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Best design hotels in Madeira

Estalagem da Ponta do Sol, an old quinta on the cliff joined to black-and-white wings by the architect Tiago Oliveira, with an infinity pool facing the Atlantic; and Savoy Palace in Funchal, whose interiors by the Madeira-born designer Nini Andrade Silva run from cut-out flower screens to a chain sculpture three storeys high.

2 of our ten · Hand-pickedHotels cannot pay to be hereLast checked: October 2026

9.4/10

4,200+ Expedia guest reviews of the 8 hotels we list

Average of the guest scores Expedia publishes, weighted by review count; read 30 October 2026.

At a glance

  1. Estalagem da Ponta do Sol: The infinity pool on the clifftop

    Estalagem da Ponta do Sol

    A clifftop quinta joined to monochrome modern wings above the sea

    Ponta do Sol · From about €225 a night

    See prices on
  2. Savoy Palace: The rooftop infinity pool above Funchal Bay

    Savoy Palace

    Nini Andrade Silva's island-inspired interiors on a grand scale

    Funchal · From about €495 a night

    See prices on

What we looked for

Design in Madeira comes in two very different forms, and these two hotels are the clearest of each. On the south-west coast, Estalagem da Ponta do Sol is spare and quiet: thick stone walls stepping down a cliff, white rooms with black stone floors, and big windows that leave the colour to the sea. In Funchal, Savoy Palace is the opposite: a 16-storey wave above the bay, dressed in ivory, gold and champagne, with flowers and plants from the island's landscape worked into almost everything.

Choose by the trip as much as the look. Ponta do Sol is the municipality the tourist board calls the hottest on the island, known for the most sunshine, but Funchal's Sé is 28 minutes away by car, so it suits a couple with a hire car and the west's levadas in mind. Savoy Palace keeps the Sé 23 minutes away on foot, with a 3,100 m² spa and six restaurants under one roof.

Estalagem da Ponta do Sol: The infinity pool on the clifftopThe design one

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Estalagem da Ponta do Sol

Ponta do Sol, Madeira

This is the hotel to book for the architecture itself. The architect Tiago Oliveira kept the buildings of an old quinta, a farm estate, and added plain contemporary wings, with interiors by Carvalho Araújo. Thick stone walls step down the cliff, a footbridge and a lift drop to the village street, and the sharp angles and flat surfaces make a play of light and shadow, with wind walls framing the sea.

The 54 rooms follow the same rule: white walls, black stone floors, grey rugs, light wood and black-and-white photographs, so the colour arrives through the panoramic windows. The infinity pool sits on a sun deck on the clifftop, the restaurant is walled in glass over the village, and the lounge bar has two fireplaces and a terrace for the sunset. For years the hotel hosted the after-parties of MadeiraDig, the experimental music festival, until its final edition in 2024.

Estalagem Double Sea View at Estalagem da Ponta do Sol: twin beds with striped throws beside floor-to-ceiling glass doors to a balcony over the sea

The room to book

Estalagem Double Sea View

about 18 m²€262 a night

The rooms are built to put the eye outside, and this one turns the black-and-white frame of the window onto the Atlantic.

Every room, and why

Take a drink to the lounge bar terrace for the sunset, and move inside to its fireplaces on a winter evening.

€€From about €225 a night

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Savoy Palace: The rooftop infinity pool above Funchal BayThe grand one

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Savoy Palace

Funchal, Madeira

Savoy Palace is design on a grand scale, and much of it is Madeiran. The interiors are by the Madeira-born designer Nini Andrade Silva: cut-out flower screens beside the beds, a light sculpture of metal chain three storeys high over the reception, and flower and plant motifs taken from the island's landscape, with rooms in ivory, gold and champagne. The building, opened in 2019 on Avenida do Infante, rises 16 storeys in a long wave above Funchal Bay, with pools and a bar on the roof.

The design carries through to the public spaces: the heated Galáxia Skypool on the 17th floor, for adults only, the Laurea Spa of 3,100 m², and six restaurants, from the rooftop Galáxia to Pau de Lume's grill. Even the entry rooms are 41 m², with a sitting area and a walk-in shower. It is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, and the MICHELIN Guide gives it one Key.

Superior Ocean Room at Savoy Palace: a king bed beside a curved burr-wood desk and white chair, with a sitting area and a glass-walled bathroom behind

The room to book

Superior Ocean Room

about 41 m²€554 a night

The 41 m² room with the flower screens and the ivory and gold palette, plus a terrace over the ocean and a double bathroom.

Every room, and why

Go up to the Galáxia Skybar on the 17th floor for sunset over Funchal Bay.

€€€€From about €495 a night

See prices onCheck availability onSee hotel

How to choose

Your tripBook
You want spare, modern design and quietEstalagem da Ponta do Sol
You want design with a spa and rooftop poolSavoy Palace
You want Funchal within walking distanceSavoy Palace

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Questions people ask

Good questions about Madeira

Who designed Estalagem da Ponta do Sol?

The architect Tiago Oliveira designed it, keeping the buildings of an old quinta on the cliff above Ponta do Sol and adding new wings in a plain contemporary style; the interiors are by Carvalho Araújo. Inside, the 54 rooms have white walls, black stone floors, grey rugs, light wood and black-and-white photographs, with big panoramic windows. Outside, an infinity pool sits on a sun deck on the clifftop, and a footbridge and a lift link the hotel to the village street below.

Who designed the interiors at Savoy Palace?

Nini Andrade Silva, the Madeira-born designer. Her work at Savoy Palace includes cut-out flower screens beside the beds, a light sculpture of metal chain three storeys high over the reception and flower and plant motifs taken from the island's landscape, with rooms in ivory, gold and champagne. The hotel opened in 2019 on Avenida do Infante, on the site of Funchal's original Savoy, and rises 16 storeys in a long wave above the bay.

Is there modernist architecture to stay in, in Funchal?

Yes. Hotel Madeira, beside the Jardim Municipal and 6 minutes on foot from the Sé, has taken guests since 1969 and is the work of Raúl Chorão Ramalho, the modernist architect behind more than fifty works on the island, among them the Regional Assembly on the Largo da Sé. He worked Madeira's slatted window shutters into a sculpted façade of projecting bays. For contemporary design on a larger scale, Savoy Palace is 23 minutes' walk from the Sé.

Is Ponta do Sol a good base for a design hotel stay?

For a couple with a car, yes. Ponta do Sol is the municipality the tourist board calls the hottest on the island, known for the most hours of sunshine, and Estalagem da Ponta do Sol's lift and footbridge bring the village, its pebble beach and its cafés within 5 minutes on foot. Off-peak by road, Calheta's sandy beach is 16 minutes away, the MUDAS contemporary art museum 17 and Funchal's Sé 28, with the Rabaçal trailhead for the 25 Fontes walk at 33.

How did you choose these hotels?

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.

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Prices are a guide from our last check, not live rates.