Savoy Palace

Savoy Palace opened in 2019 on Avenida do Infante, on the site of Funchal's original Savoy, since demolished. The new building rises 16 storeys in a long wave above the bay, with pools and a bar on the roof. Savoy Signature runs it, and it is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. 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, flower and plant motifs taken from the island's landscape, and rooms in ivory, gold and champagne. The Reserve, a separate hotel within the building, has the top floors and its own lift.

The rooms start large. The entry Avenue Room is 41 m² with a sitting area, a walk-in shower and a balcony over Avenida do Infante and the city. The Garden Room is 47 m² over the gardens and pools, and the Ocean Room keeps the 41 m² and the balcony but turns them to the Atlantic. The Superior Ocean Room swaps the balcony for a terrace and adds a double bathroom. Suites run from the 57 m² Ocean Junior Suite through the Bay Suite, with a terrace along its whole length, to the 77 m² Ocean Suite and a Two Bedroom Family Suite of 110 m² with a kitchenette.

It is the grand hotel of the edit, with everything under one roof. On the roof, the 17th floor, the Galáxia Skypool is a heated infinity pool for adults only, open from 09:00 to 18:00, with the Galáxia Skybar beside it for sunset and, after dark, Chef Roberto Barros's Madeira-inspired menu at Galáxia. Below are the main pool in the gardens, a children's pool and a heated indoor pool free to every guest. The Laurea Spa covers 3,100 m², with 13 treatment rooms, a sauna, a steam room, a halotherapy room and its own heated pool, and the World Spa Awards named it Portugal's best hotel spa in 2021, 2024, 2025 and 2026. Six restaurants, from Il Olivo's Italian cooking to Pau de Lume's grill, and three bars, one with live music, keep the evenings in the building. The MICHELIN Guide gives it one Key.

The trade is the extras and the sea. The spa circuit costs €50 a day per guest unless you book a treatment of an hour or more, and it is for over-16s. There is no beach: guests swim from the sea platform of the sister Royal Savoy, across an internal bridge. Every restaurant needs a booking for dinner. Book it for a week of pools, spa and sea-view balconies in Funchal itself, with the Sé 23 minutes away on foot.