Dreams Madeira Resort, Spa & Marina

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

288 reviews

• 

  Very nice

  Excellent stay, recommendable, service, location, rooms are all in perfect shape. People are very friendly. Nothing to remark and enjoying my stay a lot. Go for it. Nice view on the ocean. Food is Nice and Tasty with a lot of variety. Ice creams are good.

  May 17, 2025
• 

  Perfect in every way!

  The beach bar at the hotel is fantastic - by the private beach and salt water infinity pool, we are being looked after by Mohammad and his team with excellent service food & drink! We could ask no more of the lovely professional & polite staff! Perfect! 🙏🏻

  May 17, 2025
• 

  Could be amazing but falls short in many areas!

  We have just returned from a week at this hotel. I agree wholeheartedly with the ‘requires improvements’ comments. It could be an amazing hotel but falls short on many aspects for a supposedly 5 star hotel. We have stayed at a Dreams & Secrets (Adults Only version of Dreams) in Mexico & Dominican Republic and whilst we did not expect the quality & standard of service we received in the Caribbean they should still provide a better experience than we received. Check-in in the Preferred Lounge was uneventful, no information supplied, the guy who took us to our room got lost, it was laughable! The room & bathroom were both nice however the towel rail was on the floor which we pointed out & was told it would be seen to. We reported it for the next 3 days before giving up, it was never repaired. The housekeeping was ok, things were not replenished and the minibar was not replenished every day as was advertised would be. The buffet restaurant was the worst I have ever encountered! It was far too small for the size of the hotel and the food was uninspiring and lukewarm warm. I tried to book the restaurants on the app that evening & the following morning on the but was not able to, fortunately Eduardo in the Preferred Lounge managed to book some for us which was a relief as I did not want to eat in the buffet. The French, Japanese & Steak were all outstanding, the Sports bar was nice as was the beach restaurant although the service here was very hit & miss. The coffee shop was great as was the ice cream shop. The Preferred Lounge was not maned it was help yourself to food & drinks which was not what you expect from a Preferred Lounge and actually quite unhygienic due to some guests not acting very appropriately (I saw a man putting something in his mouth using one of the tongs then just replacing it)! Both pools including the Adults Pool were uninviting, they seemed scruffy and generally not very appealing. Fortunately we always managed to get beds at the beach which were very comfortable but there are definitely not enough for the size of the hotel. We were rarely served drinks there we usually had to get our own however some people seemed to get served so I’m not sure what their system is? The toilets were kept nice and clean. The Lobby Bar in the evening is too small for the size of the hotel and again the service was very hit & miss! They did however have some decent live singers most evenings. As I said the hotel could be amazing but I think some of the staff are either not interested or simply not trained properly. There should be a Supervisor in each bar & restaurant ensuring everything is run as it should be and there should be a visible Management presence which there is not. We think we noticed one guy in a suit who appeared to be a Manager but he completely ignored quests! I would like to commend a few members of staff who did stand out. Carol who served us in the Steak and also the French Restaurants was lovely and extremely professional! Eduardo in the Preferred Lounge was also very helpful. The young lady in the Ice Cream Shop was lovely, so professional & very efficient as was the young man with the glasses in the Coffee Shop who was also so lovely and very professional, I liked a latte after my evening meal and he would bring it down to the Lobby Bar for me. Finally our private Jet2 Taxi did not turn up to collect us when we were leaving and Lee one of the Concierge’s very calmly and professionally arranged for a Taxi for us and kept us calm while we were getting stressed, thank you so much to him! Management please take note of these comments and get more staff like the ones we have mentioned and you could have any amazing hotel. I’m quite surprised you do not respond to any of these comments or the survey I have also completed, the other Dreams hotels we have stayed in ask for feedback a few days into the holiday which is the professional thing to do.

  May 16, 2025
• 

  Great potential but falls way short at the moment

  We visited on the basis of the many positive reviews, however, we cannot understand how this is possible having spent a week here. Our assumption is that many hotel reps are being offered free stays in return for glowing reviews because the comments do not reflect ours and many guests experiences during our stay. This has the potential to be a fantastic resort and is situated in a great location with only a short drive into Funchal. However, there are many issues that unfortunately let this place down and it does not feel ready to welcome guests, at least not when promising a 5* hotel experience - right now it is far from this. Room - we stayed in a Preferred Club Double Garden view room. The room size was excellent and the bathroom was also spacious. The air con did not work and even before we reported it maintenance knocked on our door to investigate so clearly they were aware of the problem from a previous guest. The fix didn't work and I had to report this 4 times on consecutive nights before demanding a room change. The air con in our new room was passable but not brilliant and given the pain of packing and unpacking again we decided it would do. Unfortunately, the shower in this room constantly blocked and we again reported this 4 times. We were told it was fixed each time but the bathroom still flooded every time we showered (and no we did not have long showers). This was not resolved before we left. Bars - Cocoa cafe is excellent. Great coffee and the staff are fantastic. We ended up going here most mornings for a pastry and coffee for breakfast, rather than the buffet. Moments bar in the lobby is wholly inadequate for the size of the resort and always had extremely loud music playing in the evenings. We had our young baby with us and there's no way we could possibly sit there to listen. We were after a relaxing drink to unwind after the day with some nice background music but this does not exist here. The third option is The Desire sports bar by the marina. We ended up going here most nights as it was far more relaxed and the staff were really attentive. The Voce beach bar would be a fantastic place to go in the evenings but it closes at 6pm which is far too early for such a great location. Some relaxing music, nice lighting and later opening hours (e.g. 11pm) would make this a great destination. Restaurants - we were able to book the a la carte restaurants by ensuring we booked first thing in the morning for 2 days in advance. If you don't do this, the buffet is the only option other than the sports bar snack food (The Desire). The buffet is probably the worst I have ever tried (and we travel a lot) which meant securing reservations at the restaurants even more important. We tried it for breakfast, lunch and dinner and they were all bad, with very little fresh veg available. Instead there was plenty of chips and rice everywhere. Far from a 5* buffet experience. There were no labels on any of the food so it was difficult to tell, particularly for any allergy or dietary requirements. Even where they had labels they were obviously not correct. In terms of the restaurants, Carvao and Oishii were fantastic - great food and service you'd pay good money for. French restaurant had terrible service. We waited 2 hours for food before very swiftly leaving. We really liked the look of the desserts but couldn't risk the wait for them. The food we tried was very tasty which is a shame the service fell far short. Sabor and Club de Fado are the same restaurant but offering different cuisines on alternate nights. The food coming out of here for both cuisines was poor. Facilities - the resort is in a great location and very picturesque, but at the same time that does come with its challenges with getting around the many steep hills. An idea for the future would be to have a shuttle to help people with reduced mobility get around. The spa was still being renovated so can't comment on that. The swimming pools looked great although we didn't use them. The natural saltwater pool by the beach bar was a great bonus and we loved this. Overall, we felt very let down by the promise of a 5* experience which did not receive. Our hope is that they take the feedback on board as I know many guests during our stay had similar experiences and this will be a great resort in future. It feels like it needs a full season under its belt to iron out things and fingers crossed in a year's time its a difficult experience for the better.

  May 12, 2025
• 

  Great all inclusive

  We stayed for 11 days in May 2025 with a 3 year old. This hotel is like a little town, it’s huge and on a cliff edge. When other reviewers say there’s steps, it’s true. Steps and steep paths literally everywhere. Not a problem for us, but if you’ve got mobility problems or a pram you would probably struggle. You can book restrants up to three days in advance. We booked for dinner every morning and didn’t struggle to get in at 6pm. The buffet is fine, it’s a standard all inclusive buffet but the restaunts are much nicer. The pool bar also does great food and is open all day. We’ve only eaten at the buffet for breakfast. The outdoor pools are clean, but not heated. We still went swimming but it was cold. The splash pool for kids and the indoor pool weren’t open yet. We didn’t use the kids club. The room is nice and modern. The bed was huge and actually soft compared to most hotels. Also good quality pillows. The staff were all very friendly. We didn’t struggle to get served drinks at all. In fact they came out from behind the bar to ask if we wanted anything before we had even finished the menu. Daily housekeeping. The drinks are proper drinks, not off brand weak stuff. Check in was 4pm but our room wasn’t ready for an hr after. The staff kept explaining the situation and what they were doing to try help, the next day we got a written apology and a fruit basket at our room. We were tetchy as been up since 2am with child but realistically it wasn’t a problem. The bathroom shower is really nice. Seems endless hot water and good pressure. It’s located walking distance to PR8 meaning the road outside the hotel gets pretty busy. The WiFi in our room has been on and off but around the hotel in general it’s fine. You park in an underground car park and get a lift up to the lobby. There is tea and coffee and a mini fridge restocked each day in the room. We would come back again.

  May 12, 2025