Only ten make the cut. Madeira is Portugal's island of cliffs, levadas and mild winters, and the base decides the trip: Funchal's hotel zone, old centre and hills, the cliffs at Caniço de Baixo, the green north coast at Santana or the south-west coast at Ponta do Sol. Ten hotels, from a 1969 modernist hotel in central Funchal at about €150 a night to the clifftop grand hotel of 1891 at about €825, each here for a different reason.
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Madeira, PortugalBetter Fit
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Editor’s note
This edit starts with Funchal, where seven of the ten stand, from the Lido cliffs to the Sé and the Palheiro estate in the hills, and then takes in the rest of the island: an adults-only hotel at Caniço de Baixo, a vineyard quinta at Santana and a design hotel at Ponta do Sol. Beside the grand hotel of 1891 on its cliff it sets a family resort with a free kids' club in season and, as the smart-money pick, a 1969 modernist hotel by the Jardim Municipal, from about €150 a night with breakfast.
The Better Trip Editorial Team · Travel industry experts
What changed
Not a rankingTen hotels, one at a time.
Funchal's grand hotel of 1891 on the cliff above the bay, with afternoon tea on the terrace, pools above the sea and a starred dining room.
Why go. Afternoon tea on the terrace over Funchal Bay, with 38 teas and seatings at 14:30 and 16:30.
The catch. The entry Superior Rooms are 23 to 26 m² with a partial sea view; the full view of the bay starts with the Deluxe Sea View. Read it →
€€€€From about €825 a night
A five-star resort on its own promontory in Funchal, with the bay in view from the Bay View balconies and a saltwater pool at the edge of the Atlantic.
Why go. Balconies over the harbour and the city from the Funchal Bay View rooms.
The catch. Not in the centre: the Sé is a 33-minute walk along a busy road, uphill on the way back, or a bus or taxi. Read it →
€€€From about €385 a night
Funchal's big modern palace: an adults-only rooftop infinity pool, a 3,100 m² spa and sea-view balconies over Funchal Bay.
Why go. The Galáxia Skypool, a heated adults-only infinity pool on the 17th floor above Funchal Bay.
The catch. The spa circuit costs €50 a day per guest unless you book a treatment of 60 minutes or more, and it is for over-16s only. Read it →
€€€€From about €495 a night
A new five-star behind six old façades by the Sé, opened in 2023, with a rooftop pool and old Funchal on foot.
Why go. The old façades of six town houses, one once an embroidery factory's headquarters, another a Blandy family property.
The catch. A small, shallow rooftop pool, about 10 by 6 metres, where loungers run short on busy days. Read it →
€€From about €225 a night
A central Funchal three-star by the Jardim Municipal, six minutes' walk from the Sé, with a rooftop pool and breakfast included from about €150 a night.
Why go. A 1969 modernist building by Raúl Chorão Ramalho, beside the Jardim Municipal.
The catch. Small rooms: a Standard Room is 17 to 20 m², a Standard Balcony Room 16 to 20 m². Read it →
€€From about €150 a night
A restored 1804 hunting lodge on a 150-hectare estate above Funchal, with gardens, golf and a MICHELIN-listed dinner at the door.
Why go. Junior Suites in the old house, named after the Count of Carvalhal, King Carlos and John Burden Blandy.
The catch. Funchal is a taxi ride, not a walk: the Sé is 18 minutes by car off-peak but about 70 minutes on foot, much of it steep. Read it →
€€€From about €320 a night
A Lido resort with seawater pools and a sea platform on the Atlantic, a children's pool of their own, a free kids' club in season and two-room family rooms.
Why go. A 2,000 m² sea-level platform with three seawater pools and direct access into the Atlantic.
The catch. The outdoor pools are seawater, and guests often find them cold outside high summer; the heated pool is the indoor one. Read it →
€€€From about €355 a night
The adults-only building of a clifftop resort at Caniço de Baixo, with a seawater pool, sea-view saunas and a lift down to the sea.
Why go. An outdoor seawater pool of about 100 m² on the cliff top, kept for adults.
The catch. Half-board dinner is a buffet at the Ondamar restaurant in Sentido Galosol, the resort's other hotel, which takes children. Read it →
€€From about €220 a night
A clifftop vineyard quinta on the north coast, with pools, fireplaces and the island's great walks a short drive away.
Why go. Two hectares of vines on the cliff top, picked each September at the Wine Festival.
The catch. A hire car is close to essential: Santana's centre is a 51-minute walk along the road and Funchal about 50 minutes' drive. Read it →
€€From about €245 a night
A minimalist black-and-white design hotel built around an old quinta on the cliff above Ponta do Sol, with an infinity pool on the clifftop facing the sea.
Why go. An outdoor infinity pool on the clifftop, looking out to sea along the south coast.
The catch. The hotel is layered down a cliff: reaching a room can take a lift, a footbridge and several flights of steps, which is hard work with limited mobility or heavy luggage. Read it →
€€From about €225 a night
Hand-picked: only the best, one version of each, researched so you don’t have to.
The sunrise above the cloudsFrom €474.8(5,000)
The classic levadaFrom €43.204.7(2,700)
Whales, on a big catamaranFrom €354.6(7,900)
The sunset sailFrom €504.8(2,600)
The tall shipFrom €454.6(2,300)
The west, by jeepFrom €695(650)
The east, in comfortFrom €38.704.7(3,900)
The forest levadaFrom €424.8(1,300)
The food and wineFrom €954.8(550)
The waterfalls, roped upFrom €63.755(2,000)
Questions people ask
None of the ten is "the best". Each is the best for a different reason, and that reason is the tag on its card. Answer three questions in Better Fit and it will pick the one for you.
The Cliff Bay. A five-star resort on its own promontory in Funchal, with the bay in view from the Bay View balconies and a saltwater pool at the edge of the Atlantic.
VidaMar Resort Hotel Madeira. A Lido resort with seawater pools and a sea platform on the Atlantic, a children's pool of their own, a free kids' club in season and two-room family rooms.
Hotel Madeira. A central Funchal three-star by the Jardim Municipal, six minutes' walk from the Sé, with a rooftop pool and breakfast included from about €150 a night.
Madeira is a mountain in the Atlantic: steep, green and short of sand, with the Laurisilva, its old laurel forest, a World Heritage Site since 1999. Where you stay decides the trip. Funchal, the capital, climbs from its bay, with the hotel zone and the Lido to the west, the Sé and the Zona Velha, the old town, in the middle, and São Gonçalo on the hill to the east; Caniço de Baixo is a cliff-top resort east of the city, Santana is on the wetter north coast and Ponta do Sol is a village on the south-west coast. Seven of these ten are in Funchal or above it, and one each in Caniço de Baixo, Santana and Ponta do Sol.
Independently, through extensive research, trusted sources and first-hand visits. Hotels cannot pay to be included, and every one of the ten has to exist for a different reason.
Madeira is a mountain in the Atlantic: steep, green and short of sand, with the Laurisilva, its old laurel forest, a World Heritage Site since 1999. Where you stay decides the trip. Funchal, the capital, climbs from its bay, with the hotel zone and the Lido to the west, the Sé and the Zona Velha, the old town, in the middle, and São Gonçalo on the hill to the east; Caniço de Baixo is a cliff-top resort east of the city, Santana is on the wetter north coast and Ponta do Sol is a village on the south-west coast. Seven of these ten are in Funchal or above it, and one each in Caniço de Baixo, Santana and Ponta do Sol.
Funchal has the grand names and the town life but no sandy beach: you swim from pools, platforms and ladders. Reid's Palace, A Belmond Hotel has stood on its cliff at the western edge of the bay since 1891, with pools above the sea and a tidal pool; The Cliff Bay, its neighbour on the cliff, has a saltwater pool and a ladder into the Atlantic; and VidaMar Resort Hotel Madeira, the family pick, has seawater pools on a platform at the Lido. Savoy Palace, opened in 2019 on Avenida do Infante, has an adults-only infinity pool on its 17th floor. In the centre, Hotel Madeira, taking guests since 1969, is 6 minutes on foot from the Sé, and Barceló Funchal Oldtown, opened in 2023 behind six old façades, is 2 minutes from it. The hills are real: from the Lido hotels the Sé is 33 minutes' walk, gently downhill, and the walk back climbs. Casa Velha do Palheiro, an 1804 hunting lodge, is about 500 metres up at São Gonçalo: 71 minutes down to the Sé on foot and nearly two hours back.
Beyond the city, Sentido Galomar, for adults 16 and over, stands on the cliff at Caniço de Baixo, with lifts down to a bathing complex and steps into the sea. Hotel Quinta do Furão is a vineyard estate on the cliff above Santana, 15 minutes by car from the Caldeirão Verde levada and 26 from the path up Pico Ruivo. Estalagem da Ponta do Sol, an old quinta with new wings, has an infinity pool on the cliff and a lift down to the village and its pebble beach.
Madeira Airport (FNC) is at Santa Cruz, on the coast east of Funchal. With the roads clear, Sentido Galomar is 12 minutes from the terminal bus stop, Casa Velha do Palheiro and Barceló 20, Hotel Madeira 21, Savoy Palace 23, Reid's 24, The Cliff Bay and VidaMar 25, Quinta do Furão 33 and Estalagem da Ponta do Sol 37. By day, on distance alone, the taxi meter comes to roughly €30 to central Funchal, €35 to the Lido and €60 to Ponta do Sol. The Aerobus runs to Funchal's seafront and the Lido for €6.70 on board. Away from Funchal a hire car is close to essential: the VR1 expressway follows the south coast, the VE1 crosses to Santana and the VE3 climbs to Ponta do Sol, and the trailheads at Pico do Arieiro and Rabaçal are far easier with one. The island's buses take one regional ticket, €13.75 a day, and the classified walking trails need a timed slot booked online, €4.50 a trail.
Read the rate before comparing prices. Nine of the ten include breakfast in the prices shown here; Sentido Galomar's lowest rate is room only. Half board is sold at seven of them, including Barceló, VidaMar, Quinta do Furão and the Estalagem. IVA, at Madeira's reduced rate of 4%, is in the price; the tourist tax is usually added at the hotel. Funchal, Santa Cruz, Santana and Ponta do Sol each charge €2 per guest per night, for up to seven nights, from age 13, and in Funchal the council has voted to raise it to €4 from 2027. The honest part: the south has the city and the sea pools, the north the forest walks and the rain, and nowhere has much sand. In 2024 Santana had more days of rain, 129, than any other weather station in the islands. In Funchal, by IPMA's normals, January afternoons average 20.0°C (68°F) and August's 26.8°C (80°F), with 574 mm of rain a year, almost none in summer.
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