Hotel Galosol

The Hotel Galosol attracts a crowd composed of both families with children and couples, drawn by the vast range of activities on offer. Its shared spaces are spacious, dated, and can feel anonymous, with terra-cotta floor tiles and walls painted in drab olive-green and dusty blues. The atrium lobby adds some local color with patterned mosaics alongside wicker seating topped with tan and navy cushions. The pool bar has a similar color scheme, featuring painted tiki-themed wall friezes and a thatched-roof area livening things up a little. A more atmospheric pizza restaurant has a timbered roof and walls, and an open kitchen where guests can see pizzas being made, while the seafood restaurant, Atlantis, is a modern space with large windows overlooking the ocean and dramatic rock debris moulded into the walls. Guests typically spend their days utilizing the free fitness classes, meditation and wellness spaces, and live music performances.

The hotel is located within the Galo Resorts complex, about 20 minutes outside of Funchal by car. There are some shops, bars, and restaurants in the area immediately around the resort, and lots more can be found in Funchal. It is a two-minute walk from the Manta Diving Center, which offers a range of classes and diving experiences in partnership with the hotel. Expect a 10-minute drive to Madeira Airport.

The hotel’s rooms are more attractive than the spaces downstairs, though still fairly generic, with wooden floors, walls painted a cheery burnt orange, and modern rattan furnishings that include a large double bed, armchair, desk and chair, and bedside tables. The bathrooms have either traditional tiling or striking mosaic tiles in varying shades of pink, and are equipped with a shower cubicle or shower/tub combo, hairdryer, magnifying mirror, and free toiletries. 

Suites are larger and decorated with terra-cotta floor tiles, pale-yellow walls, and furniture made of laminate wood and rattan. They have separate lounges with a couch and chest of drawers acting as a TV stand, a coffee table, and a dining table and chairs. Suites also have a tiny kitchenette with a two-burner stove, mini-fridge, kettle, and the usual crockery and cookware. Some bathrooms are equipped with jetted bathtubs. All rooms have free Wi-Fi, minibar, and smart flat-screen TV. Use of safes requires a fee. Also standard are furnished balconies, either overlooking the garden or sea.

Without a doubt, the main selling point at the Hotel Galosol is the sheer range of sporting and leisure activities that the hotel offers. In addition to meditation and yoga sessions, the hotel offers a wide variety of water sports and diving in association with the nearby Manta Diving Center. A spa offers a range of massage, wellness, and beauty treatments, including Ayurvedic therapies. The hotel has a vast fitness center with cardio and weight-training equipment, and an aerobics room with parallel bars and ropes. Three squash courts can be booked and if that’s not enough choice for guests seeking to work up a sweat, the hotel has a large indoor pool and a sizable outdoor one -- shaped like a dumbbell. The outdoor pool is set in a sunny terrace that is also home to the tiki-themed pool bar, serving cocktails, light meals, and snacks. On the food front, a buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served in the hotel’s main restaurant, while the Atlantis restaurant serves an a la carte menu composed mainly of seafood, and a pizzeria serves the obvious. The hotel has free Wi-Fi throughout.