Octant Furnas is an Azorean spa retreat in the Furnas Valley on São Miguel Island, Azores, an area known for Europe’s highest concentration of hot springs. Lush, volcanic landscapes characterize the surroundings, including crater lakes, extensive meadows, and dense forests.
Octant Furnas was renovated in 2015 and features thermal waters, swimming pools, and a spa and wellness center. The Octant Furnas hotel uses thermal water from the “Quenturas” spring, captured at around 59°C (138°F) and then cooled for its pools to 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 check-in.
Octant Furnas Parking & Lobby
Octant Furnas is a 40-50 minute drive (30 miles) from Ponta Delgada (PDL) International Airport. Plenty of free parking is available in front of the hotel. The front entrance glass doors are difficult to open, and the reception area is large, 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 traditional feather-filled king pillows upon request. The room had a single foldable luggage rack and plenty of closet space with hangers. Both air conditioners in the suite worked perfectly, with no restrictions from hotel management.
The bathrooms had good showers with excellent water pressure and wonderful-smelling shampoo and body wash. We noticed that hot water can take up to a full minute to arrive in the shower. The showers are only half enclosed, but deep enough to prevent water from spilling onto the floor beyond the foot towels.
Octant Furnas Wellness Area
The wellness area includes large heated indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a dry sauna, a steam room, and a crushed ice maker to cool your body rapidly. 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, separate sections for a hot tub and a cold tub let you rapidly alternate body temperatures if desired.
The pool water looks like mud water but is purified and rich in minerals with healing properties (see images below).
You won’t notice the sulfur smell you get at Iceland’s hot springs when you swim in these pools. The pool water is the perfect temperature, and you will notice steam rising from the water and off your body after you take a dip. You can relax in the wellness center lounge chairs and watch the smoke rise for a while. The wellness area is surprisingly under-visited on weekdays (weekends were busy, as expected), and we were the only ones there 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, an improvement over our previous 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 (7.30-11.30 am) we’ve had in recent memory, and I would be surprised if anyone could be disappointed. Breakfast is served in a large seating area in a green room, with several counters filled with fresh fruit, cereals, breads, and jellies, plus the option to order eggs the way you like. A separate printed menu (on the table) lists specialized items like French toast for an additional fee.
Scenic Viewpoints & Hikes in Ponta Delgada
This is our second trip to Ponta Delgada, and we revisited all our favorite scenic viewpoints (Google Maps link) on this trip.
Lagoa das Sete Cidades
Lagoa do Fogo
Nordeste
AllTrails lists several hiking trails in the Ponta Delgada region (link), and one of the best trails we did on this trip was the Salto do Prego Waterfall Trail (link). You can enjoy this trail even when it is raining, and it offers great cascading waterfall views with moderate hiking.
Octant Furnas Overall Experience
- Octant Furnas SLH stands out among wellness-center-oriented luxury hotels for being reasonably priced and using natural hot spring water.
- Several wellness centers in the Dolomites and onsen in Japan charge two to three times the price. They are also typically separated by sex, and most can only be entered naked (textile-free).
- Ponta Delgada has several hiking trails, and it was a wonderful experience to hike daily after breakfast, then swim in the pool and enjoy the hot tub and sauna in the afternoons.
- Octant Furnas charges a ridiculous 30-euro room service fee when you order food from their restaurant. This policy encouraged us to eat out as much as possible at nearby restaurants within driving distance.
- My only recommendation is to add 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 fed by local hot springs. I always recommend that friends and family visit both Madeira and the Azores to explore their natural beauty, and Octant Furnas is an excellent base for exploring Ponta Delgada. I recommend visiting the spa on weekdays for a less crowded experience.