Not my cup of tea

BEFORE REACHING MADEIRA, many people insisted that we should visit Reid’s Hotel in Funchal and to take afternoon tea there.

Pool at Reid’s Hotel in Madeira

Located in the western part of Funchal,  Reid’s was founded by William Reid, a Scotsman
who arrived in Madeira in 1836. The hotel was his idea but he died before it was
completed (in 1891). The massive seafront establishment was designed by George Somers
Clarke and John Thomas Micklethwaite. It is not great architecture.

Since its opening, the hotel has hosted many famous guests including
Winston Churchill,  Albert Schweitzer, George
Bernard Shaw, and Rainer Maria Rilke. Apart from its celebrated guests, the establishment
is famed for its afternoon teas. We decided against partaking of this treat because
it contains far too many sugary confections. We had morning coffee and a pot of
tea by the swimming pools on a terrace overlooking the ocean. By Funchal standards,
it was costly (10 euros) but not outrageously so.

Undoubtedly, Reid’s is luxurious with good service. Its position
overlooking a rocky cove is superb even though it is located in a part of Funchal,
which resembles unexciting slightly upmarket seaside resorts on Italy’s Adriatic
coast. However, the well-appointed hotel seemed somewhat sterile. If sun and sea
is your top priority, then Reid’s is the place to go if you can afford it. However,
it lacks the charm of other places in Funchal.

Well, we did visit Reid’s as people had suggested before we left London but I must say that it is not my ‘cup of tea’.