The taxi stopped at my destination in a busy square, with multiple bus lines running through it, nearly a dozen bustling restaurants, and a tunnel right in the middle that swallows up vehicular traffic and ejects them God knows where. I emerged from the taxi, paid the meager fare, and looked up at the pale salmon façade of the six-story Infante Sagres, with a fine bracketed cornice and a single balconet on each of the four upper floors. It resembled a grand 19th-century manor house, with very little ornamentation. I wondered if the activity all around me would filter in, disturbing some peaceful slumber I was craving after spending the last week climbing mountains and countless staircases and urban hills in and around Lisbon.

As soon as the doorman escorted me inside, however, that concern disappeared. I was warmly greeted at the front desk of the small lobby and offered a complementary glass of port wine. A porter assisted me with my luggage up a few stairs to the larger second lobby and accompanied me to my room, where I would be staying for a full week. My decent-sized room—one of the hotel’s 85 rooms and suites—was equipped to provide a superior level of comfort and style, with a pair of fairly soundproof windows, highly effective blackout curtains, vintage prints, and great air-conditioning. The high ceiling with crown molding made it feel even larger. The wide flat-screen television on top of the broad desk was already turned on, greeting me by name against an image of the recently refurbished lobby. Next to it, complementary bottles of water and a selection of half a dozen fruits tempted me into an early afternoon snack. The blue and cream patterned carpet suggested connotations of the country’s famous and unforgettable azulejo tileworks that pop up just about everywhere. Slippers and a lush robe awaited my use in the closets with automatic lighting, and the bathroom, with its citrus-scented shampoos, conditioners, and soaps, included a built-in defogger in the mirror.

As a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World group, Infante Sagres lives up to the promise of that community of 520 independently spirited hotels in more than 90 countries—elegance, personalized service, refinement, luxury, and a pronounced “anti-chain and anti-same” philosophy. Built in 1951, the hotel was named after Prince Henry the Navigator (infante = prince [son of the Portuguese King João I and his British wife, the sister of England’s King Henry IV]; Sagres is the town where Henry established his school of navigation), the man who initiated the Age of Discovery that launched Portugal into stratospheric wealth in the 15th and 16th centuries as its navigators sailed around the world, making European discoveries and establishing trading ports in places like the Azores, Brazil, Goa, Macau, and Mozambique, among others.

From the start, the hotel’s creator, an entrepreneur and philanthropist (and son of the industrialist who built the largest textile enterprise that existed in Portugal in the second half of the 19th century) who, when he died in 1960, was regarded as the wealthiest man in Portugal, wanted to give Porto a luxury hotel that rivaled any other in Europe. Although, admittedly, there are grander hotels on the continent, Infante Sagres immediately attracted the city’s elite, international celebrities, affluent travelers, and barons in the wine, textile, and furniture industries, and established itself as the most prestigious address in the city.

The main lobby is a paradigm of timeless elegance, a sumptuous display of plush carpets, antique furniture, silk wallpaper, wood paneling, crystal chandeliers, coffered ceilings, and a handsome fireplace. The twisting staircase with wrought-iron banisters features a beautiful three-story curved stained-glass panel. It leads up to another public space on the next floor, where comfortable seating invites you to sit for a bit in a quieter space, and the wrought-iron railings around the oculus in the floor grants views of the lobby and activity below. An even more quiet space could be found one more story up—the outdoor terrace with a plunge pool, umbrellas and lounge chaises that induce instant napping, and glazed ceramic urns.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served in the Vogue Café. On my first morning here, I walked through the French doors and felt like I had just stepped into a location photo shoot for the fashion magazine. This stylish space with the high ceiling impresses with finely set tables, plush red velvet sofas and banquettes, a wall-length mirror, soft lighting, black and white patterns, a sleek backlit bar, and framed photos of covers of past issues of Vogue. Breakfast is a bountiful feast, where every morning you can assemble your own meal either from the menu or the generous buffet that includes orange juice, scrambled eggs, various breads and spreads, cheeses and cold cuts, bacon and sausage, and fresh, succulent fruits, including honeydew, kiwi, mango, papaya, and pineapple. If the latter group doesn’t satisfy your early-morning sweet tooth, you can choose from the desserts and pastries, such as chocolate-glazed donuts, orange pastry, lemon cake, mini-muffins with strawberries, chocolate cake, and Portugal’s renowned custard tart, the pasteis de nata. It’s easy to enjoy it all among the chic décor and ambience while you’re hoping to possibly run into an übermodel here for the cover of the glossy’s next issue.

And then, of course, there’s the hotel’s superior service. I was already being addressed by my honorific and surname by the third day. Nightly turndown service comes with chocolates on the pillows. The front desk handily assisted me in securing taxis and dinner reservations as well as my entry ticket to Livraria Lello, one of the world’s best bookstores. The hotel’s advantageous location puts it within easy walking distance of historic churches, City Hall, Liberdade Square, a couple of subway stations, and the gorgeous São Bento railway station, one of the world’s most beautiful train stations.

The Old World elegance of the hotel and the refined service of the staff have attracted such guests as Bob Dylan and the Dali Lama, and members of the British, Dutch, and Norwegian royalty have slept here, too. If you’re in Porto and want the best, make sure to stay at Infante Sagres and add your name to that prestigious list.

 

 

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