By ROB FREEMAN

Timeless: Reid's Palace, set on its rocky headland, retains the atmosphere of gentle and relaxed grandeur


Being pampered amid the elegant luxury of one of the world’s most gorgeously-situated hotels, it was easy to forget that this was an island recovering from a natural disaster of huge proportions. On its airy cliff-top above the Madeiran capital of Funchal – looking out over the Atlantic, next stop the Americas – the historic Reid’s Palace has a natural tendency to make one feel immune from all troubles, even those that happened just outside its doors.

It is one of those sumptuous hotels that people visit simply for the experience itself – notwithstanding the fact that it is set on an island of stunning beauty. It would be easy to spend an entire holiday without venturing from its luxurious and activity-filled confines – and many do exactly that.

But the charm of Reid’s Palace was further enhanced the moment one started chatting to the staff and realised that they were as deeply involved in the regeneration and recovery of this remarkable island as anyone else on Madeira.


Local flavour: A fisherman hangs up gata - dried dogfish - at a Madeiran fishing village


Many of the staff have worked there for decades and take an equal pride in the hotel and the island. This is not a hotel, as many other luxury establishments all over the world are, staffed by transitory workers. Everyone was devoted to maintaining high standards at the hotel while at the same time desperate to help the island get back on an even keel after devastating floods that swept swathes of destruction through towns and villages.

Spectacular and terrifying floods and mudslides, the result of a freak storm that saw more than double the average monthly rainfall in a period of five hours, overwhelmed huge areas of the southern part of the island just a year ago this month.

Funchal was heavily damaged by floods and landslides, as a torrent of mud and water flowed into it from the mountainous inland. The airport was closed, bridges were washed away. Forty-four people died and more than 100 were injured.

But now you had to look closely to see evidence of damage in Funchal. With help from the Portuguese central government the renovation, considering the extent of the damage to buildings and streets, has been swift and comprehensive.

‘The one thing that has come from this disaster is that it has brought everyone on the island together in an amazing way,’ said Ricardo Beon, Madeira’s marketing chief. ‘We have had a lot of help from the central government with funding for repairs, but people have joined forces on the island to raise money and support each other in every way they can.

‘I remember when I came into the city centre after the disaster, the one thing that struck me was the awful silence. Where there would normally be crowds and bustle, there was just quiet. It was eerie.


Lush and spectacularly colourful: The sub-tropical botanical gardens above Funchal shouldn't be missed


‘But the energy and determination everyone showed to get things back to normal was incredible. The wonderful character of the people here has been brought to the fore.'

‘And then we were hit by the air chaos of the volcanic ash cloud – we faced many cancellations as well as people not making new reservations. When things got back to normal we worked tremendously hard to convince people that Madeira was as beautiful as ever to visit – particularly with the British market, which is fantastically important to us, making up 25 per cent of our visitors.’


Absorbing: Wander the quaint streets of fishing villages where life goes on much as it has done for centuries


Undoubtedly Madeira is as enticing as ever. The classic Madeira attractions of course should not be missed – tobogganing in wicker baskets down narrow and precipitous streets above Funchal (don’t worry, your toboggan is roped to two burly handlers), visiting lush and spectacularly colourful sub-tropical botanical gardens that cling to the hillsides, and taking a cruise on a catamaran or a pirate galleon to spot dolphins and flying fish. Not forgetting a Madeira tasting at one of the historic wine lodges such as Blandy’s.

There’s even a bit of Cristiano Ronaldo heritage to explore – this is where the football superstar grew up. But to be honest mention of him drew a bit of a sniffy response – ‘well, we don’t see much of him here now’ said one local football fan. And his fashion shop CR7, in an affluent suburb of Funchal, had a decidedly closed look to it.

But what is really absorbing and fascinating is touring the island and wandering the quaint streets of fishing villages, such as Camara de Lobos, where life goes on much as it has done for centuries.


Natural wonder: Fantastic rock formations off Madeira's northern coast


One thing typifies Portuguese cuisine - fish. And of course that is especially true on Madeira. In the coastal villages you can buy sardines, small mackerel and squid, all of which are often barbecued or baked, as well as sea bass and various varieties of bream. Freshwater fish such as trout and river lamprey appear on menus as well as caldeirada, a nourishing fish soup. At one village we saw a fisherman selling gata - dried dogfish - the racks of hanging fish covering his boat.

You need to hire a car to explore the heights of the interior – roads spiral up in giddying hairpins from the coast to the mountains, such as the corkscrew route that rises from the northern coast resort of Porto Moniz. It is surreal on a sub-tropical island to journey through several climate zones up to an almost Alpine landscape.

From the peaks at the centre of the island you can, on a clear day, see the ocean to the north and south of Madeira. And it is from these central points, such as Pico do Juncal, at over 5,500ft, that lofty hiking routes begin.

Also scattered across the island, starting at altitude, are the famous levadas, a network of irrigation mini-canals – regarded as the life-blood of the island – which now also provide spectacular walking routes on the maintenance paths alongside. The levadas, 2,500 kilometres of them and dating back to the early 16th century, deliver water from the more rainy north to the drier south of the island, irrigating banana plantations, vineyards, orchards and vegetable gardens.


Corkscrew route: Roads spiral up in giddying hairpins from the coast to the mountains


Madeira’s British connection goes back centuries. Apart from the almost total control of the island’s wine industry by British merchants, a large garrison of British soldiers was stationed here during the Napoleonic wars.

Not that Madeira actually has any great history in a European sense – which lends it an added attraction in a way, because there never was an indigenous population to be disadvantaged. Its character, soul, architecture, economy and way of life is purely the creation of those who have settled here in the last few hundred years.

And these incomers include William Reid, who first came to Madeira in 1836 at the age of 14 and made his fortune in the wine trade before making it his mission in life to build a hotel bearing his name. Before building began he had the site above Funchal strewn with tons of rich soil, creating the conditions for the gardens of bougainvillaea, geraniums, orchids and palms that still enfold the property today.


Head for heights: Lofty hiking routes begin from central points, such as Pico do Juncal, at over 5,500ft


Reid’s Palace is now owned by Orient-Express Hotels and, even through the course of 8.5 million euros of renovations, retains the atmosphere of gentle and relaxed grandeur that one feels was Reid’s aim. One can almost sense the ghostly presence of previous guests along its elegant corridors – from Empress Elizabeth l of Austria to George Bernard Shaw, who learned the tango here, and Winston Churchill. Churchill visited in 1949 to work on his war memoirs and to paint, and a suite named after him is still in existence today.

With its dark wood furnishings, antiques and thick Oriental rugs, the Edwardian ballroom (jacket and tie mandatory), afternoon tea on the terrace overlooking the Atlantic, and old-fashioned service and attention to detail, the hotel exudes solid and timeless values. And one feels this philosophy reflects the outlook of this beautiful and enterprising island – an attitude that has seen extreme adversity overcome in an astonishingly short space of time.


Travel facts
Reid’s Palace can be booked directly on www.reidspalace.com, or the for the whole Orient-Express collection of hotels and trains on www.orient-express.com. The daily room rate at Reid’s starts from 245 euros a night, including breakfast buffet, but special offers and packages are available on the website.

More information on Madeira at www.visitportugal.com then click on Madeira.


source: dailymail