The catch at Hotel Quinta do Furão
Quinta do Furão is made for walkers who come back to a fire and a pool, and almost every catch here comes from the same place: a quiet clifftop estate on the north coast, a long way from anything else. None of them is a reason to stay away if the levadas and the peaks are why you are going, but all of them are worth knowing before you book.
On our shortlists
Nothing is within walking distance, so a hire car is close to essential.
The quinta stands on the cliff at Achada do Gramacho, 3.1 km north of Santana's centre by road, and that walk takes 51 minutes along the road. The only tables within reach on foot are the hotel's own: the nearest restaurants beyond the gate, in Santana, São Jorge and down by the sea at Calhau, are 7 to 11 minutes away by car. Funchal is about 50 minutes' drive and the airport about 33 off-peak. The trailheads that are the reason to stay here, Queimadas for the Caldeirão Verde levada and Achada do Teixeira for Pico Ruivo, are 15 and 26 minutes up the mountain. The hotel has parking on the estate.
What to do. Hire a car at the airport for the whole stay. If you would rather not drive at night, take half board, about €45 per person per night more, and eat at the quinta.
The rooms are heated, not air-conditioned.
Every room has central heating, the right answer to a winter on the north coast, but air conditioning is fitted in one category only, the two-bedroom villa. The other six, from the Twin Vineyards rooms to the Suite, do without it. That makes no difference for most of the year, and none at all for the winter breaks by the fire that the quinta does best, but it is worth weighing for a stay in July, August or early September, which are also the dearest weeks. Most rooms have a balcony or a terrace, so fresh air comes through the door rather than from a unit on the wall.
What to do. For a summer stay, book a room with a balcony on the sea side, such as the Premium Room. If air conditioning matters to you, the villa is the only category that has it.
There is no beach here, so the swimming is in the pools.
The quinta sits on top of the cliff, with the Atlantic about 240 metres away and far below, so there is no beach and no sea swimming from the estate. The swimming is at the hotel: an indoor pool and an outdoor pool, with a jacuzzi, a gym, a sauna open from 8am to 8pm and massages to book. The nearest shore is the stony cove at Calhau de São Jorge, 10 minutes by car or 38 minutes down the old cobbled Caminho Real. For a beach, the hotel suggests the shingle at Faial, 15 minutes' drive, and to the sand beach and natural pools at Seixal, 52 minutes away on the far side of the north coast.
What to do. Pack walking boots rather than a beach bag, and keep the indoor pool and the sauna for the end of a day on the levadas. For a week of sea swimming, look at the south coast instead.
The levadas close for repairs, and the two famous walks must be paid for in advance.
The walking is the reason to stay here, and it is not always open. The PR9 Levada do Caldeirão Verde, which starts in the Queimadas forest park 15 minutes' drive away, reopened on 29 May 2026 after two months shut for landslide repairs, and it was closed for just over two months at the end of 2024 as well. The stretch beyond Caldeirão Verde to Caldeirão do Inferno has been closed since at least February 2023. Both the PR9 and the PR1.2 from Achada do Teixeira to Pico Ruivo cost €4.50 per walker over 12, paid in advance through the regional SIMplifica system.
What to do. Check each trail's status on visitmadeira.com the day before, pay the fee online, and keep a second walk in mind: the hotel's list of walks nearby includes the Levada do Furado and the Vereda dos Balcões.
August, September and New Year cost the most, and Santana adds a tourist tax.
Rates follow the summer and the harvest. For the entry Twin Vineyards room with breakfast, two nights for two on the non-refundable rate cost about €456 on a Tuesday in February or November 2027, €532 in June and €570 in August and September, so high summer and the September Wine Festival run about a quarter above the winter rate. Over New Year 2026 the Classic room costs about €620 for two nights, against €540 in January. On top of the bill, Santana charges a tourist tax of €2 per guest per night from the age of 13, for up to seven nights, paid at the hotel.
What to do. For the lowest rates, go in February or November; for the harvest, book September early. Most rooms cannot be booked from 10 to 26 November 2026, so plan around those dates.
Who should skip it
Anyone who will not drive, anyone who wants restaurants, shops and the sea on foot, and anyone who needs air conditioning for a stay in high summer. Beach holidays belong on the south coast.
Who should book it anyway
Walkers, quiet couples and anyone who would rather wake up to Madeira's north coast than to Funchal's hotel zone. This is a 65-room quinta on a five-hectare clifftop estate, renovated in 2020, with two hectares of vines picked each September and a miradouro along the cliffs. The Caldeirão Verde levada starts 15 minutes' drive away and the path up Pico Ruivo, the island's highest point, 26. You come back to indoor and outdoor pools, a sauna, a pub with a fire and a billiard table, and a restaurant that has cooked Madeiran dishes by its two fireplaces since 1993. Hire a car, book a Premium Room and go for the walks.
The catch elsewhere in Madeira
- Reid's Palace, A Belmond HotelFunchal
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
- The Cliff BayFunchal
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
- Savoy PalaceFunchal
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
- Barceló Funchal OldtownFunchal
A small, shallow rooftop pool, about 10 by 6 metres, where loungers run short on busy days
- Hotel MadeiraFunchal
Small rooms: a Standard Room is 17 to 20 m², a Standard Balcony Room 16 to 20 m²
- Casa Velha do PalheiroSão Gonçalo
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
- VidaMar Resort Hotel MadeiraLido
The outdoor pools are seawater, and guests often find them cold outside high summer; the heated pool is the indoor one
- Sentido GalomarCaniço de Baixo
Half-board dinner is a buffet at the Ondamar restaurant in Sentido Galosol, the resort's other hotel, which takes children
- Estalagem da Ponta do SolPonta do Sol
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
Things to do from Hotel Quinta do Furão
The nearest of the experiences we would book, by car from the hotel.
The forest levadaCaldeirão Verde levada walk, with a return transfer
From €424.8(1,300)15 min by car
The west, by jeepWest Madeira by 4x4: Fanal forest, Seixal and the Porto Moniz pools
From €695(650)44 min by car
The food and wineA food and Madeira wine walking tour of Funchal
From €954.8(550)45 min by car
Whales, on a big catamaranWhale and dolphin watching from Funchal on a catamaran
From €354.6(7,900)46 min by car
Car hire in Madeira
On the cliff above Santana, a 51-minute walk from the town along the road, with the Caldeirão Verde trailhead 15 minutes and Funchal about 50 by car; the hotel has parking on the estate.
Read the car hire guideOpens Expedia’s car search at that airport for your trip dates, or for a week starting a fortnight from today. You book and pay with Expedia.
Questions people ask
Good questions about Hotel Quinta do Furão
What are the downsides of Hotel Quinta do Furão?
Quinta do Furão is made for walkers who come back to a fire and a pool, and almost every catch here comes from the same place: a quiet clifftop estate on the north coast, a long way from anything else. None of them is a reason to stay away if the levadas and the peaks are why you are going, but all of them are worth knowing before you book. Nothing is within walking distance, so a hire car is close to essential. The rooms are heated, not air-conditioned. There is no beach here, so the swimming is in the pools. The levadas close for repairs, and the two famous walks must be paid for in advance. August, September and New Year cost the most, and Santana adds a tourist tax.
Who should not book Hotel Quinta do Furão?
Anyone who will not drive, anyone who wants restaurants, shops and the sea on foot, and anyone who needs air conditioning for a stay in high summer. Beach holidays belong on the south coast.
Our verdict
The quinta to book when the walks are the point: a vineyard on the cliff, the levadas and Pico Ruivo within half an hour, and a fire and a pool to come back to. Check availability for a Premium Room.