For The Love Of Port

As of November 1st 2014, the hotel will close down for a full makeover and the refurbishment should be completed by next spring. Not only will the hotel look quite different, they are rebranding the property as SIX SENSES DOURO VALLEY.

After it was clear that the concept of super high tariff hotels such as Quinta da Romaneira's 1000 Euro per night stays and Aquapura's (which was significantly tamer at 350 Euros per night), it is good to see the reality has set in that greater tourism must first be in place before super premium luxury properties can succeed in a fledgling oeno-tourism region's marketplace. It was similar to the early days of table wines from the Douro. Too many producers led with their high priced upper tier wines, before they had established any volumes that sustained cash flow with lower tier case movement.

I have liked the few times I've been to Aquapura, set in a charming slice of the Douro, as the potential is great. The food has always been quite good and I hope their new plan offers more advantageous room rates for guests and restores the service level which is not an easy chore. With vision, this project can become a great success and a place that more guests will be able to afford on a regular basis.

Wow. I'm a bit surprised, but not totally shocked. Aquapura, is a place that my wife would like and it's in Regua. So, I could see staying there some day. I hope that prices are slightly lower. It would be a disaster if it completely closed. I don't want to see that at all. Thanks for the info!!

I met the new general manager during the harvest. He spoke of some changes but not on that scale! He is up for the challenge of making this place successful again.

Six Senses is not especially known for their cheap hotels, so how sure is it that rates will come down? It seems to me a logical step to team up with a chain with a large customer base in the luxury segment. I hope it will work well for them.

Agreed, Ronald. There is no certainty of their repositioning morphing into making things less expensive. However, even tying into that new network for upscale clientele, is not enough of a guarantee of success. Afterall, the mainstay of Aquapura has typically been their domestic market travelers, first and foremost.

I still believe and of course it is just my opinion, that making the prices more affordable (at least a bit) will attract a wider range of clientele domestically and internationally. Obviously what they had been doing, did not work. This hotel is still like new and yet they are aleady doing a big makeover to change the image. It will be very interesting to see which way this all goes. I wish them lots of luck!