Luxury hotels Funchal

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Visitors paying for five stars in Funchal want to know which ones earn them, and the choice is wider than the famous names. The luxury hotels Funchal offers come in two kinds: resort hotels on the seafront, with pools, spas and the Atlantic from the balcony, and quintas, old country houses in their gardens on the hills above the city.

Sixteen hotels in the city are five-star. Their guest scores run from 8.1 to 9.7, with a median of 8.95, and a sample weekend for two, two nights from 10 to 12 October 2026, cost from about €422 to about €4,145, with a median of about €820. Prices move with the dates, so read them as a level, not an offer.

Weighed by the number of reviews behind each score, the top three are Quinta Jardins do Lago, 9.7 from 541 reviews, Reid's Palace, 9.5 from 519, and the Savoy Palace, 9.3 from 1,153.

The top of the ranking

The common mistake is to assume the dearest room is the best one. The highest score in the city is not the highest price.

The highest-ranked luxury hotel in Madeira's capital is Quinta Jardins do Lago, an 18th-century mansion in São Pedro, above the centre, in botanical gardens with 600 plant species. Every room has a balcony over the gardens, and the Beresford restaurant serves Madeiran and international food in the evening. It scores 9.7 from 541 reviews and cost about €717 for the two October nights.

Reid's Palace, a Belmond hotel on a cliff in 10 acres, about 4 ha, of subtropical gardens over the Atlantic, follows at 9.5 from 519 reviews, and it was the dearest of the leaders at about €1,926. It has a spa, a kids' club and a children's pool.

The Savoy Palace, on the Avenida do Infante, scores 9.3 from 1,153 reviews, the most reviewed of the top three, for about €1,141. Inside it, The Reserve, a separate suite hotel with a rooftop pool, scores 9.7 from 71 reviews and was the dearest place in the city at about €4,145.

Next come the Pestana Vila Lido, 9.1 from 1,386, and the Barceló Funchal Oldtown, 9.0 from 1,868.

The five-star hotels stand along the seafront west of the centre.

Sea views on the Lido

Visitors often book a five-star for the view and get the garden side. Sea view is a room type: book it by name.

A Madeira luxury hotel ocean view is easiest to find in São Martinho, the Lido, where 8 of the 16 five-stars stand on the cliffs and 11 of the 16 list sea-view rooms. The Pestana Vila Lido, beachfront with direct access to a private beach area, scores 9.1 from 1,386 reviews for about €988. The Meliá Madeira Mare, by the centre, has an indoor and an outdoor pool and some rooms over the Atlantic, 8.9 from 1,960 reviews, for about €733.

Each 5 star hotel in Madeira's capital on the Lido has its own way to the sea. The Pestana Grand, on the rock of Ponta da Cruz with views of the cliffs of Cabo Girão, has a large saltwater pool, 8.3 from 877 for about €969. The Editory Ocean Way, with a year-round outdoor and an indoor pool, scores 9.2 from 314 for about €433, the second-lowest price among the five-stars.

At the western end, the Pestana Royal, all-inclusive, a 2-minute walk from Praia Formosa, scores 8.1 from 558 for about €1,134.

Spas and pools

People often assume every five-star has a spa. Most do, but they differ widely.

Of the Funchal hotels 5 star rated, 13 list a spa or spa facilities, and most add a sauna, a hot tub and a gym. The Pestana Grand has a full-scale spa with steam baths, saunas and hot tubs, and a panoramic indoor pool. Quinta Mirabela, in Monte, has a spa with a hammam, a hot tub and a sauna, and a sea-view outdoor pool.

For a Madeira luxury spa hotel with the most facilities, the Royal Savoy, an ocean resort in the bay, has two heated lagoon-style pools, private ocean access, a spa, a sauna, a hot tub and a gym, 8.8 from 227 reviews for about €817. Quinta Funchal Gardens, adults-only in São Pedro, has spa facilities, an indoor pool and a year-round outdoor pool, 8.3 from 912 for about €465.

The Savoy Palace has indoor and outdoor pools and yoga classes, and The Reserve inside it adds a rooftop pool and a spa. The Meliá Madeira Mare adds massage and a steam bath.

Private sea access

The mistake is to expect a sandy beach below a five-star in Funchal. The hotels reach the sea by their own platforms and ladders.

The Madeira Portugal luxury hotel ocean experience is a private platform on the rocks rather than a beach. Four of the five-stars list a private beach area: the Savoy Palace, The Reserve, the Royal Savoy and the Pestana Vila Lido, with direct access to the water. The Royal Savoy calls it private ocean access, and the Pestana Vila Lido lists itself as beachfront.

Reid's Palace stands on its cliff over the Atlantic in its gardens, and the Pestana Grand on the rock of Ponta da Cruz with access to the promenade along the coast.

For a beach, Praia Formosa, a Blue Flag beach in 2026, is at the western end of the Lido, a 2-minute walk from the Pestana Royal.

The sea off Funchal is at its warmest in September, at about 22.9 °C, and above 20 °C from June to November; outside those months, most guests swim in the heated pools.

Quintas and prices

Visitors often think the quintas are for older travellers only. They are also the best value in the class.

The five star hotels in Madeira's capital that cost least in the sample are in the hills. Quinta Mirabela, a design hotel in Monte, 2 km from the centre, with a terrace over the bay, scores 8.6 from 689 reviews for about €422, the lowest price among the five-stars. Quinta Funchal Gardens cost about €465, and Quinta Jardins do Lago, the top of the ranking, about €717.

Casa Velha do Palheiro, a manor house of Relais & Châteaux in the old Palheiro gardens in the foothills to the east, with the Palheiro golf course beside it, scores 9.3 from 290 reviews for about €1,042. Quinta da Bela Vista, in São Martinho, has fine paintings and antique furniture, an outdoor pool, a tennis court and its own yacht for hire, 8.5 from 221 for about €727.

The quintas trade the sea at the door for gardens and quiet. The centre is downhill, a taxi or a bus away.

Madeira's overnight stays in tourist accommodation rose by 8.4% in 2025, approaching 12.8 million, on DREM's figures, so book early for the busy months. Visit Madeira lists the year's events.

Common questions

What is the best five-star hotel in Funchal?

On guest scores weighed by reviews, Quinta Jardins do Lago, at 9.7 from 541 reviews, followed by Reid's Palace at 9.5.

How much is a five-star hotel in Funchal?

On a sample October weekend, two nights for two cost from about €422 to about €4,145, with a median of about €820.

Do Funchal's luxury hotels have beaches?

Four five-stars list a private beach area on the rocks; for pebbles and a Blue Flag, Praia Formosa is at the western end of the Lido.