Belmond Reid's Palace

Belmond Reid's Palace

View looking up to the main hotel building from the swimming pool.
General information
Location Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
Opening November 1891
Owner Belmond Ltd.
Management Belmond Ltd.
Design and construction
Architect George Somers Clarke & John Thomas Micklethwaite
Developer William Reid
Other information
Number of rooms 128
Number of suites 35
Website
www.reidspalace.com

Belmond Reid's Palace (aka Reid's Palace) is a historic hotel located to the west of Funchal Bay in Madeira (Portugal), in an imposing position looking out over the Atlantic Ocean.[1][2] The hotel has beautiful sloping gardens.[3]

Early colour photograph of Reid's Hotel and the surrounding landscape from Funchal, Madeira, by Sarah Angelina Acland, c. 1910

History

William Reid, the son of a Scottish crofter, originally arrived in Madeira in 1836.[4] He hired out quintas to wealthy invalids and moved on to hotels, but died before his Reid's hotel was completed.

The hotel was designed by the architects George Somers Clarke and John Thomas Micklethwaite.[1] It opened as the New Hotel in November 1891 and later became the New Palace Hotel, then Reid's Palace or just "Reid's".[5] The hotel was acquired by Orient-Express Hotels Ltd., which changed its name to Belmond Ltd. on 10 March 2014. At that time the hotel changed its name to Belmond Reid's Palace.[6]

The pioneer colour photographer Sarah Angelina Acland (1849–1930) stayed at the hotel during the early 20th century and took many photographs in and around the location of the hotel.[5] The hotel had a darkroom for use by guests.

Famous guests over the years have included General Fulgencio Batista, Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, David Lloyd George, deposed emperor Karl von Habsburg, Roger Moore, Gregory Peck, the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, the missionary Albert Schweitzer, and dramatist George Bernard Shaw.[4]

Reid's is particularly known for its tradition of serving afternoon tea on the terrace.[7][8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Denby, Elaine (1998). Grand Hotels: Reality & Illusion; An Architectural and Social History. Reaktion Books. p. 183. ISBN 978-1861891211.
  2. ↑ Gubler, Fritz (2008). "Getting Away from it All: Reid's Hotel". Great, Grand & Famous Hotels. Great, Grand & Famous Hotels. p. 183. ISBN 978-0980466706.
  3. ↑ Luckhurst, Gerald (2010). "25: Reid's Palace Hotel". The Gardens Of Madeira. Frances Lincoln. pp. 148–157. ISBN 978-0711230323.
  4. 1 2 Rice, Christopher; Rice, Melanie (2005). "Reid's Palace Hotel". Madeira. Globetrotter Travel Guides (2nd ed.). New Holland Publishers. p. 155. ISBN 978-1845372361.
  5. 1 2 Hudson, Giles (2012). Sarah Angelina Acland: First Lady of Colour Photography. Oxford: Bodleian Library, University of Oxford. pp. 248–249. ISBN 978 1 85124 372 3.
  6. ↑ http://www.belmond.com/web/luxury/press/orient-express_hotels_ltd_to_launch_belmond_brand.jsp
  7. ↑ "Madeira: Coming late to the first tea", 17 Sept 2001. Accessed 15 August 2014
  8. ↑ "Guide to Madeira", Conde Nast Traveller Accessed 15 August 2014

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Reid's Palace Hotel.

Coordinates: 32°38′26″N 16°55′27″W / 32.64056°N 16.92417°W / 32.64056; -16.92417

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