Funchal spa hotel guide

Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you book through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How this works

Visitors who come to Madeira to walk the levadas often want a warm pool and a sauna at the end of the day. A Funchal spa hotel is easy to find: half the city's hotels have one. What differs is the spa itself, from a sauna and a massage room to a full thermal suite with a heated indoor pool, a Turkish bath and treatment rooms over the ocean.

Of the 58 hotels and aparthotels in the city with a guest score of 7.0 or more, 29 list a spa or spa facilities. Most are on the Lido or in the centre, and 15 of them are four-stars, where a spa costs least. Prices are from a sample search, two adults for two nights from 10 to 12 October 2026, and move with the dates.

For the spa alone, Reid's Palace leads among the five-stars; for value, the Hotel Baía Azul, with a heated indoor pool in its spa, scores 9.0 from 1,031 reviews for about €368.

How many spa hotels

The common mistake is to pay five-star prices for a spa. The four-star spas are often as complete.

The spa hotels in Funchal number 29 among the well-rated hotels and aparthotels: 13 five-stars, 15 four-stars and a three-star. Most are in São Martinho, the Lido, where the resort hotels stand on the cliffs, and a few are in the centre and in the hills.

Their median score is 8.7, and their median price for the two October nights was about €727, pulled up by the five-stars. The four-star spa hotels had a median of about €485, from about €333 at the lowest.

What the word covers varies. At the smaller end, a spa is a sauna, a hot tub and a massage room, as at the Madeira Panorâmico. At the larger, it is a thermal area with steam baths, saunas and an indoor pool, as at the Pestana Grand, or a spa with a heated indoor pool and two massage rooms, as at the Hotel Baía Azul.

Read the listing's own description of the spa before you book, and check whether the thermal area is free for guests or paid by the visit.

Five-star spas

Visitors often assume the five-star spas are much alike. Their settings differ more than their menus.

Reid's Palace has an oceanfront spa where the treatments take place in therapy suites, each with a private outdoor area and a balcony, with a private whirlpool in the double treatment room and a sauna. The hotel scores 9.5 from 519 reviews and cost about €1,926 for the two October nights.

The Pestana Grand, on the rock of Ponta da Cruz, has a full-scale spa with steam baths, saunas and hot tubs, a gym, massage and a panoramic indoor pool, 8.3 from 877 reviews for about €969. The Meliá Madeira Mare, by the centre, has a spa with a sauna, massage and a steam bath, and an indoor and an outdoor pool, 8.9 from 1,960 for about €733.

The Pestana Royal, all-inclusive by Praia Formosa, has a spa with an indoor pool, a gym and three treatment rooms, 8.1 from 558. In the hills, Quinta Mirabela has a spa with a hammam, a hot tub and a sauna, 8.6 from 689 for about €422, the lowest-priced five-star spa in the sample.

The Savoy Palace and the Royal Savoy list spa facilities too, with the Royal Savoy's two heated lagoon-style pools.

Four-star spas with heated pools

People often skip the four-stars when they want a proper spa. Several have heated indoor pools.

The Hotel Baía Azul, newly renovated, 4 minutes from the seafront, has a spa with a heated indoor pool, a gym, a steam bath, a sauna, a relaxation room and two massage rooms, and 3 pools in all. It scores 9.0 from 1,031 reviews for about €368, the best value among the spa hotels.

The Golden Residence, over Praia Formosa, has the GoldenSpa with hot stone massage, a heated indoor pool, a gym and a meditation room, 8.6 from 2,400 reviews for about €352.

The Hotel Porto Mare, in the Vila Porto Mare resort, has a spa with facials, aromatherapy, massage and reflexology, 2 saunas, a Turkish bath and a Vichy shower, 8.9 from 1,067 for about €757. Next to it, the Suite Hotel Eden Mar has a spa with a hot tub, a hammam and massage, an indoor pool and a gym, 8.7 from 541.

The Pestana Promenade has a spa with a sauna and a Turkish bath, indoor and outdoor pools and an outdoor hot tub, 8.9 from 630, and the Madeira Panorâmico, 3 km from the centre, a spa with a massage room, a sauna and a hot tub, 8.6 from 574 for about €392.

Adults-only spas

The mistake is to book a spa weekend in a family resort in the school holidays. The adults-only hotels are quieter.

The Views Baía, adults-only, in São Pedro above the bay, has the Four Feelings Spa, a hot tub, massage and indoor and outdoor pools, and some rooms have a private spa bath. It scores 8.9 from 2,503 reviews for about €454.

The Allegro Madeira, adults-only, 5 minutes from the promenade on the Lido, has a spa and a fitness centre, an outdoor pool and a rooftop bar, 8.7 from 1,003 reviews for about €389. Quinta Funchal Gardens, a five-star for adults only in São Pedro, has spa facilities, a sauna, a hot tub, an indoor pool and a year-round outdoor pool, 8.3 from 912 for about €465.

The Hotel Orca Praia, adults-only, on a cliff over a sandy beach 6 km from the centre, lists a spa too, 8.6 from 429.

For a couple, the adults-only spa hotels cost less than most five-stars, with a similar score.

The spa hotels are mostly the larger seafront properties in the Lido.

Planning a spa stay

Visitors often plan the spa for the last day and find the treatments booked. The busy months fill early.

Book treatments when you book the room, or in the first days of the stay: the spas run on appointments, and a hotel with two or three treatment rooms has few slots in an evening. Ask whether the thermal area, the sauna, the steam bath and the indoor pool, is included in the room rate or paid by the visit.

The spa suits the walking days best. After a levada, a heated indoor pool and a sauna are worth more than a view, and the Lido hotels are a short ride from the tour pickups in the city.

In winter, the heated indoor pools matter most: the sea off Funchal is at its coolest in March, at about 17.6 °C.

Madeira's overnight stays in tourist accommodation rose by 8.4% in 2025, approaching 12.8 million, on DREM's figures, and Visit Madeira lists the busy events of the year.

Common questions

Which Funchal hotel has the best spa?

Among the five-stars, Reid's Palace, with an oceanfront spa of therapy suites; for value, the Hotel Baía Azul, with a heated indoor pool in its spa, at 9.0 from 1,031 reviews.

How many hotels in Funchal have a spa?

Twenty-nine of the 58 well-rated hotels and aparthotels list a spa or spa facilities, most of them on the Lido.

Are there adults-only spa hotels in Funchal?

Yes: The Views Baía, the Allegro Madeira, Quinta Funchal Gardens and the Hotel Orca Praia.