MEDIA COVERAGE

Hospitality Design, February 1, 2011
Oitavos - Cascais, Portugal
He may have tried hard, but in the Oitavos, designer Jose Anahory, has not really lived up to his stated mission of taking a back seat to nature. That's not to say that the surroundings of the Portuguese Estoril coast—an eyeful of aquamarine Atlantic, swooping sand dunes, and cerulean sky—aren't magnificent. It's just that with its inspiring expanses of white painted steel, white furniture, and floor-to-ceiling glass, this 142-room, Y-shaped resort can't help but be dramatic. The only colors present—smoky silvers, barest celadon, slate blues—are much more muted than that of the glory outside, sure. But they're never less than carefully considered. Opened since September, the resort joins an older Arthur Hills-design golf course, and other facilities, developed over the years by the Champalimaud family on a 400-acre parcel of land near the fishing village of Cascais. Anahory, the Lisbon-born architect who had previously designed the golf course's clubhouse and restaurant, as well as the property's Health and Racket Club, has custom-designed the tables, armchairs, closets, and paper-shaded lamps in the new resort's guestrooms. A minimalist, linear look prevails, with an occasional curve thrown by the swoop of a one-off piece of pottery or the swirl of an abstract painting. Guest floor corridors are lined in a synthetic rubber. Public spaces are set together on the huge, 300-foot-long ground floor, which is coated in gleaming, high epoxy gray paint. The reception area, open kitchen, bars, restaurants, and lounge seamlessly meld into each other before giving way to a wraparound terrace and infinity pool. Meeting space and a spa with 10 treatment rooms are located elsewhere in the building.  

Hospitality Design, February 1, 2011
Last-Minute Winter Vacations
The two-month-old Oitavos (from $500; 35-12/1486-0020; theoitavos.com) brings a destination spa to the west coast of Portugal, with ten treatment rooms and a seawater pool. The spa uses Voya products, derived from organic seaweed hand-harvested on Ireland’s wild Atlantic coast, and the ocean-inspired offerings include sea-salt exfoliations and seaweed and algae wraps.