Reviewed by Viv Monahan
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CHOUPANA HILLS RESORT AND SPA - REVIEW
Choupana Hills is nothing like it ought to be. It’s cool, stylish, gutsy and, frankly, exotic: the essence of Malaysian luxe, magically transported to genteel Madeira. The brainchild of Michel de Camaret and Didier Lefort, of world class Datai, Langkawi fame. You’ll feel as though you’re airborne when you first arrive at Choupana Hills. As you sip a reviving herbal tea, the lobby glass wall opens onto a vertiginous, wide-angled panorama of Funchal Bay, far below you.
The feel is sometimes Asian, sometimes African, always chic. Natural materials are used throughout – slate, stone, limestone and Tali (a rich, red-brown wood sustainably harvested). Madeira is cleverly in the detail: basalt inlaid floors echo Funchal's mosaic pavements; golden wicker furniture glows on sunny verandas. Outside, it’s all about the view. Inside, the stars on show are the Xôpana Restaurant and the Spa. Rooms are in bungalows on stilts and scattered in the gardens. Don’t worry about the steep paths as you’re gently chauffeured around the grounds by golf buggy. |
