Along with the grand old palaces and super-simple countryside hotels, Portugal has a growing number of luxury boutique hotels. These places, generally in cities, are intimate but stylish, design-forward, and often home to Michelin-caliber gastronomy. Some have history; others are brand-new. But what they have in common is a commitment to quality.
PORTO
BEST LUXURY BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL
Torel 1884 Suites & Apartments
Among the Torel Boutique group’s four (and counting) hotels in Portugal, Torel 1884 is a fan favorite for its rich colors, sweeping staircases, and fully realized design. The hotel takes its name from the year of its construction, but it’s not a strict homage to 19th-century Porto. Rather, each of the 12 rooms in the main building and 11 apartments nearby is a flight of fancy inspired by Portugal’s “discoveries” around the world. Each floor has a geographic theme: Africa on the ground floor, which is also home to the reception and wine bistro, South America in the middle, and Asia up top. The Exotic Birds room is full of velvet and cane, while the Porcelain room is decked out with chinoiserie. As much of the decoration as possible was made by Portuguese artisans.
BEST LUXURY BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL
Vila Foz Hotel & Spa
Away from the city center and in the posh seaside suburb of Foz, Vila Foz is centered on a pale green manor house from Porto’s 19th-century bourgeoisie period. Cutting-edge Portuguese designer Nini Andrade Silva oversaw the reimagination, with a result that preserves history but adds the kind of flourishes that got the place listed in Design Hotels. Most of the 68 rooms are in a new, contemporary building with floor-to-ceiling windows, which is reached via a tunnel from the manor house. The fine-dining Vila Foz restaurant, overseen by chef Arnaldo Azevedo, was awarded a Michelin star in 2022 for its menus that emphasize local products from the sea.
BEST LUXURY BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL
Vinha Boutique Hotel
The new Vinha is not in Porto center, but across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia, where it has lavish gardens, access to walking and cycling paths along the Douro River, and a boat that takes guests to Ribeiro in minutes. Fully half of the 38 rooms were decorated in a style inspired by the world’s most famous houses. Not only inspired: The rooms are filled with fabrics and furnishings from Missoni, Etro, Ralph Lauren, Hermès, and other luxury brands. (One can only guess at the budget for this.) The spa is by Sisley, and the restaurant has the signature of Henrique Sá Pessoa, who holds two stars at his restaurant Alma in Lisbon.
LISBON
BEST LUXURY BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL
Bairro Alto Hotel
Lisbon is increasingly full of boutique hotels, but Bairro Alto Hotel pretty much pioneered the concept. It emerged from a major renovation—overseen by frequent guest and Pritzker Prize–winning architect Eduardo Souto de Moura—several years ago with 87 handsome rooms in three adjacent 18th-century buildings. The restaurant, on the top floor, was redesigned by Atelier Bastir, the firm that created the original hotel, in 2005. Now it’s called BAHR (Bairro Alto Hotel Restaurant, get it?). Chef Bruno Rocha runs the kitchen at BAHR and the hotel’s other venues, including a café that serves the best pasteis de nata in town, and the stylish 18.68 Cocktail Bar, which serves craft beverages and snacks on the ground floor.
BEST LUXURY BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL
Hotel das Amoreiras
While Hotel das Amoreiras is not the usual tourist areas, that turns out to be a blessing. Instead, it’s behind the quiet, leafy Amoreiras garden in the shadow of the aqueduct, one of the city’s best secret squares. The 19 rooms and understated public areas were inspired by the owner’s love of London’s grand hotels, where his emigrant family would go for tea on Sundays, but of course toned down to fit with Lisbon’s more laid-back vibe. There’s no restaurant, which makes sense in a neighborhood full of great ones, but the bar serves light meals and an a la carte breakfast that emphasizes Portuguese ingredients: Mafra bread, Alentejo presunto, and Azores cheese.
BEST LUXURY BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL
Palácio Ludovice Wine Experience Hotel
The name suggests a potential for cheesiness, but Palácio Ludovice takes its wine promises seriously. There’s a good-quality port at check-in, an extensive wine list, special five-course pairing dinners, “sommelier’s choice” tasting, and a rotating selection for the 61 rooms’ wine fridges. But even non-drinkers will enjoy the prime location at the crossroads of Chiado and Principe Real, genuine history, sophisticated restaurant, and Caudalie spa. It occupies the former private residence of João Federico Ludovice, the architect to King João in the 18th, and a gorgeous renovation preserved its blue-and-white tiles, frescoes, stucco ceilings, and other architectural details.
BEST LUXURY BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL
Sublime Lisboa
A spinoff from the popular Comporta hotel of the same name, Sublime Lisboa wisely didn’t try to import the breezy, rustic-chic aesthetic of the countryside original. Instead, it went for an elegant, sophisticated design in a 20th-century townhouse in one of Lisbon’s most prestigious neighborhoods. Each of the 15 rooms and suites is decorated with its own hand-selected objects, giving it a residential feel. The elegant restaurant, Davvero, has a strong Italian accent, with ingredients like imported gorgonzola and San Daniele prosciutto. A luxury concierge arranges private day trips to nearby destinations like Sintra, Cascais, and, yes, Comporta.
BEST LUXURY BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL
Valverde Hotel
Another pioneer in Lisbon’s boutique hotel scene, Valverde, occupies a prime location: a townhouse near the center of Avenida da Liberdade. Although it has roughly doubled in size since it opened, it remains an intimate oasis in the heart of the city. Although the restaurant is open to the public, the rest of the hotel is reserved for guests only, giving it the feel of a private members’ club. The rooms have what they call a sober feel, with soothing colors and antique furnishings and paintings. It’s the only Lisbon hotel to have been admitted to Relais & Châteaux.
ALENTEJO
BEST LUXURY BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL
Vermelho Melides
The long-anticipated Vermelho Melides hotel by French footwear designer Christian Louboutin can be found in a small traditional village, near the Atlantic coast in western Alentejo, just 1 1/2 hour south of Lisbon. Although there will be comparisons to the designers fashion business, the Vermelho Melides stands on its own as an impressive, exclusive boutique hotel. The artistry and sense of style of Louboutin can be found in every element and square meter of the hotel. Curated items and custom finishes are sourced from international artists as well as local craftspeople. There are only 13 rooms; each one is different in layout, finishings or artwork. The entire property is imagined as a grand luxury villa where guests are hosted as friends and encouraged to mix in the lounge, roof terrace, bar and restaurant.
ALGARVE
BEST LUXURY BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL
Bela Vista Hotel & Spa, Portimão
The elegant Bela Vista practically drips with history. The beachside property was built as the private residence of a fishing and canning industry tycoon, inaugurated in a ceremony with the president of the Portuguese Republic in attendance in 1918, and turned into a hotel by the original owner’s cousin in 1934—one of the first hotels in the Algarve. While the bar retains its gorgeous antique ceiling and furnishings, the rooms, most of which are in a newer building, have a bold, beachy feel, with striped patterns and bold colors mixed in with the traditional tiles. In the Michelin-starred restaurant, Vista, chef João Oliveira, and his team prepare contemporary tasting menus (including a vegetarian option) spotlighting local ingredients.
BEST LUXURY BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL
Grand House, Vila Real Santo Antonio
The stunning Grand House is a Belle Époque mansion that dates from 1926 and also claims to be the oldest hotel in the Algarve (as the Hotel Guadiana). But that superlative doesn’t matter: It’s a place whose owners have reclaimed history and put the “grand” back into the property. The 26 rooms are luminous and glamorous, full of period details like intricate moldings, antique furniture, and crystal-festooned chandeliers. While it’s very much a city hotel, facing the marina of Vila Real Santo Antonio, guests also have access to the Grand Beach Club, with its sliver of beach, sun loungers beside the infinity pool, and a menu of comfort food with a Portuguese twist.
BEST LUXURY BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL
Vila Joya, Praia de Galé
Vila Joya is perhaps most famous for its restaurant, where Austrian chef Dieter Koschina has retained two Michelin stars since the 1990s. But it’s also a discreet hideaway that started life as a private family home and is still managed by that same family. Their love for art and detail is evident throughout the hotel’s mixture of Moorish architecture, global antiques, and Portuguese craftsmanship. Each room is different, but all have ocean views, and many have working fireplaces, Jacuzzis, sun terraces, small gardens, or private pools. Koschina has been preparing a new menu every day for many years now, making the hotel stand up to repeat visits.
AZORES
BEST LUXURY BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL
White, São Miguel
The 11-room, clifftop White hotel has a strong connection to the volcanic island on which it sits. (After a recent renovation, it’s a bit less white than it used to be, with black basalt in the floors, sometimes walls, and even the showers in a few rooms.) It has a calm and a sense of timelessness, with some appealing architectural features like the vaulted ceilings in the rooms that were old house’s wine cellar and kitchen. There’s a special pavilion for massages, an outdoor Jacuzzi, and one of the most beautiful infinity pools on an Atlantic island. The restaurant serves creative cuisine, drawing on prime Azorean beef, fresh-caught fish, vegetables, and herbs from the hotel group’s organic garden.
