Vila Foz Hotel & Spa

Style

Tripeiro's palatial pad

Setting

Backbeat of the Atlantic

Vila Foz Hotel & Spa, a 19th-century manor house overlooking the Atlantic, is the sort of place where oysters and champagne are encouraged…at breakfast. This is a palatial pad just 20 minutes from Porto, with pistachio greens, soft pinks and stucco ceilings in its main building; a newer extension sports eclectic patterns and onyx accents – a fine example of Old World meeting modern-day design. Stepping out of the hotel and crossing the leafy boulevard takes you to the sandy beach and lull of the ocean, where you’ll find the neighbourhood of Foz dancing to its own relaxed beach-side beat.

Facilities

Rooms

62, including seven suites – many of which are west-facing, making the balconies perfect for private sundowners.

Checkout

Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More Details

Rates include a buffet breakfast – a rainbow of fruits, fresh pastries and jams – and à la carte dishes: the showstopper of which is the oysters and champagne. You can have your breakfast delivered to your room for no extra cost.

Also

One of the Onice Garden View Rooms has been adapted for guests with limited mobility.

Fitness Center

Free Internet Access

Laundry

On-Site Restaurant

Room Service

Spa

At the Hotel

Public beach nearby, bikes to borrow, and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, hairdryer, tea- and coffee-making facilities, walk-in shower, safe, minibar, bottled water, robes and slippers, Anne Semonin bath products

Our Favourite Rooms

Rooms in the main villa follow the traditional Portuguese manor style, with wooden floors and stucco ceilings; rooms in the recent extension have wave-like flowing headboards and onyx features.

Poolside

The spa’s sparkling indoor pool, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, is both hidden away and flooded with light. Portuguese marble floors run uninterrupted from the laidback loungers to the base of the heated pool. The pool is open daily between 10am and 8pm.

Spa

Wind down at the hotel spa, which has a sauna, steam room, hammam, and fitness room (open 10am to 8am daily, or earlier upon request). Treatments – such as the Prêt-a-porter massages – use Anne Semonin bath products. The detoxifying treatments tend to work best when paired with copious amounts of port – preferably imbibed the previous evening – or so we hear.

Packing Tips

A palette for port and a love of seafood. We hate to be that person, but sensible shoes are advised for tackling the rocky outcroppings along the coast, or pedalling down the leafy boulevards.

Also

The villa’s transformation was led by architect Gabinete Miguel Cardoso Arquieto with interiors by Nini Andrade Silva – a dynamic duo who’ve balanced an opulent space with comforting features and warming colorways.

Children

All ages are welcome, but children under 16 will not be able to use the spa, and those under ten will need to dine in the Flor de Lis restaurant, rather than the more formal Vila Foz restaurant. Babysitting can be arranged for an extra cost.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

If cooking is your thing, opt for the two intimate kitchen seats where chef Arnaldo Azevedo talks you through each dish while you sit at the bar looking into the open kitchen.

Dress Code

Old-world opulence but with a breezy beachfront edge.

Hotel Restaurant

There are two restaurants within the hotel's palatial walls. The Vila Foz restaurant, in the former ballroom, is dedicated to fine dining under the excellent eye of chef Arnaldo Azevedo. It's Michelin star is but a side note to the sea bass with veal sweetbreads or lobster with salsify, all to be enjoyed under gilded ceilings. The award-winning Flor de Lis restaurant offers all-day dining in a slightly cosier (and child-friendly) setting of exposed stone walls, low ceilings and Portuguese parquetry and tiling. Specialities include grilled market fish of the day, octopus with olive oil, garlic and oregano and clams bulhão pato, finished with layers of a Natas do Céu.

The hotel has also opened Bistrô by Vila Foz in the nearby Matosinhos, serving up some of the freshest seafood in town, and pizza-plating Taglio by Vila Foz.

Hotel Bar

The interiors of vintage-style Vila Foz bar are scattered with living-room worthy armchairs and low tables, encouraging intimate conversations over bottles of Port. Its Porto Tónico could be the best in town – a dry white port with tonic, strawberries, lime and mint.

Last Orders

Breakfast is served in Flor de Lis between 7.30–11am, opening again at 12.30pm for all-day dining. Dinner is 7.30–10.30pm in the Vila Foz restaurant (closed Mondays). The bar calls for last orders around midnight, extended to 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.

Room Service

A separate room service menu is available for duvet dining.

Planes

Porto airport is a 30-minute drive from the hotel. Private transfers can be arranged for €70 each way.

Trains

Campanhã station is Porto’s main hub for long-distance travel, welcoming trains from Lisbon, Faro and Spain. If you’re travelling from elsewhere in Portugal, the historic São Bento station is right in the city centre, with trains arriving from Braga, Guimarães and other parts of northern Portugal. From the centre, you can easily hop on tram 1 (from Infante to Passeio Alegre) down to Foz, or arrange a taxi.

Automobiles

If you’ve got your sights set on local exploration, you’ll find no real need for a car – particularly with the bikes to borrow at the hotel and the easy-access city trams. But, if you do want to drive, there’s a private car park at the hotel – well equipped with CCTV and valet parking – that will keep your wheels safe and sound (for €25,00 per vehicle, per day).

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

The beach right on your doorstep, for starters. The waves are great for windsurfers, and beach bars are filled with bronzed locals. Once you have your dose of sandy toes and vitamin D, there’s plenty else to check off nearby. The hotel has bikes to borrow, great for exploration of Foz’s leafy boulevards, or pedal across to the nearby town of Matosinhos, famed for its long white sand beaches and streets upon streets of seafood restaurants. Across the Douro river is Afurada, a charming fishing village filled with colourful houses. The smell of fresh fish is always in the air, with it being served up around the clock in the picturesque restaurants. You can arrive by boat – just head to the Arrábida Bridge area near to Vila Foz and set sail on the short crossing to the heart of Afurada. Porto city centre is a short drive away, which means you can dip into the Port Wine Museum, Casa de Música, Porto Cathedral and Ribeira Square with ease.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .