Funchal Spotting Hotel – Santa Cruz

A new Funchal spotting hotel has come to our attention which makes a good place for spotters to stay when visiting Madeira.

The Santa Cruz boutique hotel is situated in Santa Cruz, the village just underneath the end of runway 05. This is the runway which famously involves a sweeping turn onto a short final over the bay, and can often lead to some spectacular approaches in windy conditions.

The Santa Cruz is a smart, small hotel set over five floors, with good amenities for guests. In front of the hotel is the beach, which also has views of aircraft on approach.

Spotters need to secure a Sea View room, which all have balconies. All of these rooms face the 05 approach, and you also have a view of aircraft departing runway 23, but they are too high for decent photographs.

The higher the room the better, especially if you want to take photographs or see aircraft lining up for departure on 05.

Santa Cruz Funchal spotting hotel’s rooftop restaurant, with the airport in the background.

The Santa Cruz hotel also has a restaurant and terrace on its roof, which is great for watching and photographing aircraft, and is open to those not staying at the hotel.

Here’s a promotional video from the hotel, which shows the rooms and some aircraft movements:

You can book rooms directly at the hotel’s website, https://www.santacruzhotel.top

Aircraft passing the hotel on approach to runway 05

Aircraft lining up as seen from the hotel using zoom lens.

Funchal is a busy holiday airport – particularly in the summer months when the number of seasonal flights is at its peak. It also sees local commuter flights from the Azores and Canary Islands, and has regular links to mainland Portugal.

For more spotting hotels, check out our book Airport Spotting Hotels