Our trip: early June 2026 · Last updated: October 26, 2026
Google Maps: Octant Furnas ↗
Octant Furnas was our splurge on São Miguel (here’s everywhere we stayed), and it’s the one night I’d repeat exactly. It sits in the Furnas valley, which has the largest concentration of thermal waters in Europe, and the hotel pipes that spring water into its own pools. Book it the right way and one night turns into almost two full days of soaking.
Heads up: some links in this post are affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only share places we’ve actually stayed and loved. More here.
How we booked it
I booked through American Express Travel’s Fine Hotels + Resorts program, which is for Platinum and Centurion cardholders. I chose a weeknight because it was the cheapest of the week, and my Platinum hotel credit took $200 off the rate. The Fine Hotels + Resorts perks are what made it:
- Noon check-in when available. We were in by 12.
- Guaranteed 4 p.m. checkout. We left at 2 p.m. only because we had a tee time.
- A $100 property credit, which we used on drinks and dinner.
- Daily breakfast for two, plus a room upgrade when available (we didn’t get one) and Wi-Fi.
The standard hotel check-in is 3 p.m. and checkout is noon, so booking this way bought us an extra seven hours at the hotel. If you have the card, this is how to book it. Today the Platinum hotel credit is up to $300 every six months on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts bookings, so check what you have left before you book.
The thermal pools
This is the reason to stay. We changed into our swimsuits and the hotel robes and went straight down. There’s an indoor thermal pool, an outdoor one, and a few separate small dipping pools, plus a spa with sauna and hammam.
See Octant on Booking.com →
The water is brown and a little murky, which is just the minerals from the springs, and it’s hot. The pools have some seriously powerful jets that we spent far too long playing in. From the outdoor pool you can see steam rising off the hot springs a short walk away.
We ordered drinks from the bar, stretched out on the loungers in our robes, and had a completely peaceful afternoon. I took a nap. After the drive, the stick-shift lesson and two days of airports, it was exactly what we needed. We went back for one more swim the next day before checking out, with burgers by the pool.
Pack an old, dark swimsuit. Mineral-rich thermal water is known to stain light fabric.
The room, dinner and breakfast
The welcome. At check-in they handed us a cute tote bag and two straw sun hats, fedora-style. We’d mentioned we were celebrating: we were around one year out from our wedding. When we got back from the waterfall that afternoon, there was champagne and a chocolate brownie in the room.
The room. It was really nice. A great shower, everything you could need, and a speaker for music. We didn’t get the upgrade, and we didn’t need it.
Dinner at A Terra. The hotel restaurant is very good, and the thing to order is the Cozido à TERRA, the Furnas stew of meats, sausage, potatoes and vegetables cooked for hours in the ground by the hot springs. We started with a pizza and then barely made a dent in the cozido. So much food. I went straight to sleep afterwards.
Breakfast. Included, and a feast: a juice bar, an omelet station, every kind of meat and pastry. One of the best of the trip.
They also rent bikes and run activities, and I took more photos at this hotel than anywhere else on the island. It’s that kind of place.
Around Octant, and good to know
You’re a short walk from the center of Furnas, and a lot is close by:
- The caldeiras, the steaming hot springs in town, too hot to touch. Locals cook cozido in the ground here.
- Lagoa das Furnas, the lake, a short drive away.
- Cascata da Ribeira Quente, a huge waterfall between two road tunnels toward the south coast.
- Gorreana, Europe’s oldest working tea plantation, free to visit, about half an hour north.
- Furnas Golf Course, which we played the next afternoon.
| Where | Furnas valley, about 50 km from Ponta Delgada airport |
| On site | Indoor and outdoor thermal pools, dipping pools, spa with sauna and hammam, fitness center, restaurant A Terra, bar |
| Standard check-in / out | 3 p.m. / noon (noon / 4 p.m. with Fine Hotels + Resorts) |
| How long | One night is enough if you book for the late checkout; two if you want a full spa day |
| Book | Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts if you have the card; otherwise direct or Booking.com |