RLA Global Advises on New Riverside Luxury Wellness Retreat in Portugal

The management contract was signed between Campbell GRAY Hotels and Porto-based developer Investaureum to operate the 52-room luxury wellness and medical retreat on the banks of River Tâmega, at the edge of the Douro Valley.

Scheduled to open in spring 2021, Palácio de Canavezes will feature riverfront rooms, suites and apartments and a PUREGRAY Health and Wellbeing center with treatment rooms and hammam built into the rockface on which the resort is based.  Facilities will also include a thermal water treatment centre, clinic, indoor pool, fitness and thermal suite. The hotel's restaurant and terrace will offer exceptional views along River Tâmega.

The original building dates back to the early 1900s, when the Canavezes region became known for its unique hot springs and thermal waters. Visitors travelling to the area to seek treatment for early twentieth-century ailments included D. Mafalda, wife of D. Afonso I and Queen of Portugal, who believed in the area's healing properties and restoring the skin's youthful glow.

"We are proud to have been the advisor for this project from the initial concept phase and helped revive this historical former palace known for its medicinal waters for more than a century. Palácio de Canavezes will be a unique destination because of its rich thermal water heritage and holistic wellbeing services, that are perfectly married with the Campbell GRAY Hotel brand," Roger A. Allen, RLA Global CEO, said.

RLA Global was selected by Investaureum to carry out advisory and consultancy services related to the concept and financial feasibility forecast of the hotel, followed by a search for the future operator.

"The RLA Global team has a broad experience and extensive knowledge on resort planning and modern wellbeing, and their vision how these can be conceptualised in the re-build of a historic asset was an immense contribution. RLA Global also demonstrated a deep industry resource in finding the appropriate hotel operator for the property," Gonçalo Carrington, director at Investaureum, said.

The development and restoration of Palácio de Canavezes is being overseen by respected Porto-based architect Pedro Gomes Fernandes of Europlan, with the interior design being led by Paulo Lobo, who has extensive experience designing hotels and villas in Portugal.

For more information, go to Campbell GRAY's website and also read the recent announcement about the future hotel, published by Hospitality Net.