Portugal

From the editors of Condé Nast Traveler:

You'll make a grand entrance when arriving at this magnificent 1910 palace in the northwestern Portuguese spa town of the same name. A stone-paved driveway lined with century-old trees leads to a dusty-rose facade punctuated by Juliet balconies and French doors. There, you'll ascend a tiered granite staircase to reach the gorgeous lobby of this 70-room hotel. Working with Paris-based hotelier Grace Leo-Andrieu, Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza Vieira added a spectacular spa complex to the property and utterly remade the hotel without ruffling its Belle époque atmosphere. Similarly, the newly done public spaces, including a cozy bar, a lounge, a breakfast room, and surely one of Europe's grandest dining rooms, merge the nineteenth-century style of the great country estates. A lively color scheme, rich fabrics, and offbeat accessories provide a subtle but tonic dose of modernity. Rooms reprise this same urbane look, with high ceilings, parquet floors, thick camel-colored throw rugs, and earth-tone damask curtains and upholstery. Baths go retro with white-subway-tile walls, colorful terra-cotta-tile floors, and deep Victorian-style soaking tubs; many have French doors and fine views over the surrounding park. —2011 Hot List

Which room to book: Corner Deluxe Doubles on the fourth floor offer stunning park vistas.

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