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luxurious & unforgettable suites

club, queen, king, garden, pied-à-terre

Never overdone, we strip out any unnecessary nonsense and focus on everything that matters to you. We want to give you only the best and that is exactly what you will find in our suites. All seven were designed by co-owner and architect Emanuel de Sousa with the help of his sister and also co-owner Patrícia Sousa. Both have chosen a collection of vintage and retro collectibles as well as some stylish modern pieces.

ROSA ET AL Townhouse makes life's choices simple.

Three suite types offered, all with the feel of a contemporary home within an ancient townhouse in the center of Porto, with wooden floors, warm lighting, luxurious natural materials, soaking clawfoot tubs and balconies with garden views and across the city's quarters or over Rua do Rosário. The suites also have original apparent wooden ceiling structures as well as original decorative plasterwork ceilings, including contemporary permanent art commissions.

Every little detail was planned and carefully thought so that you may feel special and unique. From our comfy mattresses and king size beds to our smooth 100 percent cotton sheets, sleep will never be so peaceful. In each suite, there is air conditioning, free WiFi, hairdryer, radio and iPod dock, safety box and a curated minibar with housemade gourmet products and a selection of classics drinks. Furthermore, all suites have exclusive Castelbel Porto amenities.

read the interview with Emanuel de Sousa, townhouse architect

INTERVIEW

EMANUEL DE SOUSA

architect and co-owner

When Emanuel was growing up, everyone was convinced he would become an artist of some kind – perhaps a painter, a sculptor or both. Though his parents always supported his creative endeavours, the thought of their son pursuing the highly competitive and unstable path of an artist was a scary one. Suffice it to say, they felt a weight lift off their shoulders when Emanuel eventually decided to follow a career in architecture instead.

Tell us a little about the suites at the hotel please.
Which is the most popular suite?

_EMANUEL — There’s definitely a favourite among the press, critics and every other guests who visit us. And that suite is the Suite Club aka the Viajante suite — the Portuguese word for ‘traveller’ — as the press, I think it was Sancha Trindade, back in 2012, who first re-christianed the suite for its peculiar and welcoming atmosphere. It is a lofty and charming third-floor attic space overlooking Porto's quirky roofscape from a open-space combined bedroom and bathroom. It looks as if it could be from the beginning of last century in Paris or the mid-’20s in New York with the beginning of the century iconic travelling trunks. It makes an profound impression on first comers, and it is always the most photographed and published one as it actually becomes a sort of a statement, a stament of the townhouse as an hotelier experience.

How would you describe ROSA ET AL Townhouse’s suites?

_EMANUEL — A delicate balance of sophisticated warmth. The material selection for the rooms was based on its durability, maintenance and appeal. The result is a delicate balance of sophisticated warmth. The seven suites are unique and special. Space is used efficiently in each suite – the result is a visually clear space that feels luxuriously large and can be efficiently serviced. Beyond the Viajante lofty suite, all suites have separate ensuite bathrooms that offer all the amenities, and large bedrooms and living spaces. Three of them — the King Suites — are towards the back overlooking the long garden with balconies from which you can watch the sunsets. We tried to take in the character of each room and furnish it accordingly.

For people visiting the hotel for the first time,
what suites do you recommend?

_EMANUEL — Each suite has bits and pieces that make it special. They are all singular experiences and we must come back to ROSA ET AL Townhouse to experience the different atmospheres in each of the suites throughout the seasons. The balcony overlooking the garden on the third floor at sunset, the open bathroom of the second floor back, the traveling trunk of the Viajant suite, the decorative ceilings and the original Riga floor on the first floor Queen Suite with its natural feeling, the bathroom and private patio of the new Garden Pavilion with its exterior rainforest shower after a revitalizing massage in the midst of nature, warmed by the open fire. These are just some of the things you will never forget in some of the suites.

What is Emanuel's favorite suite?

_EMANUEL — Humm... Maybe our most recent addition to the townhouse, the seventh suite, the lucky number, as they say [ laughs ] I think the great majority of past and, actually, forthcoming guests wil be forsaking me at this exact second for not favouring the old charming nineteenth-century townhouse suites, but, you know... architects, artists and so on... we always tend to favour the latest work [ laughs ] Yes, it might be the so named Garden Pavilion, at the end of the garden. It is a reinvention of the traditional garden pavilion. An historiographic syntesis of the historic architectural type,if you might say so. The traditional garden pavilion usually referred to these free-standing structures sited a short distance from the main residence whose architecture historically made it an object of pleasure and relaxation. And that's what it is: pleasure and relaxation.

A stone's throw away from the main building, it is a refuge within the refuge that the townhouse already is to the city. The townhouse itself is a nineteenth-century stone and wood construction, a bold ominpresent edifice facing this graceful and low profile new steel-frame structure, a lighter more modern and abstract structure, which reflecting facade give us back the garden and the original townhouse.

Behind this mirror facade — a sort of contemporary version of Alice in the Wonderland — a modern space is hidden, with abstract planes of white hues and natural wood and a private patio surrounded with aromas and nature. Without being overly present, it is in fact a fully accessible suite with all contemporary commodities and facilities for everyone, making it very inclusive in itself. With a direct connection to a private patio and to the townhouse garden, the greenery, and our aromatic herbs, plants and flowers, it is surrounded by, what we usually name, 'natural luxury'. It is a calming and relaxing space of light and natural materials, wood flooring and earthy colors. A zen space in the city.

Emanuel de Sousa was interviewed on JULY 2019
Find out more about Emanuel de Sousa architectural practice and hotelier life here.

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DISCOVER THE SUITE TYPES — CLUB, QUEEN, KING
DISCOVER THE PIEDS-À-TERRE _{OUT OF PREMISES / AROUND TOWN} — BATALHA, LARANJEIRA