Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / Portugal / Porto / Pestana Douro Riverside, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Lifestyle
Pestana Douro Riverside, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Lifestyle
Porto, Portugal · Pestana · Accessible Luxury
Soap, candles and vegetable oil came out of this riverside factory from 1888 onward, latterly for the Companhia União Fabril. The tall brick chimney still rises through all eight floors beside reception, and each of those floors takes the scent of a flower the works once pressed into soap: lavender, jasmine, orange blossom, rose, cherry blossom, chamomile, geranium, lily. David Sinclair's conversion gives the 165 rooms balconies that make the building read like a liner moored on the Douro, four kilometres upriver from central Porto.
- 165 rooms
- Opened 2022
- Neighborhood: Douro Riverside
- Architect: David Sinclair
- Interiors: Jaime Morais
About Pestana Douro Riverside, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Lifestyle
- The hotel opened on 10 April 2022 after a 20 million euro conversion, a year later than planned because of the pandemic.
- It is not in Porto proper but in Valbom, Gondomar, on the right bank near the Freixo bridge, with Pestana's own Palácio do Freixo a short way downstream.
- Reception is dressed with a collection of old perfume bottles, instruments, books and pictures, a nod to what the building used to smell like.
History
The hotel is a conversion of a factory built on the right bank of the Douro at Valbom in 1888. Under a succession of owners, latterly the Companhia União Fabril, it spent about a century making candles, soap and vegetable oils, part of an industrial stretch of riverbank that also held the Moagem Harmonia mill. The Pestana Hotel Group spent around 20 million euros turning it into the Pestana Douro Riverside, opening on 10 April 2022 after pandemic delays pushed the date back from 2021.
The architecture is by David Sinclair, a regular collaborator of the group, with interiors by Jaime Morais. The factory's tall brick chimney was kept inside the structure and is visible on every floor, standing beside reception. The eight floors carry 165 rooms and suites and are themed to flowers whose scents the soap works once used: lavender, jasmine, orange blossom, rose, cherry blossom, chamomile, geranium and lily. Rows of balconies face the water, a deliberate echo of a moored ship. There is a rooftop infinity pool and bar, a grill restaurant, an indoor pool and spa treatment rooms, and a conference floor. The hotel is a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts.
The setting
This is old industrial river frontage in Valbom, in the municipality of Gondomar, roughly four kilometres upstream of central Porto and reached in about ten to fifteen minutes by car. Slim red brick chimneys still punctuate the skyline here, including the neighbouring Moagem Harmonia. The Freixo bridge is in view, and the eighteenth-century Palácio do Freixo, also run by Pestana, sits downstream on the same bank. Campanha station is the nearest mainline stop. Walking into the historic centre takes about 45 minutes along the river, which most guests trade for a short taxi ride.
Restaurants and bars
- Aroma grill — Restaurant · grill
- Great Daisy — Restaurant
- Aroma Restaurant — Restaurant · grill
- The 2nd Bar — Bar
Experiences
- Port Wine Cellars visit — Sensory experience of seeing, touching, smelling, tasting and taking home a bottle at the leading Port wine houses across the river from Ribeira.
- Douro River boat or train journey — Follow the river's winding curves on a boat or train journey, with an optional winery visit along the way.
- Visiting the Alto Douro Wine Region and its quintas — Guided tours of wineries and vineyards followed by wine tastings at the quintas (wine estates).
- Douro line train journey from Porto's São Bento station — Described as one of the most beautiful journeys in Europe.
- Visiting the Côa Valley and Côa Museum — Paleolithic open-air rock art in the Côa Valley; the Côa Museum offers interactive exhibitions.
- River cruises on the Douro — Cruises along the river to see the scenery.
Amenities
- Indoor heated pool
- Outdoor swimming pool
- Restaurant
- Gym
- Rooftop
- Games Room
- Kids Club
- Massage rooms
- Paid parking
- Free Wi-Fi
- Room service
- Direct vehicle access to a meeting room for 1 exhibition vehicle
- Integrated sound system in all meeting rooms
- terrace with views of Porto's river bridges
- Pet-friendly
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