Returning to the island of his birth, businessman Manuel Pestana achieved one of his lifelong ambitions on a headland overlooking Funchal Bay. The Pestana Carlton Madeira Hotel opened its doors for the first time on 20th November 1972.
As Madeiran flower petals fill the air, a fishing boat serves as a makeshift shellfish bar, while waiters dressed in florist garb serve champagne and hors d’oeuvres against a backdrop of oxcarts, anchors and lighthouses.
On 20th November 1972, Manuel Pestana looked on as Américo Tomás, then President of Portugal, cut the ribbon with gold and jewel encrusted scissors to mark the opening of the luxury hotel he built on his native isle. Shortly before, the same head of state had bestowed the Order of Agricultural and Industrial Merit upon this grand entrepreneur.
Some of those present remarked that both Pestana and his wife, Caridade, were tearful on more than one occasion, although this dream only came true after decades of hard work, ever since the family escaped poverty by emigrating in 1945.
Designed by the architect Júlio Semião, boasting expansive views over Funchal Bay, the modern resort was constructed on the site previously occupied by the classic Hotel Atlântico since 1898, a building both Semião and Pestana admired from an early age. After four years of construction, the Pestana Carlton Madeira opened with over 300 rooms, with management duties undertaken by the prestigious North American Sheraton chain, just one of the many wise decisions that would make the hotel such a success.
Manuel Pestana (third from the right, standing) at the laying of the foundation stone.
Soul, Resilience and Rigour
When he landed in Funchal in 1976, Dionísio Pestana was 24 years old, spoke with a South African accent and had recently finished a business management degree. Manuel Pestana’s only son had come to rescue the family’s investment. Although geographically distant from the epicentre of the Portuguese revolution that ended 41 years of dictatorship, the winds of change had also arrived in this peaceful Madeiran haven.
When he arrived, Dionísio encountered a hotel in crisis. Open for just two years, the interest rates on their loan had risen to 28 percent and the trade unions had become all-powerful. Confidence in the Portuguese economy had plummeted and foreign tourists were wary of visiting. With his father intensely focussed on business in Johannesburg, this proved to be one of the most difficult but successful challenges of his life. At the start of the 1980s, firmly in the company’s driving seat, this young visionary decided to expand the brand.
After extensive renovation in 2008, the Pestana Carlton Madeira, the group’s first hotel, now boasts 486 rooms, three restaurants, two bars, a spa, five pools, a diving center, and direct access to the sea.
Now celebrating its 50th birthday, the Pestana Carlton Madeira symbolises not only the beginning of an empire but also the soul, resilience and rigour it represents. Reopened in 2008 after major renovation, it offers the same top-quality service with 290 rooms (including 36 suites), three restaurants, two bars, a spa, five swimming pools, a diving school and direct access to the sea
Pestana Carlton
Madeira
The first hotel in what would become a group with more than 100 hotels.
