Hotel Riu Madeira
Hotel Riu Madeira is a four-star all-inclusive at Caniço de Baixo, on the south coast of Madeira, Portugal, about 6 km east of Funchal. It sits on a hillside above the Atlantic, with meals, snacks and drinks folded into a 24-hour all-inclusive price. Families come for two outdoor pools and a paddling pool, a sheltered pebble beach a few minutes below, and a free shuttle into Funchal.
On this page
Is it worth it?
Who it suits, what’s in the all-inclusive and the facts to skim before the detail.
Hotel Riu Madeira is a four-star, 24-hour all-inclusive on a hillside at Caniço de Baixo, about 6 km east of Funchal on Madeira’s south coast. All your meals, snacks and drinks are in the price, including alcohol, and the setting is the draw: most of the hotel looks out over the Atlantic, there’s a pebble beach with a sheltered section a few minutes below, and a free shuttle runs into Funchal. It’s the only all-inclusive four-star east of Funchal, which is what sets it apart from Madeira’s other family hotels.
Where it works less well is with the very youngest. There’s no childcare for under-sixes at any point in the year, and the children’s activity programme runs only in peak summer for six to twelves, so outside those weeks there’s nothing structured for children. The two outdoor pools are deep with little shallow water, so a non-swimming toddler is limited to the smaller paddling pool, and the beach is pebbles rather than sand. You’ll get the most from it if you’re happy to fill your own days, or if your children are six or older and you’re travelling in summer.
Best for
You want an all-inclusive base near Funchal, you’re happy to fill your own days around the pools and beach, or you’ve children of six to twelve travelling in peak summer.
Maybe not for
You want a crèche or kids’ club for a baby or toddler, a sandy beach on the doorstep, or structured children’s activities outside peak summer.
Best ages
Children of six and up, who can join the summer activity programme. Under-sixes are welcome, but there’s no childcare for them at any time of year.
What stands out
The 24-hour all-inclusive east of Funchal, the sheltered pebble beach a few minutes below and the sea views from most rooms.
What to check
Whether a cot and highchair can be confirmed, this year’s children’s programme dates, whether Kullinarium takes bookings before you arrive and that spa treatments are charged separately from the all-inclusive.
Where is it?
On a hillside at Caniço de Baixo on the south coast of Madeira, about 6 km east of Funchal and about 15 minutes from the airport.
Quick facts for families
What the resort is like
Where it sits, how it’s laid out over the levels and what that means for getting around.
Hotel Riu Madeira stands at Caniço de Baixo, a coastal spot on the south side of Madeira, the Portuguese island in the Atlantic off the coast of north-west Africa. Caniço is about 6 km east of Funchal, the island’s capital, and the hotel sits between the town and the airport, which makes it one of the handier bases on the island for getting about. It was renovated in 2022 and runs around the clock, with check-in from 15:00 and check-out by 12:00. Staff speak Portuguese, English, Spanish, French and German. There are 327 rooms in all.
The hotel is built into a hillside above the sea, so it’s arranged over levels rather than spread flat. The reception and restaurants sit on the upper level, with the pool deck below them, and you move between the two by a set of stairs or a small lift. The beach is reached through a rear exit and along a short, narrow path. This matters most if you’re pushing a buggy, the UK word for a pram or pushchair: there are steps to manage, and the wider Caniço coast is steep and steps-heavy, with the nearby Lido Galomar bathing platform reached by a lift down the cliff. The pebble beach isn’t buggy-friendly either. The hotel is described as generally workable for reduced mobility, with that lift the key to it, and there’s an adapted room; no buggy storage or loan is mentioned, so bring what you need.
The hotel holds Ecostars sustainability certification, uses certified renewable electricity and runs waste recycling, with electric-car charging points in the car park and locally guided tours offered as part of its sustainability programme. For the island as a whole, its beaches, towns and when to visit, see our Madeira guide.
Every restaurant and bar
The three restaurants, how the à la carte works and where the bars are.
Everything’s included on the 24-hour all-inclusive: all meals, snacks and drinks, including alcohol, around the clock. There are three restaurants and three bars, two of them below.
The Main Restaurant is the buffet, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with show-cooking stations, a dessert corner and vegetarian options, plus two themed dinner nights a week. It’s the most practical room for a family with young children: no booking, tables that look out over the pools, and enough choice to fill a fussy plate. Families single out the daily pizza, three pasta options and a large dessert section. It can get busier on Sunday mornings, so allow a little longer for breakfast then.
Kullinarium is the à la carte restaurant, open for dinner only, cooking meat, fish and pasta with local produce. There’s no separate children’s menu, but you can bring a plate over from the buffet for a child. Families who’ve eaten there say it fills up each evening and the way to get a table is to book one when you arrive rather than in advance; check at reception whether that’s still how it works, and book early either way.
Pepe’s Food is the poolside grill buffet, open for breakfast and for snacks and light meals through the day rather than for dinner, with terrace views over the coast.
Drinks are included at all the bars. There’s a pool bar at the outdoor pools and a bar by the lobby that doubles as the evening show venue, with a third bar as well.
Rooms and suites
Every room type with its official size, the pools across the levels and the pebble beach below.
The hotel has 327 rooms across six types, from a 25 m² single up to a 50 m² junior suite. The table lists every type with its official size and view; the guidance after it is which suit a family with a baby or toddler.
| Room | Size | View | In the room |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single room | 25 m² | Garden or side | Shower, central heating, air conditioning |
| Double Standard | 30 m² | Garden or side | Shower, central heating, air conditioning |
| Accessible room | 30 m² | Not specified | Adapted for reduced mobility; shower, central heating, air conditioning |
| Double with lateral sea view | 30 m² | Side sea view | Central heating, air conditioning |
| Double Room with sea view | 30 m² | Full sea view | Shower, air conditioning |
| Jr. Suite | 50 m² | Front sea view | A separate sofa-bed area; central heating, air conditioning |
Every room has a balcony or terrace and a hairdryer, and every one has air conditioning. Central heating is listed for all but the Double Room with sea view, which is worth knowing for a cooler-month stay. Wi-Fi is free throughout and families rate it as fast. Three doubles share the same 30 m² size and differ mainly by view: garden or side on the Double Standard, a side sea view on the Double with lateral sea view, and a full sea view on the Double Room with sea view. There’s also a 25 m² single and a 30 m² accessible room adapted for reduced mobility.
For a family who wants a sleeping zone away from the adults, the Jr. Suite at 50 m² is the one to look at. It’s the largest room, with a front sea view, and families who’ve stayed describe two double beds pushed together plus a separate sofa-bed area, two televisions and a two-sink bathroom with a shower. The bathrobes provided don’t come in children’s sizes, and there’s floor space for a travel cot. There’s no separate family-room type, and no interconnecting rooms are confirmed, so the Jr. Suite is the practical family choice.
Pools and water features
There are two outdoor swimming pools, an indoor pool and a separate paddling pool for small children. In the winter months the indoor pool and one of the two outdoor pools are heated; the second outdoor pool isn’t. Guests who’ve stayed in winter say the paddling pool is heated then too. Both outdoor pools are deep, with little shallow water, so a baby or toddler who can’t swim is best kept to the small paddling pool. There’s no splash pad or water-play feature. Pool towels come from a hut by the outdoor pools, one per guest, swapped for a dry one through the day.
The beach
The beach below the hotel is Praia dos Reis Magos, reached through the rear exit in about three minutes. It’s black volcanic pebbles in three sections, not sand, so pack water shoes. It holds a Blue Flag for the 2026 season and has lifeguards, and its middle section is enclosed and sheltered, a calmer spot for a toddler dip, with a jetty and steps down into the sea. For a change, the Lido Galomar bathing complex is a short distance away, reached by a panoramic lift down the cliff, with its own Blue Flag, a children’s pool and lifeguards, for a small charge. If it’s sand your family wants, the nearest is at Machico, about 15 minutes east, or Calheta, about 45 minutes west.
Babies and toddlers
The childcare gap, what fills a family day and the days out beyond the gate.
This is a resort where young children entertain themselves at the pools and beach rather than one that lays on childcare, and that’s the main thing for parents of babies and toddlers to weigh. There’s no crèche at any age and no kids’ club for under-sixes at any time of year. The children’s activity programme is for six to twelve year olds, runs about six days a week, and only in peak summer, roughly July to mid-September; dates shift from year to year, so check the current schedule with the hotel. Outside that window there’s nothing structured for children of any age.
There’s no babysitting service, so don’t count on an evening off as a couple. In the evenings there’s a nightly show in the show room, a music act followed by a performance from around 9:15pm, the sort of magic, tribute or ballroom act that families find hit or miss.
The hotel doesn’t list cots or highchairs on its official site. They’re standard practice at a four-star all-inclusive and usually provided on request, so ask for them when you book, but confirm directly with the hotel rather than assuming. There’s no specific baby food or weaning provision, though the buffet’s range of pasta, pizza, vegetarian dishes and puddings gives you plenty to make up a plate. The paddling pool, which guests say is heated in winter, is the water feature that works for a non-swimming toddler.
On and around the resortThings to do
Away from the pools and beach, the hotel has a tennis court with a hard surface and sea views, a fully equipped gym, a petanque bowls area and a card-games room, plus outdoor gym equipment along the seafront path behind the hotel. Local tours and activities are arranged through local guides as part of the hotel’s sustainability programme.
There’s a Spa & Wellness Centre on site offering treatments and massages. As at RIU hotels generally, spa treatments are charged on top of the all-inclusive rather than included, so ask on arrival for the treatment list and prices. There’s also a hairdresser.
Out and aboutThe area and days out
Caniço de Baixo sits between Funchal and the airport, which makes it an easy base for exploring the island. Right by the hotel are Praia dos Reis Magos and the Lido Galomar, both covered above, and a seafront path with the outdoor gym equipment.
Funchal, about 15 minutes away, is the obvious day out: the cable car up to Monte and the Monte Palace gardens, the wicker-basket toboggan ride down, a Madeira tradition where two drivers steer a sledge on runners, the Cristiano Ronaldo museum, the Lido and the parks, gardens and markets. The hotel runs a free return shuttle bus into Funchal, which you book rather than turn up for, so it’s worth using instead of driving in.
Machico, about 15 to 20 minutes east, is the island’s flattest town and has Banda d’Além beach, made with imported golden sand, with calm shallow water and a playground, which is the most practical sandy-beach outing from here. Nearer still, Santa Cruz by the airport, about 10 minutes east, has a beach and a municipal pool.
Further afield, Porto Moniz in the north-west, about an hour and a quarter away, has natural volcanic seawater pools and an aquarium, a big family day out. The clifftop walk at Ponta de São Lourenço, about 30 minutes east, has a short section families can manage. Inland, the viewpoint at Eira do Serrado above Curral das Freiras, about 30 minutes, is a short paved walk to a valley view; Pico do Arieiro, about 40 minutes and 1,818 m up, is a drive-up summit a couple of minutes’ walk from the car, though it’s a cloud lottery and around 10°C colder than the coast, so take layers. Calheta, about 45 minutes west, has the island’s man-made sandy beach and a beach club with calm water.
Loves and gripes
What guests rate and what frustrated them, how it compares, the journey in, the weather and the practical bits.
What families love
- The staff, singled out for friendliness and attentiveness.
- How clean the hotel and grounds are kept.
- The buffet’s variety, from daily pizza and three pastas to a large dessert section.
- The sea views from the rooms and terraces.
- The cooking at Kullinarium, the à la carte restaurant.
- Fast Wi-Fi, and the free shuttle into Funchal.
Common gripes
- The evening entertainment, which guests find hit or miss.
- No RiuLand, the children’s club branded at other RIU hotels, which some visitors expect and don’t find here.
- No kids’ club for under-sixes, and nothing structured for children outside peak summer.
- The two deep outdoor pools, with little shallow water for toddlers.
- The hillside steps between the levels.
Across the review sites the picture is good. It’s rated 4 out of 5 on TripAdvisor, from 3,617 reviews as of June 2026, and it’s sold in the UK by TUI.
Among Madeira’s family hotelsHow it compares
Hotel Riu Madeira is the only all-inclusive four-star east of Funchal; most of Madeira’s family hotels cluster on the Funchal and São Martinho Lido strip. That makes its all-inclusive setup useful if you’d rather not pay for meals out or drive: the other all-inclusive on the family shortlist, Enotel Lido, is a pricier five-star, and Calheta Beach is 45 minutes west. Where it falls short of its rivals is childcare. Hotels like VidaMar, Enotel Lido, Belmond Reid’s and Calheta Beach all run structured children’s clubs, several from age three and year-round, where Riu Madeira has none for under-sixes and only a summer programme for six to twelves. So for a family with a baby or a child under six it’s weaker than those; for six to twelves in summer it’s a solid all-inclusive on food, pools, beach and daytime animation; and for couples or families with older children it’s a competitive, well-reviewed choice with good food and views.
Getting thereGetting there and when to go
Madeira’s airport is Cristiano Ronaldo International (FNC), at Santa Cruz, about 7 to 8 km from the hotel; a taxi or private transfer takes roughly 15 minutes and isn’t included, so budget for a short local taxi fare and arrange one ahead of arrival. Members of RIU’s loyalty programme, RIU Class, can get discounts and free transfers. Flights run year-round from many UK airports, with Jet2, easyJet, BA, Ryanair and TUI between them serving up to about 55 departures a week in summer, and a winter schedule too.
One thing worth knowing: Funchal is a Category C airport with wind limits, and a small number of flights are diverted or cancelled each year, mostly between autumn and spring. Pack a spare day’s nappies, formula and any medicines in your hand luggage as a matter of course. There’s outdoor parking at the hotel for a charge, with electric-car charging points.
When to goWeather
The hotel is open all year, and its figures follow Funchal’s, just along the same south coast. Summers, June to September, are effectively rain-free, with days of 24 to 27°C and a sea of about 21 to 23.5°C, and that’s the only stretch with the children’s summer programme running. Winters, October to May, still bring days of 20 to 25°C, with showers most likely October to February and a sea of 18 to 23°C; there’s still heated swimming through the cooler months in the indoor pool and one outdoor pool, and guests report the paddling pool is heated then too. The sea is warm enough for a toddler to paddle from about July to November, and the sheltered section of the beach and the paddling pool mean you can get children in the water either side of that. On early-summer mornings a cloud cap can sit over the coast before it burns off.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20° | 14.5° | 99 mm | 9 | 19° |
| February | 20° | 14° | 95 mm | 8 | 19° |
| March | 20.5° | 14.5° | 83 mm | 10 | 19° |
| April | 21° | 15° | 62 mm | 7 | 19° |
| May | 22° | 16.5° | 44 mm | 5 | 20° |
| June | 24° | 18.5° | 17 mm | 2 | 21° |
| July | 25.5° | 20° | 4 mm | 1 | 23° |
| August | 27° | 21° | 4 mm | 1 | 24° |
| September | 26.5° | 20.5° | 45 mm | 5 | 24° |
| October | 25° | 19.5° | 118 mm | 10 | 24° |
| November | 22.5° | 17° | 112 mm | 10 | 22° |
| December | 21° | 15.5° | 135 mm | 12 | 21° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer. The hotel is open year-round.
Practicalities: health, supplies and entry
Medical services and laundry are available at the hotel. For baby-changing in the public toilets or an on-site mini-market, check at reception on arrival. The nearest pharmacy is the Farmácia do Caniço in Caniço town centre, open daily from 8am to midnight, with many more in Funchal about 15 minutes away; the Portuguese equivalent of Calpol is Ben-u-ron, a paracetamol syrup sold over the counter from three months, and pharmacies show a green cross.
Madeira is part of Portugal and the EU, so a UK GHIC covers essential healthcare. Madeira had a couple of isolated locally acquired dengue cases in early 2025 and none since; it isn’t a significant risk, but daytime mosquito repellent on the lower legs is sensible in the warm months. On entry, the EU’s Entry/Exit System is now running, with a biometric check and fingerprints for ages 12 and up on your first crossing; the separate ETIAS travel authorisation isn’t required yet.
Questions
The things families ask most, and where to see the photos.
Is there any childcare for a baby or toddler?
No. There’s no supervised childcare for under-sixes at any point in the year, and no babysitting either, so you’ll have your children with you throughout. If daytime childcare or an evening off as a couple matters, one of the Funchal Lido hotels with a year-round club would suit better.
When does the children’s activity programme run, and what age is it?
It’s for six to twelve year olds and runs in peak summer only, roughly July to mid-September, about six days a week. The exact dates shift year to year, so if it’s a reason you’re booking, email the hotel to confirm this year’s schedule before you commit.
Can we eat at the Kullinarium restaurant with young children?
Yes. It’s the à la carte restaurant and takes families; there’s no children’s menu, but you can bring a plate over from the buffet. It fills up in the evenings and tables tend to be taken on the night rather than booked ahead, so go early and ask at reception on arrival how it works for your stay.
Can a toddler who can’t swim get in the water?
Best in the paddling pool. The two outdoor pools are deep with little shallow water, so the small paddling pool, which guests say is heated in winter, is the one for a non-swimmer, along with the sheltered middle section of the beach on a calm day. Pack water shoes for the pebbles.
Is it a sandy beach?
No. The beach below the hotel is black volcanic pebbles, though it holds a Blue Flag for the 2026 season and has a sheltered section for a dip. For sand, plan a trip to Machico, about 15 minutes east, where the beach has imported golden sand and calm shallow water.
Could our flight be affected by the wind?
It can happen. Funchal’s airport has wind limits, and a small number of flights each year, mostly autumn to spring, are diverted or cancelled. It’s rarely a problem, but pack a spare day’s nappies, formula and any medicines in your hand luggage just in case.
When’s the best time to go with little ones?
Summer, June to September, is warm and dry with a swimmable sea, and it’s the only stretch with the children’s programme running. To dodge the August peak, June and September are quieter with the same warm sea. Outside summer the hotel stays open with its heated pools, but the sea is cool and there’s nothing on for children.
See Hotel Riu Madeira photos
Open the Hotel Riu Madeira photo gallery →
Useful links
- Hotel Riu Madeira: the hotel’s own site for rooms, the all-inclusive and its facilities.
- GOV.UK Portugal travel advice: entry rules and safety updates before you travel.
- Madeira with little ones: our guide to the island, its beaches and when to go.
Last updated 16 July 2026.
