggs if you want them.

The room was basic but clean and the communal fridge was great for keeping our stuff cool. I'd stay here again if visiting funchal.

Only negative was we found it rather hard to find in the first place - invest in a good map before you arrive!!