Boaventura really is in the middle of nowhere, so don't expect to find anything to do besides enjoy the spectacular beauty of the place. The building is lovely. Tile floors and interesting artifacts in a sort of atrium. My room had antique looking (although not actually antique) furniture. The one woman working there the night I stayed did not really speak English, so we communicated in a combination of Spanish (mine) and Madeiran Portuguese (hers). She did manage to convey to me that the internet was available at the church. While I could see the church from my room, the connection did not extend that far. Despite what some of the ads might say, there is not internet at the hotel.

The treatment I received there was wonderful. I was traveling alone, and there was just one other couple at the hotel. I was alone in the dining room when I went for dinner. She set a place for me in the dining room at a table right by a roaring fire. (Nice as it was kind of chilly that evening.) The food was quite good. She convinced me to order a half bottle of Madeiran wine. She was quite proud of it, so I was convinced. Unfortunately, it wasn't so good. I learned to stick to Portuguese vino tinto.

I slept with the window wide opened and heard roosters in the morning. The only down point was that I could sometimes here people walking around very loudly. But, overall, it was a fine experience.