Pedras Salgadas Spa — Pedras Salgadas, Portugal

Exterior view of the Pedras Salgadas Spa. Nested between tall pine trees, we see a gray tile-like facade, rooms with lights on, and an outdoor seating area.
(Image credit: TBC)
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Neatly arranged among the ancient pines of the 20-hectare Pedras Salgadas park, an hour's drive from Porto, these 60sq m eco-houses sleep up to six people and boast clean-lined, open-plan living rooms with plenty of natural light and large outdoor decks. They were designed by Lisbon-based architect Luís Rebelo de Andrade for Portuguese drinks company Unicer, which owns the park.

Unicer also invested some €80m into the restoration of the park's Vidago Palace hotel. The award-winning project saw the century-old Pedras Salgadas thermal spa brought back to life by Álvaro Siza, the country's best-known architect. Siza's minimalist style brings simple geometry to the ornate 1910 Art Nouveau building. But unlike most of Siza's buildings, the new spa extension is not whitewashed; both old and new structures are painted in the palace's original warm pink.

Large room, with a mosaic skyline on the ceiling. On the far wall, there are 3 tall oak doors, above which there is writing in Portuguese in golden letters. Walls are painted in shaded or pale pink and orange, but mostly white.

(Image credit: TBC)

The pool area of the spa. The angular ceiling is gray, and walls with french style windows are painted white. The pool takes up almost the entire room.

(Image credit: TBC)

ADDRESS

140 Bornes de Aguiar
Portugal

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Rupert Eden

Rupert Eden has worked for Wallpaper* magazine since 2010 covering everything Iberian from architecture and design to wellness and travel. He is happiest championing sustainable projects featuring up-and-coming artisans or chefs.

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