Madeira: Generation Games

Would the Fun@Reid's programme for children be as exciting as it sounded? Would the oldsters find the hotel gardens as enticing as described? And would we, the couple 'in the middle', be able to escape into the countryside and breathe in the mountain air?

kept in tiny pots at home were giant bushes here.

Perched in his special car seat, Jon was king of the castle when we arrived at the hotel, and even more so when he was welcomed by name at reception and a huge fuss made of him. Reid's is a wonderfully grand building dating from 1891, but rather than this fazing Jon, he - rather worryingly, I felt - took to it 'as if to the palace born'. So much so that when he received an invitation to a children's (fruit juice) cocktail party stating that parents were also welcome, he announced quite proudly "This is for me" and only reluctantly allowed us along.

From then on, it was difficult to prise Jon out of the hotel's grounds. By now he had teamed up with Oscar from Sweden and had established base camp in the Casa de Santana, a child-size version of Madeira's traditional pitch-roofed houses. My parents, too, were in no hurry to move and spent hours on their balcony compiling shipping reports of the various craft they spotted out at sea.

overhung with arching trees and ferns, led to a trout fishery where we had a fresh-from-the-pond lunch. We also headed to the island's capital, Funchal, where we were amazed by the treasures in the Sacred Art Museum and Quinta das Cruzes, an historic house filled with beautiful antiques. Then it was on to a wine tasting in the atmospheric Sao Francisco cellars - the ancient barrels and wine-making paraphernalia were especially interesting having seen the vines growing on steep terraces the previous day.

Our parents took a Jeep safari past Cabo Girão, Europe's second tallest cliffs. They described the winding roads that wriggle up and down the sides of valleys covered with agricultural terraces and swathes of sweet chestnut trees. The trip also took in the raffish old port of Camara de Lobos, where Winston Churchill painted scenes that can still be seen today.

While each of us had their 'me' time, there was also lots to do together. We especially enjoyed a stroll along the city levada (irrigation channel) that runs from up behind the hotel, taking us past gardens with banana trees sprouting huge hands of fruit.

And while normally doing everything possible to avoid the obvious tourist trail, we loved taking the cable car up to Monte, swaying high over ravines, then wandering through the tropical gardens where tree ferns sprout from scarlet oriental pavilions and Jon was mesmerised by the giant carp. We returned to Funchal, screaming, in the giant 'laundry basket' toboggans that zig-zag down through the narrow streets.

After all the day's activity we would watch the sun set over the sea and then get together in the Ristorante Villa Cipriani, which we found exceptionally family-friendly, with great pasta. The baby sitter organised by the hotel meant we could ring the changes and sample Reid's more formal dining rooms, too.

When the time came to leave, Jon was invited to leave his comments on a special children's questionnaire. When he wrote (with a little help from us and prompting from his grandparents) that he would like to come back and go dolphin watching next time, I knew that this holiday had really hit the 'g-' (generation) spot.

By Amanda Keene, a UK-based travel writer.

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