This view of Reid's Palace was taken from the sea, which is exactly how visitors would have approached it before Madeira's airport was built in the 1960s. Two men would wear hammocks with poles strung between their shoulders to carry newly-arrived guests up the cliffs and through the tropical gardens. It is hard to imagine how famous guests such as Churchill or George Bernard Shaw would have taken to the experience! Built in 1891, the hotel still attracts famous names, and as the most expensive hotel on the island, it is also a popular choice for the 'newly wed and the nearly dead’ (which I assume is a travel industry term). It is now owned by the Belmond group, who also own the Orient Express.
