Octant Furnas is an Azorean spa retreat located in the Furnas Valley on São Miguel Island, Azores, an area known for having the highest concentration of hot springs in Europe. The surroundings are characterized by lush, volcanic landscapes, including crater lakes, extensive meadows, and dense forests.
Octant Furnas was renovated in 2015 and features thermal waters, swimming pools and a Spa & Wellness center. The Octant Furnas hotel uses thermal water from the “Quenturas” spring, which is captured at around 59°C (138°F) and then cooled for its pools, creating a pleasant bathing temperature, often around 39°C (102°F). This thermal water feeds the hotel’s spa, hydrotherapy circuit and indoor/outdoor pools, providing a relaxing, mineral-rich environment.
Octant Furnas Award Booking
We booked a premium room with a garden view (see image below) and were upgraded to Suite Furnas at the time of check-in.
Octant Furnas Parking & Lobby
Octant Furnas is a 40-50 minute drive (30 miles) from Ponta Delgada (PDL) International Airport. There is plenty of free parking in front of the hotel. The front entrance glass doors are hard to open and there is a large area with reception with some seating and a small boutique section.
Suite Furnas
The suite has two full bathrooms, a living room with a pull-out sofa bed, a large bedroom with a king mattress and a comfortable leather chaise lounge sofa. The default bedroom pillows were large square and bolster pillows, but they provided us with traditional feather filled king pillows upon request. There is a single foldable luggage rack and plenty of closet space with hangers. Both the air conditioners in the suite worked perfectly with no restrictions from the hotel management.
Bathrooms had good showers with excellent water pressure and wonderful smelling shampoo and body wash. We noticed that hot water arrival in the shower can take up to a full minute. The showers are only half enclosed, but deep enough to avoid water spillage onto the floor beyond the foot towels.
Octant Furnas Wellness Area
Wellness area contains large heated indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a dry sauna, steam room and a crushed ice maker for rapidly cooling your body temperature. The indoor swimming pool has three hydro circuits that can deliver powerful water jets to massage your back, neck and shoulders. At the end of the indoor pool, there are separate sections for a hot tub and a cold tub for rapidly alternating body temperatures if desired.
The pool water appears like mud water but is purified and full of minerals with healing properties (see images below).
There is no sulfur smell which you notice when visiting the hot springs in Iceland when you are swimming in these pools. The pool water has the perfect temperature and you will notice smoke coming out of the pool water and your body after taking a dip. You can relax in the wellness center lounge chairs and watch the smoke coming out of the water for a while. The wellness area is surprisingly under-visited during the weekdays (weekends were very busy at the wellness area as expected) and we were the only ones there during most afternoons.
We spent most of our time in the dry sauna which we prefer over the steam room.
Wi-Fi Speed
Octant Furnas has decent Wi-Fi speeds, which was an improvement compared to our previous hotel stay at Dream Madeira (review).
Fitness Center
Octant Furnas has a surprisingly decent fitness center with Life Fitness equipment. The fitness center is on the upper level and faces the heated indoor pool section (see images below).
Octant Furnas Free Breakfast
Octant Furnas has the most full-fledged & tastiest breakfast (7.30-11.30am) we’ve had in recent memory, and I would be surprised if anyone could be disappointed with it. Breakfast is served in a large seating area in a green room and there are several counters filled with fresh fruits, cereals, breads, jellies along with the ability to order eggs the way you like. There is a separate printed menu (on the table) for specialized items like French Toast for an additional fee.
Scenic View Points & Hikes in Ponta Delgada
This is our second trip to Ponta Delgada and we revisited all our favorite scenic view points (Google Map link) during this trip.
Lagoa das Sete Cidades
Lagoa do Fogo
Nordeste
AllTrails has several hiking trails listed for the region of Ponta Delgada (link), and one of the best trails we did during this trip was the Salto do Prego Waterfall Trail (link). This trail can be enjoyed even when it is raining, and has great cascading waterfall views with moderate hiking efforts.
Octant Furnas Overall Experience
- Octant Furnas SLH stands out among wellness center-oriented luxury hotels by being reasonably priced and utilizing natural hot spring water.
- There are several wellness centers in the Dolomites and Onsen’s in Japan, but they charge two to three times the price. They are also typically separated based on sex and most can only be entered naked (textile free).
- There are several hiking trails in Ponta Delgada and it was an awesome experience to hike daily after breakfast and swim in the pool and enjoy the hot tub and sauna in the afternoons.
- Octant Furnas charges a ridiculous 30 Euros room service fee when you order food from their restaurant. This policy encouraged us to eat out as much as possible in the restaurants nearby within a driving distance.
- My only recommendation to the hotel is to place a water station at the wellness center (similar to the one in the fitness center) so guests don’t have to walk back to ask staff for water.
Summary
Octant Furnas is one of the best SLH with access to indoor and outdoor year-round heated swimming pools sourced from the local hot springs. I always recommend our friends and family visit both Madeira and Azores islands to explore their natural beauty and Octant Furnas serves as an excellent base to explore Ponta Delgada. I recommend visiting the hotel during weekdays for a less crowded spa experience.