Aqua Natura Bay

Aqua Natura Bay stands in the village of Porto Moniz on Madeira's wild north coast, held between the open Atlantic and the mountainside that shelters the Laurissilva — the island's UNESCO-listed laurel forest. Directly below lie the famous natural swimming pools, volcanic basins refilled by the tide, which the hotel overlooks from its upper floors.

The wellness centre pairs an outdoor pool facing the ocean with an indoor heated pool, sauna, jacuzzi, Turkish bath and a treatment menu — a warm refuge after north-coast hikes. The Madeira Aquarium sits inside the same complex, and the hotel arranges diving within it.

The Lapa Bay restaurant serves the island's flavours with the sound of the surf below. For travellers who come to Madeira for its rawest coastline — Seixal's black sand, the Véu da Noiva waterfall, the Fanal forest — this is the natural base.