Terceira means “third” in Portuguese, but the Azorean Island of the same name is no also-ran. Famous for its gentle bull “fights” and summer festivals, the island is also rich in other culture and history, and the old part of its capital city, Angra do Heroísmo, was one of the first places in Portugal to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
But for all that loveliness, it lacked a five-star boutique hotel. That changed in late 2024 with the opening of Torel Terra Brava, the sixth hotel in Portugal’s Torel Boutiques collection and the first one outside the mainland. It’s a welcome addition to the vibrant center of Angra do Heroísmo.
The hotel occupies connected historic buildings and follows a “four elements” design theme: water, fire, earth, and air. The vaguely tropical ground-floor space comprises the reception desk, a lounge area, and the all-day cocktail bar, which also serves light meals. Following the vision of NANO Design founder and frequent Torel Boutiques collaborator Francisca Navio, are large plants everywhere, along with sisal floors, textured woods, exotic patterns on the sofa cushions that suggest the bark and leaves of the island’s native trees.
Upstairs, the 44 guest rooms and suites reflect the island’s features. These are mostly divided by floor, with a blue color palate on the lower levels to evoke water, and more red upstairs to celebrate fire. On the top floor, there are references to birds and the skies, a nod to the air above. Each room has a view of the streets of Angra, the Atlantic Ocean, or the Monte Brasil volcano that rises above the city. A couple have freestanding bathtubs, and one has a Jacuzzi.
Downstairs, there’s a small spa where local therapists give massages, a gym, and indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
This lowest level is also home to the hotel restaurant, Três Bistrô, where a sumptuous, terra-cotta-colored dining room is the setting for dinners that are both ambitious and casual.
Designed by consulting chef Guilherme Spalk (one of the chefs at the Torel group’s Michelin-starred 2 Monkeys in Lisbon) and executed by resident chef Arley Moreira and his team, the menu made up of sharable plates of island comfort food. There’s the famous Alcatra (slow-cooked beef stew with rib, cheek, and rump tail), as well as local seafood delicacies like limpets and barnacles, and some lighter fare like citrus-salt-cured amberjack with green apple and fennel, and baby squids with a parsley-infused butter sauce.
For dessert, guests are encouraged to visit the Terceira Triad, a spread of Azorean cheeses, cakes and pastries, and sweet local spirits. Or there are a la carte choices, like carpaccio of pineapple from neighboring São Miguel island with ice cream and toasted almonds, or a selection of ice creams from the local Quinta dos Açores dairy—a little reminder that for all the culture and history of Terceira island, the cows still outnumber people by a large margin.
For more information, visit the Torel Terra Brava website.
Torel Terra Brava
Rua de Jesus 42
Angra do Heroísmo
Terceira
Reservations:
Phone: +351 226 001 966
Email: reservas@torelterrabrava.com
Photos ©Luís Ferraz courtesy of the hotel