Casa Velha do Palheiro, a 5-star country-house hotel on Madeira Island, has been awarded the prestigious Garden Trophy at the annual Relais & Châteaux World Awards.

There are over 450 hotels, restaurants and Relais gourmands in the élite ranks of Relais & Chaâteaux, spread over 50 countries around the world. This year’s glittering ceremony was held in Monaco, in the presence of Princess Stephanie. Jonathan Fletcher Blandy, representing the Palheiro Estate, received the award from Mailys Vranken from Porto Rozeés, now part of the Vranken Pommery Monopole group.

The Casa Velha do Palheiro is the former hunting lodge of the 1st Count of Carvalhal, who bought the land in the early 19th Century and created the original gardens including orchards with help of French landscape gardeners ; he also planted many trees imported from the Southern hemisphere - notably Brazil. The estate was acquired by the Blandy family in 1885 and the gardens, which have been carefully nurtured and developed since then, have received a number of worldwide accolades.

Nowadays the gardens receive thousands of visitors a year . Madeira’s essential micro-climate and rich volcanic soil make it a paradise for gardens where tropical trees - some dating back to the 1st Count himself - grow alongside the many varieties of camellias for which Palheiro is known.

Christina Blandy, who has been responsible for the gardens since 1984, said, “we are absolutely thrilled that our gardens have been recognised as the best in the world of Relais & Châteaux properties. Our head gardener José Fernandes and his team deserve enormous credit for the work they do; this award recognizes that and the beauty of the gardens.”


Mailys Vranken from Porto Rozeés presenting Jonathan Fletcher Blandy with the trophy in the presence of the
president of Relais & Châteaux Jaume Tápies.

Princess Stephanie speaking during the awards ceremony.

The Casa Velha do Palheiro garden team with Christina Blandy.