SQ26/25 SIN-FRA-SIN A380 Biz & Suites: Frankfurt Xmas Markets & 2 Weeks in Portugal

[yflyer]

For the first night of our stay on Madeira Island, we would be staying at the Reid's Palace Hotel.



This was the Grande Dame of hotels on the island, with a long history and a reputation for warm service and luxury.

[yflyer]

Set on a rugged hillside overlooking the sea, Reid's Palace first opened in 1891, and over the years, had seen many famous guests...



...including Winston Churchill...



...and in more recent times, Roger Moore.

The lobby was grand, yet understated...



The lobby opened out into a tea terrace, with great ocean views...



Afternoon tea on the terrace was an old tradition here, very popular with both in-house guests, and visitors to the hotel.



The hotel was set amidst lush gardens...



...with pools lined with deck chairs designed to allow guests to take in both sun and the sea breeze...



The hotel's location, high up on a cliff gave guests great views of the city and the cruise terminal, where cruise ships docked on a daily basis...

[yflyer]

We were very warmly welcomed at the check-in desk, then escorted through labyrinthine hotel corridors to our room on the 4th floor of the hotel...



This was an immaculate room decorated in traditional style, with pastel shades and white, floral prints, and dark wood furniture...



The room opened out to an open balcony with views of the ocean...



I opened the balcony doors and stepped outside.



What a picture-perfect view...



I could have spent a long time at the balcony, just taking in the scene in front of me.



The "double" bed, comprising two singles pushed together (A very common thing in Portugal), was very comfortable...



The wardrobe doors were mirrored. and the backlit vases above the wardrobe were a very nice design touch.



There was a large writing desk, and flat screen TV, with DVD player.



Local Madeira cakes and pastries were on the desk, under a glass dome.



There was a writing kit...



On the bedside table, there was an analog alarm clock and a bluetooth speaker.

[yflyer]

The bathroom was on the small side, but was very luxuriously appointed.



Bathtub with shower (No separate shower stall)...



Mrs yflyer liked the glass-fronted drawers in the wardrobe (Which also came with an in-room safe)...



Bathrobes and shawl in the wardrobe...



Complimentary tea and Nespresso coffee...



The minibar contents were also all complimentary...

[yflyer]

After unpacking our things, we set about exploring the hotel...



There was a cocktail bar...





...and a fine dining restaurant, William....



...which served a very tempting dinner set menu...



We passed through the tea terrace, to the hotel gardens...



Some of the hotel rooms had direct garden access...



Many of the rooms in the hotel had stunning sea views...



We continued our exploration of the hotel grounds...



There were incredible views to be had from almost everywhere...



This was not peak season, so the hotel pool was not too crowded...



It was possible to make your way all the way down the cliffside, down to sea level...



All along the way, there were many sought after spots where you could spend a lazy morning or afternoon relaxing in a deck chair...



Apart from the walkways and stairs, at some point in the hotel's history, a cliff-side elevator had been constructed to bring guests directly from the hotel level down to the sea...



At the bottom, it was possible to clamber down a ladder, right into the (presently) cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean for a dip...



I resolved to do that before the end of my stay here...

[yflyer]

Elsewhere in the hotel, we found a beautiful 3D model of Madeira Island...



...with each hill and contour faithfully mapped...



There was a Bridge room (As well as a Billiard Room)...



...with a cupboard full of books for guests to browse...



Along one of the corridors, I was delighted to find an antique American Steinway Grand Piano...



The instrument looked to be in excellent condition...



Playing on it would have been out of the question...the hotel ambience would have been ruined (Besides, I did not bring any of my scores...)... but I couldn't resist pressing down on just one key...

A clear note rang out...beautiful...



There was also a gym and hotel spa in a separate building a short walk from the main building. Even the gym had great views to accompnay your workout...

[yflyer]

That evening, we headed to the Reid's Terrace for cocktails and dinner...



This was a stunningly picturesque spot, whether you were there for afternoon tea or cocktails at dusk...



We browsed the cocktail menu...



Many drinks were named in honour of famous guests that had stayed there...



..there was even one named after 007...



The selection of food and snacks was good too...

Starters...



Mains from land and sea...



We ordered a selection of starters and mains to share, and began to work our way through the cocktail menu...

We started with a Dry Martini, which here was mixed with Madeira Sercial wine...



and Living Coral, which combined Gin with Madeira and other fruit flavours...



Both these drinks were excellent...with special mention to Living Coral, which was perfectly blended and balanced.

[yflyer]

Our starters began to arrive: we began with a traditional vegetable soup, with their local bread...



...then a trio of samosas, codfish cakes and limpet rissoles, which were savoury and delicious...



The tuna tartare was very tasty...



...and so was the grilled octopus, which came with a small potato, (Which I initially mistook to be the head of the octopus...silly me...)



The food here was simply delicious. The local bread, named Bolo do Caco, deserves special mention. It had a firm crust yet was soft on the inside, with a garlic butter filling...unique and very tasty...



We sampled more cocktails, including the Bago...



...which was served in a strikingly intricate glass...



and a Maderini...



...their local twist on the martini...



We ended the evening with a shared dessert...



...and a final round of cocktails, beginning with a chocolate temptation, made of Dominican Rum Brugal, Frangelico, chocolate sauce and cream...



We could not resist ending the evening with their signature cocktail, Jade...



....a cocktail, inspired by the Reid's gardens, and incorporating Blue Curacao, Monin Tangerine, Passionfruit, Lime juice, and a generous top-up of Champagne...



What a lovely, romantic, way to spend an evening!

[yflyer]

The next morning, I woke up at dawn, and opened the balcony doors to watch yet another cruise ship arrive...



...before heading out of the hotel for an early morning run through Funchal...



I exited the hotel grounds...



..and turned right to head downhill towards the Funchal city centre...



This inital stretch was mainly downhill...



I was not the only runner out pounding the pavement...



I enjoyed the easy downhill pace, though the joy was tempered by the knowledge that I would have to slog my way back uphill to the hotel later...



Finally down to the street at sea-level, I continued along the coastline, towards the Cruise terminal...



Exactly at that time, Mrs yflyer was in the hotel, enjoying the view from the balcony.

I called her on the phone: "The sunrise is beautiful now, please take pictures!"



I continued my run....



I passed the Pestana CR7 Hotel, named in honour of Madeira's favourite son, Cristiano Ronaldo...



There was a CR7 football museum and a statue of Cristiano Ronaldo by the waterfront...

[yflyer]

I continued along the waterfront...


...past the colourful Madeira sign.



The beaches on Maderia were all rocks and black sand...the only yellow sand beach on Madeira had to have it's and imported from the Portugese mainland on continental Europe...


The halfway point of my run was the Forte de São Tiago, a 17th century fort, painted in bright yellow, built to defend the city against pirates.


From there, I turned round and headed back the way I came...



...along a different inland route, through the narrow streets of the old town...


What a beautiful place this was...


The narrow streets were quiet at that hour of the morning...



In the afternoon and evening, these same streets, lined with shops, eateries and bars, would be full of tourists and visitors...



I passed the Mercado Dos Lavradores....


...and the shopping streets of downtown Funchal, which were starting to fill up with morning commuters...



I ran along Rua Dr. Fernão de Ornelas...



...to the Municipal Square...



I continued past Funchal Cathedral...



...with its interior lit with an orange glow...



..and then retraced my steps along the tree-lined coastal promenade...



,,,past the cruise terminal once again.



The final stretch of the my run was an exhausting uphill climb back towards Reid's Palace.



I stepped back into the lobby, soaked in perspiration, and helped myself to a glass of water in the lobby...



...before cooling down on the terrace...



Total distance that day was 8km... quite a satisfactory orientation run through Funchal!

[yflyer]

It was now time for breakfast. This was included in our hotel stay. Breakfast was served at the poolside restaurant.



A choice of indoor or outdoor seating was available...



There was a full buffet, along with a la carte menu selections, all included as part of breakfast.



Juice to begin...



Large pot of strong coffee...



Also great to enjoy breakfast with a glass of bubbles....



A very decent bottle, Alianca, Bruto 2019....

[yflyer]

This was a really wonderful breakfast spread, which included a huge selection of cheese...



...and cold cuts...



There was bacon, and two different kinds of sausage...



...along with tender chicken skewers...



Delicious looking scrambled eggs...



Crepes...



I ordered an ala carte selection of scrambled eggs on toast...



...while Mrs yflyer opted for poached eggs (fresh ground pepper optional...)



There was a great selection of bakery items, pastries and cereal...



...and loads of fresh fruit...



In short, this was an excellent breakfast spread well up to the Reid's high standards.

[yflyer]

After breakfast we took a stroll around the grounds...



There was a man with a large bird of prey walking through the gardens. What was that? A hawk?



"Hello! You have to tell me about the bird!"

"It's a hawk!", he replied. "It's to keep the pigeons away!"

"Ah, I see!"

That would come in very useful in Singapore too!

[yflyer]

We were due to check out at 1pm that day, and it was now late morning. The weather that day was overcast, with intermittent sunshine. It wasn't too cold outside.



Peering over the railings towards the base of the cliff, I remembered that there was one final thing I had to do here.



I went back up to the hotel room and changed into my swimming trunks and headed down the cliff to sea-level with Mrs yflyer.



I stripped off my T-shirt and headed to the water's edge, and peered down the ladder. In summer, there was a diving board setup, so that guests could dive into the warm waters. But this was not summer, and the water was not warm. The diving board had also been removed, as to leave it on was to risk damage from rough waves that occasionally came round in non-summer months.



Still, this was something on my to-do list to check-of, even if I only spent 30 seconds in the water.

I gingerly climbed down the ladder, into the icy water...



OK, so icy may have been an exaggeration, it wasn't at freezing point. But, yes, it was friggin' cold in there...



...and the current was not something to be trifled with! A few dog paddles later, I decided enough was enough, and headed back up.

Next, the small tidal pool, with sea water naturally topping up the pool with the waves and tide...



This was just as cold, but I might never visit Reid's Palace again, so it was now or never.

Ignoring the numb feeling setting into my extremities, I waded right in...



I did not spend a lot of time in there, just enough time to snap a few pictures...



We headed back to our hotel room.

I had a final hot shower before packing up to check out. A hot shower never felt so good!

[yflyer]

We checked out at 1pm that day. As a parting gift, we were given a small bag of sweets to take with us.



What an amazing hotel this was. The experience was near perfect, from the immaculate grounds, to the superb service from the warm and friendly staff. This must have been one of the best hotel stays we had ever had. The closest comparison, I think, would be withe Raffles Hotel in Singapore, where we had a very memorable staycation not long ago. More than a hotel, I think Reid's Palace was a destination in it's own right, worthy of a place in any itinerary.