Quinta da Cova | Six-bedroom manor house above Funchal

Set on an elevated ridge above central Funchal, this historic quinta occupies 4,900 m² of urban land, with a building footprint of 302 m² and 931 m² of gross construction area. It is a property of rare scale and provenance within the city's urban perimeter, 4,570 m² of open grounds, mature gardens with old-growth trees, basalt stone walls, and traditional Madeiran pebble pathways stepping across several terraced levels.

Entry is through a vaulted stone tunnel that opens onto a courtyard shaded by bougainvillea, a prelude that sets the tone for the house itself. The manor is arranged as six bedrooms across four floors and fifteen rooms. The principal floors retain their original fabric intact: generous ceiling heights, moulded plasterwork with decorative ceiling roses, wide-plank timber floors, panelled doors, carved white marble fireplaces, and timber-framed windows with interior shutters. The main reception rooms connect through double doors and open onto a continuous arcaded veranda with stone balustrade running the full length of the southern facade.

It is from that veranda that the property reveals its true value. The view is uninterrupted across the rooftops of Funchal, the cathedral, the harbour and the ocean, with the city's natural amphitheatre rising on the slopes opposite. The southern orientation brings light throughout the day, and the elevation of 83.5 metres keeps the property above the noise of the city without removing it from it, the historic and commercial centre is a short distance away.

A second stone building stands at the northern boundary of the plot, alongside a formal garden with an iron pergola, beds of agapanthus and strelitzia, and level terraced areas ample enough for a pool and outdoor living zones.

The house requires full restoration. That is precisely the opportunity: the sale includes the architectural licensing project for conversion into a five-star boutique hotel of 34 keys, together with a feasibility study and a detailed financial model. Energy rating D.

A property with more than two centuries of history, on one of the few remaining large plots inside Funchal, ready for a second life whether as an exceptional private residence or as a fully structured hotel project.