This review represents yet another excellent holiday in the Cliff Bay Hotel. On arrival, it was rather disconcerting to be told that the hotel had just reopened that day, after a two week shut-down for refurbishment (not advised by our Travel Agent!), and that our room was not yet ready. However, in true Cliff Bay style, we were invited to have a bite to eat in the Cliff Bar, while we were waiting. In due course, we were personally taken to our room by a member of the management team, where our luggage had already been delivered. Over the next few days, the final refurbishment was obviously still taking place, as could be heard through various drilling and knocking noises. However, all noise stopped at about 16:00 hours every day, as promised by Reception. Apparently to ensure that the Rose Garden Restaurant was completed as soon as possible, the team worked 24 hours per day. None of this was noticeable to us as guests. Until it was available, all guests were accommodated in the Il Gallo d'Oro Michelin Star restaurant for all meals. After 5 days all was apparently back to normality and, as the guest numbers started to increase, the normal Christmas activities fell into place just in time. Throughout all of this time we were very well looked after with gifts of Champagne and letters of apology from the Management team who were always visible and available for comment. I must also comment on the diligence of our local Travel Agent Team member, who was constantly on hand to advise and accept any comments. He then proceeded to negotiate a discount on our miscellaneous bill, as a further acknowledgement of the disruption to our holiday. The remainder of the two weeks went absolutely without a hitch, and the weather was especially helpful by being sunny and warm. Unfortunately, we were unable to stay for the fireworks this year, due to our flying day being a Monday, but once again, Cliff Bay, Funchal and Madeira proved to be an excellent holiday experience. We will be back again this year to renew our friendships with the staff at all locations.
