Infante Sagres: the most historic luxury hotel in the city of Porto reopens with fashion fusion

 

This legendary grande dame of Portuguese hotels reopens with grandeur and food for the fashionable. This is not justPorto’s finest city centre hotel. It is the Infante Sagres.

A World Heritage site, Porto is an historic city with rare architectural value and a portfolio of historic buildings that are real treasures of inestimable value. The medieval town tumbles down to the river Douro, with narrow, winding streets leading into Renaissance squares and Baroque monuments.

 

Porto’s most prestigious city centre luxury hotel, the historic Infante Sagres has reopened its doors in April 2018 after extensive restoration and renovation. The historic property was restored to its former glory.

After five months of intensive restoration and renovation, the Infante Sagres, which was Portugal’s first ever five-star hotel, has reopened with 75 luxurious rooms, 10 suites and a new Vogue Café.

During the refurbishment, specialist teams of restorers were brought in to work on the iconic original features such as the 5-story stained glass window and the impressive chandeliers in the dining room. The most prestigious hotel in Porto, now part of Small Luxury Hotels of The World – SLH, is at the epicenter of the bustling energy that runs throughout the city and is reborn. The hotel is praised for its wrought iron art works, luxurious rugs, stained-glass windows, and antique furnishing.

The Infante Sagres opened in 1951. The vision of its creator, the entrepreneur and philanthropist Delfim Ferreira, was to endow the city with a luxury hotel on a par with the finest in Europe. Housed in a listed historic building, it contains a wealth of decorative features, such as exquisite ironwork, carved wood detail and magnificent stained glass panels from the workshop of Ricardo Leone.

 

The hotel is named after Prince Henry the Navigator, initiator of the Age of Discovery and the early Portuguese voyages of exploration. Also known as the Prince, or Infante, of Sagres, after the town where he established his school of navigation, he was born in Porto in 1394 to King John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, sister ofHenry IV of England.

“For decades this was the default option for downtown luxury in Porto, built in 1951 as the domain of cigar chomping,port swilling stalwarts of the wine trade and barons of northern Portugal’s textile and furniture trade. Guests have included Bob Dylan, the Dali Lama and the British royalty,” says Frommer’s in their review.

 

Vogue Cafe

Offering a modern, elegant and stylish ambiance together with food and drinks that are simply and beautifully crafted and presented, Vogue Café enables its patrons to step inside the Vogue world, a world of excitement, luxury and timeless elegance.

“With an all day menu representing the best of modern European cuisine and décor that feels like it has been lifteddirectly from the pages of the magazine, Vogue Café is the place for the fashionable to meet, connect and be seen.”says infantesagres team.

The finest quality upholstery furnishings, natural materials, furniture and bed linens have been used to heighten the luxurious experience, whilst soothing colours provide a calming environment to enhance your stay.

The medieval old town of Porto is compact, making it the perfect city to explore on foot. The Bolhão market, Lello bookshop, Praça da Liberdade and Rua das Flores are all within 5 minutes walking distance from Infante Sagres.