The Buganvilea is situated in the "hotel area" of Funchal and a considerable way from the centre - not walkable as we thought it would be. The 2 km the brochure said was more like 2 miles. It was clean and well serviced and all staff were friendly and polite. We had a lovely balcony overlooking the sea but 2 streets back from it so we could see the tops of other hotels and restaurants. Most annoyingly for me there was a large extractor of some sort directly below us so the noise was unpleasant. There is also a lot of building going on in the area so plenty of noise from that as well together with the odd crane or two. Street noise was also high. On leaving the hotel we were constantly pestered by people in the surrounding restaurants inviting us to come and eat. Talking of eating - we took the half board option in the hotel which was a big mistake. The breakfasts were great but the self-service dinners are not recommended. Although it cost only about £10 each per night it is possible to eat out for that amount in the restaurants surrounding the hotel with plenty of variety. The salad or soup starter and dessert at the Buganvilea were fine but the main courses were poor with only 2 choices - one always being fish and often luke-warm or tough and tasteless - not recommended. We went to Madeira to walk. We like to be independent so used public transport which was reliable and cheap. If you like to do the same I suggest you buy a complete bus timetable from the tourist office in the centre of Funchal for just over 1 Euro as there are 4 different bus companies which can be very confusing. Do try the No. 81 bus ride from Curral das Freiras if you want a hair-raising experience and the beach at Ribeira Brava has a great swimming area which warms up during the day and is very safe. One last word - don't believe what taxi drivers tell you. Whilst waiting for the autobus to the airport two taxis stopped and told us "the bus isn't running today" which was untrue. We would definitely return to Madeira but not to this hotel.