Pedras Salgadas Spa | Wallpaper*

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)

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.

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.

ADDRESS

140 Bornes de Aguiar
Portugal

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

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.