The decorator is an artist blending textures and colors; furniture, rugs and native art and antiques to create not a touristy African look, but a meaningful integrated atmosphere that’s restful, yet exotic. I make notes to try to adapt some of the techniques to my home in Virginia to capture this eclectic feeling—and to remember our memorable stay here.

The Royal Savoy’s stylish public areas are just the beginning. Step into one of their 162 spacious suites (all with kitchen!), and you’ll find new meaning in the word elegance. Imagine two people in a suite with a huge bedroom, a living room, a dining room, and two bathrooms. We especially enjoyed the spacious, extremely private balcony (with a wicker table and 4 chairs and two chaise lounges) overlooking the Bay of Funchal. We enjoyed dinner here one evening as we watched a spectacular fireworks display over the Bay. Believe me, it was tough to tear ourselves away from this setting, but, we did come to Madeira to learn about the rest of the island as well!

The brand new Royal Savoy Resort has a footbridge to the older Savoy Hotel, so, you really get the amenities of the two hotels combined. As we went from one to the other, we saw people play shufferboard and moving big chess pieces. While we admired the Savoy’s lush gardens, including ancient olive trees, set in a field of fragrant lavender, and the soothing sound of the water cascade, we were so busy seeing Madeira itself that we weren’t able to make use of the indoor heated swimming pool, gym and sauna, or the sundeck. Next time.

And, speaking of next time, in order to save time, we would have set up more day trips with the hotel concierge. We would have saved a lot of time and would have been able to see more. But that’s why we write travel journals, isn’t it? To help the next person who visits get even more out of their visit.