The Vine

If you love wine, design and good living, you'll love this glamorous, uber-modern, urban-zen hotel

The Vine is divine. Not only that, its cutting-edge chic and delectable food is putting Madeira on the map for hip city breaks and luxury living.

There may not be a vineyard in sight, but it’s all about the wine here, from the first floor restaurant Terra, groovily themed to feel as though you’re dining amid roots and beneath vines, to the vinous photographs above the beds and the lush palettes of purple, green, pink and brown. The Vine is a design hotel par excellence: the underground spa is darkly seductive; the rooftop swimming pool, sundeck and lavada-inspired jacuzzi could be from a Vogue photo shoot. Lights come on and curtains glide at the merest touch, bathrooms have waterfall-effect showers, modish baths stand at the foot of the bed. Madeiran-Portuguese designer Nini Andrade Silva has won countless awards for her interiors; at last she's brought her talents home. Forget the old holiday cliches of golf and G&T: look for the high life and find it here.

Highs

• The spa is the only one in Europe to be using TheraVine products from Stellenbosch, South Africa
• Lush sea views from the sundeck at the top, plus hidden jacuzzi, spa cabana and infinity pool
• The hotel's sun-deck restaurant, UVA, overseen by a multi-Michelin-starred chef, is Funchal’s hottest ticket
• The decor oozes glamour, luxury and style
• Staff are warm and friendly, professional yet unobtrusive

Lows

• Too cool for school? The lighting devices take some getting used to
• Low-lit bedrooms - one person’s darkly seductive is another person’s gloomy
• You enter via the Funchal shopping centre
• Many bedrooms are overlooked by neighbouring buildings and there's a certain amount of city-centre noise
• No garden - but the sundeck more than compensates