How Madeira has reinvented itself for a new generation of travellers
At Reid’s Palace – coral and cream pillars, chequerboard-tile floor, tinkling piano – you could be in the Twenties. Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw or any other of the hotel’s celebrated guests might stroll in at any minute, take a seat at their usual table and probably order their usual cocktail, too. The Avista is, by contrast, distinctly 2020s: a plate-glass and steel restaurant overlooking a garden in which cane sofas with funky cushions are hidden away under russet canvas awnings. I am tempted to say that this is like a microcosm of Madeira past and Madeira present. But the truth about this far southerly outpost of Portuguese culture in the middle of the Atlantic is not so simple.
Madeira has changed quite a bit in the two decades since I was last here. However, it has not gone, nor is it going, in the direction of Dubai, Marrakech or some other smart-set hip spot.
Over dinner with a couple of Madeiran friends, we talked a lot about the changes the island needed to make. The image of Madeira the island is a bit like that of Madeira the dessert wine: very nice, sweet, but maybe something for your elderly parents. They want more young people to come, certainly, but they would prefer to see them in Lycra shorts and old trainers rather than strapless dresses and high heels. Madeira in 2021 is set on re-inventing itself as a year-round haven for hikers and climbers, soft and not-so-soft adventure. Among the most popular activities here are levada walks (more on that later), canyoning, mountain biking, scuba diving, stand-up paddleboarding and surfing.
They needed to open up the island in more senses than one. They have been burrowing as much as building. Madeira is an island of multiple microclimates and two distinct regions: the beachy, more urbanised south; and the wilder, sub-tropical north. On my last visit, it took all day to get between the two. Now there are tunnels, tunnels and more tunnels. Getting around is a breeze – a soft, distinctly Madeiran breeze, perhaps.
As the island is pushing itself as a healthier, fresher alternative to the Caribbean or Algarve, we had better talk about the health topic that is still on everyone’s minds. Madeira got on top of Covid-19 quickly. While British politicians were blandly insisting that on-arrival testing was not necessary, the tourism authorities in Madeira set up a fast, dependable system at Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport. I had not had a pre-flight PCR test, so I was directed into a separate lane where I was noted, tested and ushered out into that delightful Madeira air in the time it takes to get your luggage. At 4am the next morning, as I slept in the hotel Estalagem da Ponta do Sol, perched above a rocky bay on the west of the island, my phone gave me the all-clear.
It would not surprise me if Madeira grew its tourism market share as a result of Covid. I am certainly keen to get back, maybe to visit the neighbouring, beachier island of Porto Santo. And to try the new hotels and guesthouses on the main island. Several interesting new properties are set to open this autumn. They include the first overseas outpost for Yeotown, the Devon-based wellness retreat, which is moving in with the Quinta das Vinhas, a boutique hotel in the south-west. This shows the way that the island is moving: small-scale, rural, eco, peaceful.
The most eye-catching new properties are the Okulus Funchal Cottages, designed by Tigre Creative Design. ‘Cottages’ they may be in name, but these are cottages that channel some million-dollar seaview penthouse in Lisbon or Estoril.
There will always be Reid’s, of course. For 130 years, this grande dame has loftily surveyed the capital’s evolving townscape along Funchal Bay. Contrasting with Funchal’s Sixties tourist-boom hotels like the Pestana Carlton, you also get converted family farmhouses such as the Quinta do Furão, which is near the north-eastern village of Santana.
When I first saw this Quinta, I was a bit underwhelmed. The yellow, mock-schloss exterior did not look promising. But I soon realised why it has a loyal following, especially among couples and families. Its location, set in vineyards high above the cliffs, is epic. The rooms are a Madeiran take on contemporary cosy and the restaurant is the best place I tried for distinctly local cooking.
The food is certainly hearty, which is just as well if, as I did, you rise at dawn and head to the Bica da Cana viewpoint in the centre of the island. I waited in the chill air as the sun rose above the mountains and the great blanket of fog hundreds of feet below rolled back to reveal the lights of São Vicente village. After that, it was a day of walking along the levadas, the 18th-century irrigation channels that bring water from the wet north to the drier south, and among the giant and uniquely Madeiran laurel trees, perched like great spiky birds above Porto Moniz.
As I checked in at the airport to fly home, I had a last breath of that delicious air and realised that I had had the perfect pandemic-era break. I felt healthier, more energised and – you know what? – even a bit younger.
Ways & Means
Mark Jones travelled as a guest of Discover Madeira; visit madeiraallyear.com for up-to-date information on travel and what to do on the island. Rooms cost from £124 at Estalagem da Ponta do Sol (pontadosol.com), £100 at Quinta do Furão (quintadofurao.com) and €350 at Reid’s Palace, a Belmond Hotel (belmond.com). British Airways (ba.com) has flights to Madeira from London Heathrow from £75
Tyson Sadlo1/9The lobby at Reid’s Palace.
Tyson Sadlo2/9The exterior of Reid’s, affectionately known as the ‘pink palace’, perched on the cliffs of Funchal Bay.
4Corners Images3/9A view of the Atlantic from the lush north coast of the island.
Alamy4/9Walking along Madeira’s network of levada channels.
Francesco Vaninetti5/9Painted doors on Rua de Santa Maria in Funchal as part of the Art of Open Doors project.
Laurent Grandadam6/9A traditional starter of cured ham and tomatoes on Madeiran bread.
Jane Sweeney7/9Flower sellers at Funchal market.
Manolo Yllera8/9The Aqua Bedroom at Okulus Funchal Cottages.
Richard Taylor/4Corners Images9/9A view over Funchal Bay.
