Savoy Signature Hotels Welcome You to Madeira

By Emma Krasov. Photography by Yuri Krasov

Mild, sunny climate, lush tropical gardens, friendly, genuine people, and a well-developed tourism infrastructure attract to Madeira countless vacationers from Europe and America. Even though this beautiful volcanic island in the North Atlantic Ocean is geographically in the African Plate, Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal and a member of the European Union, “belongs to Europe ethnically, culturally, economically and politically.”

Populated by the Portuguese since the 1420s, “the garden of the Atlantic” is known today for its fortified Madeira wine dating back to the 15th century; a traditional potent drink Poncha, made with locally grown cane sugar; dramatic volcanic scenery with hiking trails along the levadas (formerly irrigation canals); year-round flower and fruit production, especially bananas, and its status as the birthplace of the football star Cristiano Ronaldo, named the Best Player in the World.

A well-maintained freeway from the airport to the capital city of Funchal leads past the sparkling blue ocean views, feathery palm trees and flowering hibiscus bushes, white-walled houses under red roofs upon the green hillsides, and through a network of tunnels, dominant in the road network due to the extremely mountainous volcanic rock formations that created the main island of the Madeira archipelago some 6,500 years ago.

Funchal is a popular port for European cruise ships, and a very clean, nice, pedestrian-friendly city, with quite a few tourist attractions. While briefly staying in Funchal, we walked Avenida Sá Carneiro, a lively promenade on the waterfront, where we found a large and colorful sculpture of Plastic Mero (Plastic Grouper) made by Artur Bordalo, a street artist who crafted this work from ocean litter. Thousands of pounds of garbage were collected from the waters of Madeira by fishermen during a clean-up campaign organized by the regional government back in 2018. Nearby there’s Museu CR7, a museum dedicated to Cristiano Ronaldo’s career, his amazing sports achievements, and trophies.

At Jardim Monte Palace Madeira—a terraced botanical garden by the Monte Church on a hill overlooking Funchal Bay, and filled with tropical plants and numerous works of art, we encountered everything from white swans gliding under waterfalls to pink flamingoes, to historical architectural features and contemporary sculptures.

Staying at Savoy Signature Hotels became a super convenient way for us to explore Madeira, and to enjoy a wonderful vacation time in the friendliest and most welcoming environment.

Savoy Signature is an ever-expanding hotel group that operates numerous unique properties throughout the island with different programming and facilities, but always with “signature” hospitality, high-level services and quality time offered to all, be it an adult-only TUI BLUE Madeira Gardens Hotel or a family-friendly resort Calheta Beach Hotel.

TUI BLUE Madeira Gardens Hotel

Before arriving at the Savoy Signature hotel, I was searching for the origins of the hotel group name. Not directly related to the pioneering deluxe hotel in London, built in 1889, Savoy Signature is a brand that grew from a family business in Madeira and adopted the name, strongly associated with the highest standards for luxury, comfort and service in world-wide hospitality industry. “Our own story started with a name, Savoy,” states the company website. “A name that is now our signature.”

Indeed, the TUI BLUE Madeira Gardens, “the design resort that celebrates the magic of the sugarcane, the singular location nested between the mountain and a white sand beach, the garden-made-hotel just for two, the contemporary palace that masters the art of blending the new with Madeira’s heritage” exceeded our expectations. The commitment to quality shone in every detail and every interaction with the knowledgeable staff, amounting to the exceptional service and refined experiences everywhere—at the hotel’s restaurants and bars, by the swimming pool, and in the lavish gardens where we can observe bananas, lettuces, vegetables, and herbs grown on campus to be used in the restaurant kitchen.

The hotel staff upholds the Savoy tradition of welcoming guests with personalized services and helping with all kinds of requests, from island exploration planning to booking transportation, making reservations and considering local conditions of all sorts.

Being the adult-only boutique 4-star hotel, TUI BLUE Madeira Gardens is refreshingly quiet, beautiful to behold with its overflowing vegetation against an oceanfront hillside, and features many highly appreciated amenities, like a gourmet restaurant, and a casual one, a heated outdoor pool with a pool bar, and a rooftop bar with live music, a sauna, and a hot tub. Besides, it is located in a walking distance to the Ronaldo Museum, a promenade, and a beach.

On the night of our arrival, we dined at the gourmet Culinarium Restaurant on the premises, designed to evoke the omnipresent green tones of Madeira. A flowering vertical garden in the center of the glass-walled dining room immediately puts you in the vacation mode, hinting at the wonderful time you’re going to spend here.

The à la carte menu in Culinarium is filled with authentic flavors of Madeira, reflecting its culinary heritage, and is based on seasonal local ingredients, while it features a carefully curated selection of international cuisine. Among the fall menu appetizers, there are a few standout small plates, like Smoked Salmon wraps with lettuce and cream cheese, Pumpkin and Fried Zucchini, dressed with fenugreek and vegan mayonnaise with fermented black garlic, and Mushrooms and Iberico Ham with crispy egg and arugula. The mains include Glazed Tuna Steak with grilled vegetables and sugarcane honey, and Duck Breast with rice and regional sausages. Seasonal fruit for dessert represent the island’s bounty in any time of year.

A casual Laurissilva Restaurant has a motto, “Around the world on a plate,” and its dinner buffet selection truly reflects the variety of international cuisine and showcases the highly skilled work of the kitchen. The restaurant is large, accommodating all the hotel guests should they decide to dine on campus, and is located in the elegant art-decorated main building lobby overlooking the swimming pool outside.

A fresh and bountiful breakfast buffet is also served here, while a casual lunch of artisanal sandwiches, fries, juices and cocktails can be enjoyed right by the pool, under the umbrellas of the pool bar.

At night, the main building of TUI BLUE Madeira Gardens shines, reflected in the pool, with colorful lights, promising an even better tomorrow, while the guests are enjoying live music and local singers at the rooftop lounge with panoramic views of the island.

TUI BLUE Madeira Gardens Hotel is located at: Azinhaga da Casa Branca 7, São Martinho, 9004-543 Funchal, Portugal. More information and reservations at culinarium.restaurant@savoysignature.com, https://www.savoysignature.com/en/, https://www.savoysignature.com/gardenshotel/en/.

Calheta Beach Hotel

Another 4-star Savoy Signature hotel is located on the island’s southwest coast, in the municipality of Calheta. One of the sunniest places on the island, it boasts one of Madeira’s few sandy beaches on a predominantly rocky coastline, making it a popular spot for locals and tourists.

Calheta Beach is an excellent all-inclusive family-friendly resort. It has kids’ clubs, an outdoor pool with a dedicated children’s section, family suites, and on-site activities that cater to young children, like games and toys, and even a “Little Chef” program led by the hotel’s Head Chef Nélio Rodrigues.

Being far removed in time from the Little Chef category, this reporter still jumped to the opportunity to get a cooking lesson with Chef Nélio, during which I’ve learned a few secrets of preparing a perfect tuna steak with onion sauce. Endemic to the Madeira archipelago, tuna is abundant here, and always fresh! Marinating it in aromatic herbs and spices, like crushed garlic, paprika, curry powder, bay leaf, thyme and parsley with sea salt, olive oil and white wine, makes all the difference, followed by quickly searing the fish in butter, and adding a freshly made sauce of caramelized onions with the same composition of spices.

Chef Nélio oversees Calheta Restaurant, an all-day buffet with indoor and outdoor dining areas, and proximity to the pool and the ocean beach. Breakfast is elaborate and varied here, with fresh breads, croissants and brioche, smoked salmon, charcuterie and regional and international cheeses, yogurt and granola bowls, omelets of all kinds, sausages and bacon, sautéed mushrooms, baked beans, roasted potatoes and stuffed tomatoes, avocado toasts, poached and fried eggs, French toast, Eggs Benedict, pancakes, crepes and waffles, oatmeal with berry and honey enhancements, fruit, assortments of muffins, tartlets, cakes and Portuguese custard tarts, and various coffees, teas with fresh herbs from the hotel garden, milkshakes and cold beverages.

Right after breakfast there comes the time for light bites and various drinks and snacks, craved by the swimmers and sunbathers at any time, plus Pôr do Sol Bar right by the pool is serving drinks, coffee and ice cream in addition to self-served beer, wine, and champagne.

Then comes dinner time, and the Calheta Restaurant kitchen staff is up in arms again, tirelessly producing delicious, well-prepared and masterfully displayed oodles of noodles, every night with a different international flare and a different tasting profile.

Themed parties by the pool are happening practically every night with live entertainment and professional dancers performing onstage.

At Rabaçal Bar, with games tables, comfortable sofas and views of the pool, the hotel mixologist, Pablo Sousa, gave me a lesson on mixing cocktails, and I quickly picked up an order in which to mix rums, syrups, coconut milk (a secret ingredient that makes many summer cocktails smoother and sweeter) and other vital ingredients in correct timing and proportion.

Collectively, we made and tasted some wonderful and not-too-hard-to-prepare Espresso Martini, Pina Colada, and Cosmopolitan. My favorite part was decorating the cocktails with dried citrus and coffee beans.

An on-site upscale restaurant, more formal and with à la carte menu is called, Onda Azul. It serves interesting dishes of Madeiran and international cuisine, like Traditional octopus marinated in vinegar, Shrimp in beer coriander chili sauce, Braised osso buco with mashed potatoes, Onda Azul chicken, and some amazing desserts, like Tiramisu with sugarcane honey biscuits and Madeira wine, and Maracuja mousse with rum ice cream.

Wonderful Portuguese Vino Verde as well as other wines from Douro Valley and other regions are always on the menu, same as other libations, close to American tastes, like Tequila sunrise and Johnny Walker black label.

Our large, clean, and beautifully decorated suite with a flower-lined balcony and a wide-open view of the Atlantic Ocean and a fine sandy beach just steps away was an epitome of contemporary style guestroom with a simple, yet comfortable design and keen attention to every detail.