HOTEL REVIEW
LEFT: Bathrooms feature sanitaryware in traditional English style by Devon & Devon of Florence ABOVE: The lobby and public areas have been carefully restored
French doors of the terrace running the length of the façade. It will be used as the main gastronomic restaurant during high season, served from the new kitchen installed in an adjoining extension to the rear of the property, also by Siza Vieira. The ballroom carpet, patterned by Bastidor with a rescaled and reinterpreted 18th century design, was handmade with a mere 80cm per day added to the four metre-wide sections. Such artisanal production methods are found elsewhere. Bastidor employed the services of a number of different Arts & Crafts tradespeople including those to etch glass and make lamps. The hotel’s facilities include a separate conference annexe, with a 264-seat auditorium, which remained open during the restoration works. The other major draw is the championship standard par 72 eighteen-hole golf course. The original nine-holes, designed by McKenzie Ross in 1936, meanders through the tall trees and has been re-modeled by Cameron Powell to create 6 holes with the remaining 12 arranged across the valley that brings a small creek into play on several holes. “We aim to be a top five golf course
in Portugal,” explains debonair golf director, Alexandre Barroso of the course with its US PGA standard greens and beautiful fairways. Ambitions to host the Portuguese Open are realistic; the challenge of attracting golfing guests will be the fact that there are no other courses within an hour’s drive. Hidden amongst the trees, the golf club house includes its own kitchen and bar within the former bungalow building of the Vidago bottling plant. The stone-walled structure is given a lightweight feel by the all white interiors of Siza Vieira that are dotted with caramel and grey coloured leather furniture. Wide, shaded verandas surround the pitched roofs and exposed beams of the clubhouse. The white volume may be light and airy on a hot day but with the course open all the year round a sense of cosiness is certainly missing for those returning from a winter round. The first impression of Vidago Palace is the remarkable grandeur of the façade against which Bastidor have balanced their interiors. Siza Vieira’s spa intervention equally provides a sense of proportion, its modernity far better than a parochial alternative.
056 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2010
WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM
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Vidago Palace Parque de Vidago, 5425-307 Vidago, Trás-os-Montes, Portugal Tel: +351 276 100 200
www.vidagopalace.com
„ 70 guestrooms ‰ Gastronomic Restaurant, Club House Restaurant and Bar, Pool Restaurant and Bar  Bar, Winter Garden, Cigar Bar, Wine Cellar, [ 20 treatment rooms including 2 couples suites, indoor & outdoor pools, revitalising spring pool, gym studio, saunas & hammams + 10 rooms and auditorium seating 264 all in separate annex, 18 Hole Championship Golf Course
Owner: Unicer Developer / Operator: GLA International Architect: Alvaro Siza Vieira Interior Designer: Bastidor
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