The Reserve Madeira – Intimacy and Luxury in a Hotel within a Hotel

Towering above the center of Funchal, the Savoy Palace was already the most grandly luxurious place to stay in Madeira, an urban resort with some 300 rooms, a massive spa, and a half-dozen restaurants. The only thing that was missing was intimacy.

That changed with the arrival of The Reserve, a hotel-within-the-hotel that they carved out on the top couple of floors. Guests enter the Savoy Palace through a separate entrance and private lobby before they’re whisked up by elevator—the only one in the hotel that has a bench—to the 16th floor.

There, they’re checked into the hotel and shown into a private lounge and all-day dining venue that’s exclusively for the guests of the Reserve’s 40 rooms. They’re connected with a team of very enthusiastic concierges—called Guest Experience Personal Assistants—who respond to WhatsApp requests 24 hours a day and liaise with the rest of the staff about things like spa treatments and dinner reservations.

Before the launch of The Reserve, the guest rooms were redesigned by Madeira firm RH+ Arquitectos, and have an understated “discreet luxury vibe” with padded fabric walls, plush furnishings, and large bathrooms. All of them have outdoor space, and some have private plunge pools.

Guests of the Reserve have access to all of the Savoy Palace’s amenities and restaurants, including two of their own. Along with that all-day venue, called the Jacarandá Club, there’s also Nikkei, a small dining room that serves Japanese-Peruvian fusion fare.

But perhaps the best exclusive feature is the half of the hotel rooftop that’s been privatized for guests of The Reserve—a dramatic infinity-edge swimming pool on the hotel’s 17th floor, along with plenty of place for low-key sunbathing.