The 2019 Leading Hotels of the World tower on Funchal's grand-hotel avenue — 360 rooms across 17 floors, the rooftop Galáxia Skyfood bar, an indoor-outdoor spa, and the most ambitious contemporary five-star to open on Madeira in fifty years.
"The most ambitious new-build five-star on Madeira in fifty years — a 17-storey Leading Hotel that delivers contemporary scale, a rooftop bar above Funchal Bay, and the longest indoor pool on the island. Where Reid's gives you 1891, the Savoy gives you 2026."
The Savoy Palace is the flagship of Savoy Signature, the Madeira-headquartered hospitality group that has operated hotels on Avenida do Infante since 1974. The current tower was completed in May 2019 on the site of the original 1932 Savoy Hotel (demolished in 2014 after eighty-two years on the avenue) and represents Savoy Signature's flagship statement: a 17-storey contemporary tower that re-establishes the avenue as Funchal's hotel street and gives the island its first new genuinely large-format five-star in a generation. Architect Nini Andrade Silva — Madeira-born, Lisbon-trained — designed both the building and its interiors around a "garden-vertical" concept that pulls subtropical planting up the building's north face.
The 360 rooms span eight categories from Deluxe Garden View (the entry product, around 32 square metres) through Ocean View and Junior Suites to the upper-floor Diamond Suites and the top-floor Presidential Suite. Every room has a private balcony, soundproofed windows, the signature Savoy bathroom (separate WC, bidet, walk-in rain shower), and either a garden or Atlantic outlook. The upper floors (12 through 17) hold the suites and command unobstructed sight lines from Funchal Bay east to Garajau and west to Câmara de Lobos. The Diamond Floor — floors 14, 15, and 16 — operates as a hotel-within-a-hotel with private check-in, dedicated concierge, and the Diamond Lounge offering all-day food, premium open bar, and afternoon tea.
The Laurea Spa & Health Club spans three floors — an indoor pool, an outdoor pool with private cabanas, a thermal circuit (Roman bath, Finnish sauna, hammam, salt-grotto), the largest fitness centre on the island, and twelve treatment rooms running an extensive Anne Sémonin protocol. Galáxia Skyfood — the rooftop signature restaurant on the 17th floor — is the highest dining room on the island, with a 360-degree view that takes in the Atlantic, the Pico do Arieiro, and the lights of Funchal at night. The avenue-level Terreiro is the casual all-day venue; the Mediterraneum Bar is the cocktail-and-piano room off the main lobby; the Galáxia rooftop bar (separate from the restaurant) is among the most reliably busy aperitivo venues in Funchal.
The position on Avenida do Infante puts the hotel three minutes' walk from the Casino da Madeira, five minutes from the Sé Cathedral and the Mercado dos Lavradores, and fifteen minutes from the cable-car base to Monte. Two complimentary shuttles per day run to the Praia Formosa beach; the hotel's private beach club — Sun & Sea — operates at the avenue's eastern end. The Leading Hotels of the World membership has been continuous since opening; the Virtuoso programme adds the customary breakfast credit, room upgrade where available, and early check-in / late check-out.
For the contemporary version of a Madeira honeymoon — high-floor Ocean View Junior Suite, dinner at Galáxia on the 17th floor with the sunset over Câmara de Lobos, the spa's couples programme, and the Diamond Lounge as an after-dinner outpost — the Savoy is the answer. The hotel is more polished and contemporary than Reid's; the trade-off is that it lacks the 19th-century pedigree.
The connecting-room configuration on floors 5 through 10, the year-round indoor pool, the supervised Mini Club for 4–12s, and the on-property babysitting service make this the most credible large-format family option in Funchal. Family rooms accommodate two adults and two children; the connecting two-room configurations are 60–80 square metres combined.
The Laurea Spa is the largest hotel spa on Madeira and the most internationally programmed — Anne Sémonin protocols, an in-house Ayurvedic consultant, a structured five- and seven-day wellness package that combines bodywork, the thermal circuit, the cardio fitness floor, and the kitchen's wellness-tasting menu. For guests booking a focused wellness week, the Savoy is the island's most considered option.
Avenida do Infante 25, Sé
9000-022 Funchal, Madeira
Portugal
On Avenida do Infante — 5 min walk to Sé Cathedral; 25-min drive from Cristiano Ronaldo Airport.
360 rooms (incl. 48 suites) across 8 categories
Deluxe Garden View from €310/night
Deluxe Ocean View from €420/night
Junior Suite from €620/night
Presidential Suite from €4,400/night
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Opened May 2019; current building
Open year-round
Leading Hotels of the World; Virtuoso
Galáxia Skyfood — 17th-floor restaurant
Galáxia rooftop bar & pool deck
Laurea Spa across three floors
Diamond Floor & lounge (floors 14–16)
Year-round indoor & outdoor pools
Free fibre Wi-Fi; Mini Club 4–12
From €310/night. The high-floor suites and Diamond Floor rooms book out three to four months ahead for May–September; the New Year's Eve fireworks (the Avenida do Infante front line is among the best vantage points in Funchal) goes to full occupancy six months out.
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