Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Not too many years ago, few North American travelers outside of wine aficionados had ever heard of the northern Portuguese city of Porto, let alone traveled up the Douro river upon which it lies, nor into the vineyard-rich Douro Valley. That’s hardly the case today. Having just opened upriver from town in 2021, Vinha Boutique Hotel has instantly upped the Porto and Douro game, for both its design and culinary prowess.
The original manor house at the Vinha Boutique Hotel. Credit: Vinha Boutique Hotel Lying across from Porto on the Douro left bank, the nine-acre Leading Hotels of the World property was built with a 16th-century quinta as its centerpiece — or, as some call it a casa senhorial or palacete . In essence, it’s a rural manor house, now given a very modern warm color that you might call something like dark salmon.
Just behind it, the hotel’s four-story modern addition is a fresh and bold Bauhaus-ish block whose form is said to hint at the wine terraces upriver. The collective work was all the personal project of Joana Poças whose family owns the property. Personal, in that she herself designed the stunning property.
Poças has hit the sweet spot between creating a sophisticated city dwelling crossed with an out-of-town contemplative retreat. The Reserva Bar at Vinha Boutique Hotel. Credit: Vinha Boutique Hotel After you turn left past the subtle check-in desk and go behind a towering fireplace and shelving unit, you encounter a sunken living room of a lobby lounge that gives off a Mid-Century ambince.
You almost expect to spy Cary Grant canoodling there. Fine art books set about and an enormous painting by artist Ana Pais Oliveira hanging behind the sofa hint at more art to come in the property. MORE FOR YOU Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers For Tuesday, August 13 Musk-Trump X Interview: Trump Takes Friendly Questions From Musk After Glitch-Plagued Start Trump Vs.
Harris 2024 Polls: Harris Expands Lead In Latest Survey In the lower level, an intimate library lounge echoes that Mid-Century feeling as well. A four-sided velvet sofa under a chandelier is at once traditional and modern. It’s all complemented throughout by dark woods and lacquered surfaces in the chinoiserie and other dashes of an East Asian aesthetic.
As quickly as you step outside, the river comes into view just beyond the garden pool on one side and a finely landscaped pond area to the other—everywhere and always you feel the river. In between, fountains and hedges are lit by elegant lampposts that look like they’ve been there since the early-20th-century era of the great poet Fernando Pessoa. The atmosphere matches that of any waterfront villa you’ve seen on Lake Como.
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render(randId); }); })(); The Vinha Boutique Hotel lobby. Credit: Vinha Boutique Hotel The Vinha Boutique faces east at this juncture in the Douro as the river flows north for a short spell, meaning sunrise is worth getting up for. To fully experience the river, take the property’s complimentary motorboat service into Vila Nova de Gaia, the town across from Porto that’s famous for its old Port wine houses.
From there, ride the cable car uphill and then walk into Porto across the famous Luís I iron arch bridge. And if you had been expecting a wine hotel given its name, the Vinha Boutique throws a curve at you. Yes, there is a cool artsy series of whitewashed grapevine trunks on the wall leading to the Vinha Restaurant, which itself certainly has a premier collection of vintages.
But, the overarching aesthetic to half of the 38 rooms, and which has garnered great attention, is the high design element from fashion house icons. You’ve got your Missoni, Hermès, Kenzo, Lacroix and other themed rooms. Rest assured, we’re not talking a décor of celebrities in frock photos in some pseudo-fashionable Vegas hotel, but rooms arrayed meticulously in rich and sumptuous fabrics, textiles and wallpapers from those houses’ own collections.
Lots of lavender, deep teal, shiny platinum, crimsons, and gold give some spaces a light boudoir-ish vibe; elements like clawfoot tubs only add to it. Suites at the Vinha Boutique Hotel are all designer based. Credit: Vinha Boutique Hotel The property likes to talk of a stay being a journey of senses, a major component of which is the intimate Vinha Restaurant, a design triumph in itself.
A fabric ceiling covering of extinct animals was made by the fine Dutch interior company Moooi , while a gorgeous Chinese vase serves as centerpiece under a crystal chandelier. Chef Henrique Sá Pessoa has cooked in London, Australia, and the States, while his Alma restaurant in Lisbon carries two Michelin stars. As the younger generation of Portuguese speak impeccable English, your sommelier and waiter can give you a master class on the creativity behind his six-course tasting menu.
The more casual Terroir Brasserie with terrace seating is also the breakfast outlet. Its cheerful interior with ceramic figures and rattan chairs somehow gives off a vague North Africa meets South America vibe. Adjacent to the restaurant, the Reserva Bar is like a velvety private club featuring a ceiling tapestry by Ferreira de Sá rug makers.
Kudos go to the lighting engineer and whoever designed the handsome bartender jackets as well. Don’t miss out on playing the bar’s clever board game in which you roll the dice to determine your drink. Indoor pool at the SPA by Sisley Paris at the Vinha Boutique Hotel.
Credit: Vinha Boutique Hotel Another lower level element for the senses, the SPA by Sisley Paris includes a hammam among its rooms. If you’re sun averse, the spa’s indoor pool and jet bath are under cozy dim lighting, while an olive tree just outside is perfectly framed through the muntin pattern of a full-window wall. It doesn’t get any more serene than that.
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