Fashion, art, and tourism: an expanding triangle
Words: Susana Ribeiro
Staying in a hotel in Portugal can be much more than a simple accommodation experience. In some cases, it means diving into a universe where fashion and art intertwine with tourism, and where spaces multiply, transforming your stay into a truly immersive cultural experience.
These hotels elevate your stay into an aesthetic experience: every common area, every room, is curated to awaken the senses, to gently disturb and disrupt your routine, leaving you with beautiful memories.
Some rooms are true private galleries; corridors, chapels, gardens, or terraces function as exhibition halls; and restaurants serve as the stage for creative expression. Here, guests are encouraged to feel as though they are living among works of art and are sleeping in a museum.
MACAM Hotel
Museum-Hotel of Contemporary Art & Luxury, Lisbon
Photo: Fernando Guerra
Behind the MACAM Hotel lies Armando Martins’ personal collection which, for over 50 years, has brought together modern and contemporary Portuguese and international works of art: Amadeo de Sousa-Cardoso, Paula Rego, Júlio Pomar, Helena Almeida, Liam Gillick, Isa Genzken, among many others. In fact, MACAM stands for Museu de Arte Contemporânea Armando Martins (Armando Martins Contemporary Art Museum).
This hotel is housed in an 18th-century palace — the Palace of the Counts of Ribeira Grande — which has been restored and enlarged with an extended museum space which blends in with the hotel. There are about 600 works distributed throughout the museum, and these spill over into the galleries, the rooms, the corridors, the common areas, the restaurant, and the café. In other words, visitors/guests do not simply view art on a pedestal, they experience it.
There are site-specific works created for MACAM, such as installations by José Pedro Croft, Ângela Bulloch, José Drummond, Carlos Aires and Cristina Ataíde, as well as outdoor pieces: a sculpture by Croft on the terrace, an installation by Angela Bulloch, and façade work by ceramist Maria Ana Vasco Costa.
Staying overnight at MACAM is like sleeping in a working museum: every step, every glance interacts with a piece of art, a story, a context. Eating, relaxing in the bar/café or attending a cultural event is part of the same flow. Art is everywhere: architecture, landscaping, light and the sound environment make up a whole which is designed to turn your stay into an artistic immersion.
Palacete Severo
Porto
The Palacete Severo is an artistic venue in Porto: a historic mansion converted into a boutique hotel that houses the Perspective Galeria, a space with exhibitions and pop-up programming, which is also open to the public.
The most recent exhibition “Na Natureza, com a Natureza” (In Nature, with Nature), curated by Raquel Guerra, included works by Éléna Salah, Juan Manuel Rodriguez, Lucile Martinez, Luís Troufa, Maria Lino, Martinho Costa and Osias André. Check out the gallery’s calendar for more information about the current exhibition.
The rooms and common areas of the Palacete Severo reflect a sensitive aesthetic: earthy colours, wood, marble and glass, luxurious carpets, velvet armchairs. Each space exudes serenity, with refined décor that blends in with the natural and architectural surroundings.
More than just accommodation, Palacete Severo offers an immersive experience: strolls through the gardens, meals at the Mediterranean bistro, relaxation at the spa or contemplation in the interior courtyard, all marked by an artistic presence, by works that envelope the body and soul.
One of the latest accolades bestowed on the Palacete Severo was at the National Geographic Hotel Awards 2025 in the “Romantic Bolthole” category, which celebrates the most romantic retreats on the international hotel scene.
Boticas Hotel ART & SPA
Boticas
The Boticas Hotel ART & SPA is located next to the Nadir Afonso Arts Centre, and the modern building which houses it was designed by Artur Afonso, Nadir’s son. The physical and institutional proximity to the Foundation / Museum makes the hotel a natural extension of Nadir Afonso’s home and studio.
The art of Nadir Afonso — painter, architect, philosopher, and one of the biggest names in modern Portuguese art — is a constant presence in the rooms, corridors and common areas. Geometric phases and clean, powerful visual forms permeate the decoration.
In addition to contemplation, the hotel offers refined comfort: Spa, indoor heated pool, outdoor pool with panoramic views, and regional cuisine at the Abstrato restaurant, which combines tradition and aesthetics.
A stay at the Hotel Boticas ART & SPA is therefore also an immersion in the thought, drawings, contrasts, and volumes of Nadir Afonso. It is restful, but it is also recognition of the work of a Portuguese master: a gift for those who love geometry, light, shadow, and form.
Vermelho Hotel
Melides
Vermelho Hotel is the first hotel project by renowned French designer Christian Louboutin. The artistic experience begins on the façade, crafted by the Italian sculptor Giuseppe Ducrot. Handcrafted elements — such as local hand-painted tiles, frescoes by Greek painter Konstantin Kakanias, and carpentry by Los Tres Juanes — are combined with international pieces and unique objects chosen by the designer.
The decoration of each of the 13 rooms (and now also the villas) is a fusion of themes, colours and materials, with influences from around the world.
The common areas, such as the Xtian restaurant, spa, swimming pool and gardens, are essential components of this artistic architecture. Each object, each piece of furniture, each sculptural work or decorative element was chosen or commissioned to inspire. The restaurant introduces you to Portuguese tradition, with handmade tableware and dishes with regional soul.
Louboutin has transformed a place where art coexists with the body and everyday life: a space where one can lose track of time admiring, unhurriedly, the beauty that is built into the details.
Immerso
Ericeira
In Ericeira, Immerso is a sensory experience: a hotel that inspires tranquillity, sustainability, connection with the sea and contact with the surrounding nature.
Inside, there are panels by Iva Viana, rugs by SUGO Cork Rugs (Susana Godinho), lamps and rocking chairs by Oficina 166 (Diana Cunha), pieces by Mexican designer Diego Franco, a mirror by Anna Westerlund, the “Palmas Douradas” mandala by Maria João Gomes… In other words, each object seems to have been handpicked to interact with the senses, with light, with texture.
Outside, there are pieces such as the sculpture-installation “Diving in You” by João Noutel and the wood installation “Uniouriço” by Paulo Reis, and bench-ring by Los Pepes Studio. Even the scent has been carefully crafted: Lourenço Lucena created the hotel’s signature aroma, inspired by the sea and the tranquillity of the countryside.
The Emme and Emme on Fire restaurants, under the supervision of chef Alexandre Silva, are settings for cultural experiences, where dishes converse with the environment, with local and seasonal flavours, with design and with nature.
Art Legacy Hotel
Lisbon
The Art Legacy Hotel is situated in downtown Lisbon, in a renovated century-old building: the façade retains its classic architectural glamour, while the interior features vibrant colours, bold patterns and designer pieces.
All the interior decoration was designed in partnership with Moooi, a Dutch brand known for furniture, lighting, and objects that resemble sculptures but are for everyday use. From the lights to the armchairs, from the tableware to the bathrooms, each element conveys form, texture, colour and irreverence.
The 53 rooms and suites at the Art Legacy Hotel are unique not only for the furniture or the play of lights: each space looks like an installation where classic and contemporary meet, where sleeping is also an aesthetic experience.
Even in the meals, in the Áurea restaurant, we see this fusion of art and fashion: cuisine inspired by the city and tradition, but also by the aesthetics of the hotel’s design, with custom-made tableware (Portuguese brand Valadares) and spaces for sharing and meeting. Moments in which you savour and enjoy Art.
