Have been to Madeira 3 times.

Good points:-
Weather is pretty good all year round - neither too hot or too cold.
Coastal scenery is fantastic - especially the Northern and Western end of the island.
Food is superb - opt for B&B so that you can try out places to eat.
Hotels - especially if you book 4 star or above are usually of a good quality.
Not much for children so not packed out with families on holiday.
Certainly not a 18 - 30 holiday resort!
The flowers are out of this world.
Great walking along the levadas - catering for all abilities.

Bad points:-
Can be expensive - Madeira has always been slightly exclusive.
Funchal is a very busy working town - in our 3 visits we have only stayed once in Funchal - we prefer to stay outside of the town.
No beaches - well there is a man made one beside the Calheta Beach Hotel in Calheta (a highly recommended hotel by the way).
If you go off the main roads then driving can be a little hairy! There are many new roads - lots of tunnels making getting from A to B much quicker. On our last visit in November 2004 there were a lot of roadworks.

Would we return? In a word no - we have seen the whole of the island and on our last visit I had the misfortune to fracture my ankle so it holds a few bad memories (the hospital being one of them).

If you want to know anything specific about hotels or similar then please feel free to pm me.

Pippa

We have been to Madeira twice, both times at the end of November and enjoyed it very much. First time we stayed at the Monumental Lido which was okay but a bit noisy as the main roads run to the front and back of the hotel. Second time we stayed at the Porto Mare which is just below the main road and there was no traffic noise at all, in fact it was very peaceful. While we were there all the Christmas lights were on and they are really beautiful. Worth going just to see them. We did the bus tour of the west of the island with a lovely meal included. We caught the service bus up to Monte and came down by cable car. Great views of the island. We didn't walk the levadas as we are a bit lazy. We did have tea at Reids and also sampled the famous 'scabbard' fish and 'steak on the stone', both wonderful. would go back again for a relaxing break but no good if you want lots of night life.

I go to Madeira every 12 weeks.

I have a young family, (21 months and 8 years).

We find it a beautiful place to visit and as well as the beach at Calheta there is a waterpark by the airport which is only about £8 for an all day pass and a theme park at Santana which again has lots of kids activities.

We have seen a big increase in families visiting over the last 3 years and a lot more in general for the children.

We all comeback a lot fitter than when we went (probably mostly from chasing around after the 21 month-old)

I would recommend it as an all year round destination.

You can also read through our resort reports for Maderia Click Here

Much food for thought there. Many thanks guys.