Castanheiro Boutique Hotel originally opened its doors in 1991 and then again, totally renovated and refurbished, in November 2015. The family hotel with 81 rooms is situated in the historic, protected San Pedro area of Funchal, just a few steps from the City Hall. The location is central and yet peaceful and quiet. The hotel is decorated with contemporary paintings and embroideries by artists and artisans from the island of Madeira.
The four-star hotel comprises five historical, beautifully restored, classified buildings. The oldest dates back to the 18th century and once hosted handcraft ateliers. A 19th century house was once the mansion of a wealthy family of merchants. From the inner courtyards, you can access three buildings which date back to the early 20th century. One hosted a typography company. The hotel’s Tipografia Restaurant derives its name from that heritage. Another building was once dedicated to the industry of embroidery. Castanheiro Boutique Hotel is decorated with furniture, antiques and building materials from these trades.
In one of the inner courtyards, you can spot an historic community oven. Decades ago, it was operated by the nearby Jesuites who used it to bake bread for Funchal’s poor. It is still funcitioning but currently not in use.
One of Castanheiro Boutique Hotel’s highlights is the rooftop with bar, pool and jacuzzi, which enjoy a great view over the city of Funchal and its harbor. It’s a great place to watch the New Year’s fireworks. On the rooftop, from July to September, you can enjoy tapas and live music.
In addition, the four-star hotel offers an indoor pool in the Til Spa area, which also features two massage rooms, a sauna and a Turkish bath.
Regarding the name of the spa: Til is a typical tree from the laurisilva forest, unique to Madeira and the Canary Islands. Some of them are 500 years old. At the hotel entrance, you can admire part of a Til tree trunk.
At Til Spa, I went for a 75-minute Seaweed Hot Stone Massage with hot stones and seaweed strips by Voya, a family owned company from Strandhill, Co. Sligo, Ireland specialized in biological treatments; Castanheiro Boutique Hotels is the only place on the island of Madeira to offer Voya treatments.
After my Seaweed Hot Stone Massage, to relax even further, I chilled out in the indoor poolside area, enjoying a Voya fennel fusion organic tea, quite appropriate in the city of Funchal which has its name derived from the Portuguese word for fennel: funcho.
Incidentally, in the Funchal supermarkets, they normally don’t sell fennel. Luckily, there is the market where you can find fresh vegetables, fruit and more. But that’s another story.
View of Til Spa’s indoor pool. All photos copyright © Castanheiro Boutique Hotel, Funchal, Madeira. Books about Madeira from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de.
Iris Lounge & Bar. All photos copyright © Castanheiro Boutique Hotel, Funchal, Madeira.
On a Thursday at the end of 2020, before the 6pm curfew was imposed, I went to the hotel’s Iris Lounge & Bar because it offered “Tapas and wine”, accompanied by a jazz trio (guitar, drums and double bass). The once-a-week offer was enthusiastically embraced by hotel guests in times in which the possibility to experience live music was rare.
Iris, Coffee, Tea and Cocktail Bar is set against a spectacular glass wall that opens onto Castanheiro Boutique Hotel’s inner courtyards. The bar floor is made of traditional Portuguese tiles and basalt stones. All week, Iris offers signature cocktails as well as a fine selection of Portuguese and Madeiran wines.
A vegetarian dinner at Tipografia Restaurant
The following day during my 2020-stay, I enjoyed a dinner at the hotel’s Tipografia Restaurant with chef Mauricio Gonçalves. The meals were accompanied by a duo composed of a singer and a guitarist. They started the evening with … Bob Dylan’s Knocking on Heaven’s Door (Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk).
My vegetarian dinner started with a decent choice of several types of bread (e.g. with olives, tomatos), olive oil, olive paste, fresh cheese, chives and olives.
My amuse-bouche consisted of grilled vegetables (zucchini, red peppers), goat cheese and a sabayon aka sabaillon à la Madère as well as red-pepper coulis on a slice of carrot.
The top sales at Tipografia Restaurant are Black Angus beef filet and oven-backed lamb rack. I went for a good ricotta and pesto stuffed ravioli with a pesto cream and a tomato sauce with basil and lime. Subsequently, I tasted a mushroom risotto (champignons de Paris), flavored with garlic, lime, thyme, pepper and parmesan. This dish was more on the average side. It was accompanied by a well-chosen, fresh and mineral tasting glass of Colombo 2018, a 12.5% white wine made of Verdelho and Arnsburger grapes. In addition, I tried a Quinta de Porrais 2018 white wine from the Portuguese Douro region, made of Rabigato and Côdega de Larinho grapes. This choice was fine with my dish as well.
My excellent dessert consisted of a Tiramisù with raspberry couli, a dehydrated honey cake as well as fresh stawberries and raspberries. Just for your info: the top-selling dessert at Tipografia Restaurant was the choloate brownie with vanilla ice cream.
To accompany my dessert, I opted for a fine, 10-year-old Boal or Bual by Blandy’s; this Bual grape comes from Calheta, the southwest coast of Madeira island.
As my last culinary note, let’s mention that the welcome package in my Deluxe Room 209 at Castanheiro Boutique Hotel consisted of a traditional sugar cane syrup cake of Madeira (Bolo de Mel de Cana da Madeira) and an excellent Castanheiro Boutique Hotel Madeira Wine, medium sweet (meio doce) with 18% alcohol, made for the hotel by J. Faria & Filhos LDA. with Tinta Negra Mole grapes.
A view of my dinner venue Tipografia Restaurant where breakfast is served, too. All photos copyright © Castanheiro Boutique Hotel, Funchal, Madeira.
View of a Deluxe Room, the category I stayed at. All photos copyright © Castanheiro Boutique Hotel, Funchal, Madeira. Books about Madeira from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de.
The four-star Castanheiro Boutique Hotel features different room styles. My favorite is the traditional one such as in the Standard Room 315 situated in the old hotel part, with steep stairs to climb up to your bed. It comes with vintage tiles in the bathoom and a kitchenette. The downside: no balcony, unlike in my contemporary styled Deluxe Room 209. In total, Castanheiro Boutique Hotel has 17 out of 81 rooms with kitchenette.
Each hotel floor has its own color: yellow, blue, green and pink. Be aware that only one room comes with a bathtub. It’s freestanding in Suite 103.
As for famous guests, in 2020, the popular President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, re-elected in January 2021, stayed in Suite 205 when he had a look around the island to find out how Madeira was doing during the covid19-pandemic. Other celebrities staying here include the former female Prime Minister of Denmark, Helle Thorning-Schmidt.
Castanheiro Biblioteca – the hotel library. Photo © Castanheiro Boutique Hotel, Funchal, Madeira.
The Bar Patio. All photos copyright © Castanheiro Boutique Hotel, Funchal, Madeira.
A meal on the rooftop terrace. All photos copyright © Castanheiro Boutique Hotel, Funchal, Madeira.
The hotel façade, composed of several buildings dating back to the 18th, 19th and 20th century. Photo © Castanheiro Boutique Hotel, Funchal, Madeira.
Hotel review added in Funchal on March 1, 2021 at 15:00 Madeira time.
