After decades as a banker, Ivo Correia decided to open Sé Boutique Hotel (SBH) in Funchal on the island of Madeira. In 2017, the former bank director turned hotel owner and general manager created an unconventional, elegant and partly funky place to stay, dine and relax.
The SBH building dates back to the 19th century. At that time, there were two separate houses belonging to two wealthy families living in the historic part of Funchal. In the 20th century, it became a hotel.
SBH offers an ecclectic art collection, prominently featuring photographs by the artist André Gonçalves who also happens to be the hotel’s sales manager and occasional receptionist.
View of the SBH Art Gallery offering photographs by André Gonçalves.
The photographer André Gonçalves was born in 1987. He lives and works on the island of Madeira. A lover of art in its many forms, he describes himself as a photo lunatic and eccentric with a taste for the bizarre who developed his own style of dark photography. His portraits seem to show melancholic, haunted people with a dark side; some seem silently screaming. He told me that music also plays a major role in his art. The titles of many of his photographs pay homage to songs, which often determine the atmosphere of the image. André Gonçalves says that his inspiration comes from everyday life and that his photographs are autobiographical, his artworks determined by his passions and obsessions. When looking at old portrait photographs, he tries to imagine the life and era of that person. He largely focuses on facial expressions. He told me that the eyes are the shell of the soul. His photographs have been featured in national and international magazines, exhibited in international exhibitions such as in Paris and Italy. At Sé Boutique Hotel, his photos ornate rooms and public areas and some are for sale at the hotel’s art gallery.
View of the lobby area at Sé Boutique Hotel. Sometimes people walking by mistake it for a design shop. If the price is right, SBH is willing to let a design object and/or artwork go. In addition, the hotel has a “real” boutique where you can for instance find clothes by local designers such as Sandra Vieira as well as 100% hand-made wicker products such as bags, baskets and more by the SBH’s own brand Made in Madeira.
View of the boutique at Sé Boutique Hotel in Funchal with designer clothes and Made in Madeira wicker items. In the background, you can see the green wall of the hotel’s breakfast room.
The photograph above shows the wall behind the reception decorated with 19th and 20th century artworks. Throughout the hotel, you will find paintings, watercolors and drawings from the owner’s private collection.
Arriving for the first time at Sé Boutique Hotel a few weeks ago, I was first offered a stay in a deluxe room in a contemporary design with a walk-in shower as the one in the photo above. I later changed to Room 406 which is in a more traditional design because only those more conventionally designed rooms come with a bathtub. 406 also features a coffee and tea making facility and an extra sink in the bedroom, in addition to the one in the bathroom. Roughly half of the rooms offer a bathtub, the other half a walk-in shower.
Waiting for my new room to be ready, the lovely receptionist Priscilla offered my a glass of a traditional Portuguese Ginjinha aka Ginja liqueur, made of sour cherries (ginja) infused in alcohol. I prefer Ginja to the equally traditional and in Funchal more popular Poncha, distilled alcohol made from sugar cane juice, infused with orange or lemon juice, with honey and sugar added. In any case, you should try them both to find out for yourself. Your taste may be different from mine.
Sé Boutique Hotel Terrace Bar on two levels with the historic Sé Cathedral clocktower in the background. The rooftop is meant to look like your private and not like a hotel terrace. SBH offers a great selection of Champagnes, including bottles of Dom Pérignon, Veuve Clicquot, Perrier Jouet, etc. The rooftop is popular with both locals and tourists who like to enjoy an afternoon tea or a brunch with fresh air. From the upper level of the terrace, you can enjoy a great view over the city and bay of Funchal.
Crisis? What crisis? André Gonçalves told me today that March 2021 was the best month for the terrace since the Sé Boutique Hotel opening in 2017! However, the number of hotel guests is low because currently less planes fly to this beautiful island.
A few weeks ago, during my stay at Sé Boutique Hotel, I went for a vegetarian dinner at one of the hotel’s three restaurants: O Calhau (The Pebble) Café, Restaurante & Tapas Bar. My evening in the side-street terrace started with a bruschetta with (slightly overcooked) green asparagus. It was followed by tofu skewers (espetada de tofu) and a glass of white wine from Quinta Fonte do Ouro (2018) from the Dão region in mainland Portugal. It offered a taste of tropical fruit, was very mineral and had 13% alcohol. My next course was a vegetable dish with chickpeas, quinoa and cherry tomatoes. Subsequently, I tasted an eggplant stuffed with tomato and basil cooked in the oven with buffalo mozzarella. It was paired with a glass of Herdade de Gãmbia (2018) white wine from the Peninsula of Setubal, made of Moscatel Graudo, Arinto and Verdelho grapes. With 12.5% alcohol, it was an excellent pairing with the mozzarella. Overall, the dishes at O Calhau Café, Restaurante & Tapas Bar were on the average side. However, the wine pairings and, last but not least, a great passion fruit mousse for dessert made it a pleasant evening.
View of the SBH façade and the side-street terrace, including the hotel’s O Calhau Café, Restaurante & Tapas Bar.
On April 1, 2021 the elegant, brand new hotel spa with pool, relaxation and separate massage area opened to the public. Still staying nearby in Funchal, I walked over to SBH to have a look on its opening day. The spa is decorated with large antique mirrors, chandeliers, lamps as well as three photographs, one showing a large-scale, black & white Audrey Hepburn film still from Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com). The spa features a 6.50-meter resistance pool where you can swim against a current, with an integrated jacucci to the other side. The pool has a depth of 1.28 meters.
In addition, the spa offers a relaxation area for seven guests as well as a massage room. You can book all kind of packages including overnight stays as well as full and half-day passes with breakfast, brunch, cocktails and even a pool photoshoot.
Sé Cathedral
Sé Boutique Hotel is named after the next door Sé Cathedral. Around 1493, Manuel I of Portugal sent architect Pêro Anes, Master of Royal Works, to Madeira to build the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Funchal. At that time, it was the largest diocese in the world since it covered all territories discovered by the Portuguese, from Brazil to Japan.
Sé Cathedral is one of the few structures on the island to survive nearly intact since the early days of Funchal’s colonization. Completed in 1517/18, the interior bears a structure in Mendicant Gothic style, and a Latin cross floor-plan. The cathedral’s Mudéjar ceiling is considered one of the most outstanding in Portugal, made of cedar wood from the island and inspired by Mudéjar design, with ivory inlay. The altarpieces date back to the 16th century, the tiles to the 18th century. The great processional cross in silver-plate was gifted by King Manuel I of Portugal and is considered one of the masterpieces of Manueline liturgical silverwork. Have a look at some of the cathedral’s details with local flavor such as cherubs carrying bunches of bananas.
In short, while staying at Sé Boutique Hotel, don’t forget to have a look at the neighboring Sé Cathedral.
The great Sé Boutique Hotel Terrace Bar with the historic Sé Cathedral clocktower in the background.
An afternoon tea on the rooftop terrace.
View of a Junior Suite with a walk-in shower.
The entrance of Sé Boutique Hotel, SBH. All photos on this page are the copyright of Sé Boutique Hotel, Funchal, Madeira.
Hotel review added on April 2, 2021 at 15:47 Funchal time. Two additional photos added on April 5, 2021.
