Da Licença

There is something almost manifesto-like about this hotel in the heart of the Alentejo. It was meant to be a holiday home, but they let themselves be carried along. It took five years of work to transform these spaces where monks once lived. There is no ostentation here, but look closely: the two of them are accomplished aesthetes, and it shows; their talent is everywhere, in every detail. Pure Jugendstil furniture (Franck’s specialty), bathtubs, tables, or lamps made from local marble (Estremoz marble), private patios and aromatic gardens, sculptures by Rui Chafes, ceramics by Susana Piteira, blankets by Mizette Nielsen… A manifesto, then — decidedly arty without ever tipping into grandiosity. Minimalism, that monastic sense of discretion, endures here, and rightly so.