Boutique hotels Funchal

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Visitors who want a hotel with character in Funchal often find the big names are resorts of several hundred rooms. The boutique hotels Funchal offers are smaller and scattered: a hotel by the cathedral, restored Madeiran mansions on the edge of the old town, a few hotels with rooftop pools in the centre, and the quintas, old country houses in their gardens on the hills.

They are also good value. On a sample weekend for two, two nights from 10 to 12 October 2026, most of them cost between about €350 and €470, against a median of about €477 for all the city's hotels, and several score 8.6 or more. Prices move with the dates.

The strongest is the Sé Boutique Hotel, a four-star by the cathedral, 8.8 from 981 reviews for about €469. Moon & Sun, on the Avenida do Infante, scores 9.1 from 102.

Small hotels in the centre

The common mistake is to assume a boutique hotel means a high price. In Funchal, the small hotels cost less than the resorts.

A boutique hotel Madeira visitors can walk everywhere from is in the Sé, the centre. The Sé Boutique Hotel stands on the Travessa do Cabido by the cathedral, with spa facilities, a sun terrace, a restaurant serving Mediterranean and Portuguese food with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, and a buffet breakfast.

The Editory Garden Carmo, a fully renovated three-star on the Travessa do Rego close to the cathedral, the old town and the marina, has a rooftop pool over the city and the Atlantic, a garden, a fitness room and the Carmo restaurant, 8.6 from 185 reviews for about €348.

The Funchal Design Hotel, a four-star on Rua da Alegria with a continental buffet breakfast and rooms with kitchenettes, scores 8.4 from 511 for about €354. Residencial do Vale, a three-star on the Travessa do Pina, a short walk from the cathedral, with sea views from its rooms and a sun terrace, scores 8.9 from 360 for about €392.

All of them put the cathedral, the market and the old town on foot, and none of them has the resort pools of the Lido.

A renovated three-star hotel on Travessa do Rego features a rooftop pool overlooking the city and the Atlantic.

Restored mansions

Visitors often walk past the old houses of Funchal without knowing some are hotels. Several of the best small stays are in them.

The ARTS IN Hotel Conde Carvalhal is a restored Madeiran mansion 900 m from the old town, with views of the sea, the city and the mountains from its botanical gardens and terraces. The suites are in the original mansion and the studios in a modern annex, some with a kitchenette. Breakfast includes homegrown organic herbal teas and fruit, and there is free covered parking. It scores 8.7 from 895 reviews for about €383.

The Quinta da Penha de França, on Rua Imperatriz D. Amélia, is set in tropical gardens with far-reaching sea views, two outdoor seawater pools and access to the sea, 200 m from the CR7 museum. It has the second-most reviews of any hotel in the city, 2,822, at 8.4, for about €353.

Above the old town, the Apartamentos Quinta Mãe dos Homens, a three-star with an outdoor pool and apartments over the bay, is a 12-minute walk from the historic centre, 8.5 from 728 reviews for about €299.

The Sé Boutique Hotel

People often find the Sé Boutique Hotel by name and assume it is a tiny guest house. It is a four-star with a spa.

The Sé Boutique Hotel Funchal visitors book sits on the Travessa do Cabido, by the cathedral, a short walk from the Almirante Reis beach and the marina. It scores 8.8 from 981 reviews and cost about €469 for the two October nights.

It has spa facilities and wellness packages, a sun terrace, a lift, a lounge and a restaurant with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, and the rooms have air-conditioning and city views. A paid shuttle runs from the hotel.

Its position is the point: the cathedral, the Praça do Município, the market and the old town are a few minutes away, and the tour meeting points on the seafront below.

The Mercado dos Lavradores opens Monday to Friday from 07:00 to 19:00 and Saturday from 07:00 to 14:00, on the municipality's market page; arrive early for the fruit and the fish.

Rooftop pools

The mistake is to assume a pool means the Lido. Several small hotels in the centre have one on the roof.

Moon & Sun Funchal, a four-star on the Avenida do Infante, has a rooftop pool with a pool bar, a sun terrace and free bicycles, and a continental buffet breakfast with champagne. It scores 9.1 from 102 reviews for about €655, one of the highest scores of any small hotel, from fewer reviews than most.

The Editory Garden Carmo has its rooftop pool over the city and the Atlantic. The Barceló Funchal Oldtown, a larger five-star on Rua da Alfândega, also has a rooftop pool, 9.0 from 1,868 reviews for about €584.

Uphill in São Pedro, Hotel Orquídea, a three-star, has an extra-large roof terrace over Funchal and the Atlantic, and the shore and the marina are 600 m away, 8.0 from 931 reviews for about €328.

For swimming lengths, the Lido hotels or the Lido bathing complex suit better.

Quintas in the hills

Visitors often look for boutique hotels only in the centre. The quintas above the city are the other kind.

Quinta Jardins do Lago, an 18th-century mansion in botanical gardens with 600 plant species in São Pedro, is the highest-ranked hotel in the city, 9.7 from 541 reviews, for about €717. Quinta Mirabela, a five-star design hotel in Monte with a terrace over the bay, a sea-view pool and a spa, scores 8.6 from 689 for about €422.

Quinta do Monte, a historic manor house in mature gardens in Monte with an indoor pool and a hot tub, scores 8.6 from 1,733 reviews for about €368. Casa Velha do Palheiro, a manor house in the old Palheiro gardens with the golf course beside it, scores 9.3 from 290 for about €1,042.

Quinta da Bela Vista, in São Martinho, is decorated with fine paintings and antique furniture, with a tennis court and its own yacht for hire, 8.5 from 221.

The quintas are quiet and green, and the centre is downhill: a taxi, a bus or, from Monte, the cable car. Visit Madeira lists the gardens nearby.

Common questions

What is the best boutique hotel in Funchal?

The Sé Boutique Hotel, a four-star by the cathedral, scores 8.8 from 981 reviews; Moon & Sun scores 9.1 from fewer reviews.

Are boutique hotels in Funchal expensive?

Most cost about €350 to €470 for two October nights for two, below the median of about €477 for all the city's hotels.

Which small hotels in Funchal have a pool?

Moon & Sun and The Editory Garden Carmo have rooftop pools; Quinta da Penha de França has two seawater pools in its gardens.