Historic Portugal Hotels: Lawrences, Reids Palace

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Reid�s Palace
Estrada Monumental 139, Funchal, Madeira

When William Reid opened the doors of this famous hotel in 1891 he had done so against all the odds - half a century earlier he had first arrived in Madeira as a poverty-stricken cabin boy. Today, Reid�s Palace is a five-star retreat with 130 rooms and 34 individually furnished suites.

Captain Scott called here en route to his ill-fated venture in the Antarctic in 1901, Winston Churchill wrote memoirs in the suite now named after him, and George Bernard Shaw came to write, relax and �master the tango� in 1924. Reid�s has also welcomed many royal guests such as Edward VIII and Elizabeth of Austria.

Lawrence�s Hotel
Rua Consigli�ri Pedroso 38-40, Sintra

Lawrence�s Hotel claims to be the oldest hotel on the Iberian peninsula, having been in operation since 1764. Today, as throughout its history, it offers a comparatively small number of rooms (16 of which 5 are suites) thus adding to a sense of exclusivity.

Aficionados of romantic poetry will be interested to learn that Lord George Byron stayed at Lawrence�s between July 7 and 17th 1809. It is widely believed that he created part of one of his most revered works, Childe Harold�s Pilgrimage, while here. Writing to a friend he described his position: �I must observe that the village of Cintra in Estremadura is the most beautiful, perhaps, in the whole world.�