The view of Régua and the landscape of the Alto Douro Wine Region almost needs no introduction. In the middle, at Quinta Vale de Abraão and overlooking the vineyards and the river, there is a 19th century manor house that has been a refuge for many who try to escape the chaos of everyday life. It was in 2015 that Six Senses Douro Valley arrived at this property and joined luxury, well-being and sustainability in a hotel in the middle of the Douro. There is news for this summer: Six Senses will be open two new spaces — including a new restaurant — and is also working on new wellness therapies.
One of the new features at Six Senses this year will be the entry into operation of the renovated Six Senses dock, which will allow guests to take boat trips along the Douro, says Richard Bowden, the hotel’s marketing director. They will be “vintage boats, made of wood”, he explains. QAs for the new spaces in the hotel, the bar next to the outdoor pool will be fully ready in July this year, and there is a new restaurant space, the Greenhouse, which will be operating from the summer onwards. This last space is located in the hotel’s garden. house, will be used to offer more sustainability options and also as an event space, which can accommodate up to 40 people.
As far as the spa is concerned, one of the treatments being worked on for this year is IV Therapy, an intravenous introduction procedure that also exists at Six Senses in Ibiza. “It will be a mixture of vitamins with various effects”, adds the person in charge, highlighting that the work is being done in conjunction with a clinic.
Currently, the five-star hotel has 71 rooms of more than 18 types, including rooms, suites and villas suitable for those who prefer a more private environment. The majority of guests are foreigners and seek out this space largely for the well-being aspect it offers — not only immediate well-being, but also the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases.
“We are working the body and soul”
For now, we enjoyed a walk through the two-hectare forest that surrounds this hotel, with a setting considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.. In every corner you can see the vineyards and you will find a piece of history of this property, which initially belonged to the Serpa Pimentel family and was the setting for Agustina Bessa-Luís’ book, Vale Abraham, and the film by Manoel de Oliveira based on this novel. “This was the first property in Douro to have electricity and the forest is part of the historical gardens route”, explains Nadine Oliveira, the guide on this tour. She knows the name and characteristics of all the plants and trees and explains the surprise of many foreigners when she tells them the stories and everything there is to see and do in the Douro region. There are many activities to do here, from walking or cycling, climbing trees, bird watching or taking part in the harvest.
Inside the hotel, the stay begins with a workshop in the Alchemy Bar, a room where the various aromas and shelves full of products, from candles to essential oils, made at Six Senses itself and with all types of natural ingredients, do not go unnoticed. This is where guests can learn how to make beauty products like scrubs, essential oils, sprays, bath salts, lip balms and candles. In one of the workshops, you learn how to make a body scrub using ingredients as simple as sea salt, citrus zest, sweet almond oil and essential oils of your choice. In between, Daniel, one of the professionals who leads these workshops, explains the advantages and applications of each essential oil.
This room is one of the spaces that make up the well-known Six Senses spa, which in March this year was voted the best spa in Europe by the World Spa & Wellness Awards 2024. In this 2200 square meters of area, there are ten treatment rooms, all with views of the garden or the Douro River valley, a gym, a studio offering wellness activities – from yoga to meditation –, an indoor pool with underwater sound therapies, massage jets, chromotherapy and cryotherapy and five saunas.
We tried one of the programs implemented two years ago, the biohacking (30 minute session, €75). Its about a pressotherapy treatment carried out using Normatec compression boots that perform a type of lymphatic drainage. With seven pressure levels, this is a recovery (and also maintenance) treatment that helps, above all, to improve blood circulation. At the same time, it is also An abdominal band is placed that emits heat and vibration, and the treatment is accompanied by guided meditation or music and a blindfold. “We are basically working on the body and soul, disconnecting from the outside world”, we hear in the explanation of the treatment. Another of the programs available at the hotel is “Sleep With Six Senses”, which helps guests improve the quality of their sleep, one of the biggest struggles for many who live (and feel) the stress of everyday life.
Focus on sustainability
The concept is fashionable, but at Six Senses Douro Valley sustainability (environmental and social) goes beyond theory. This is what Fernando Morais, director of sustainability, promises, who welcomes us to the Earth Lab, a space where the hotel works and communicates what it does, in practice, to reduce consumption, produce locally and support communities and ecosystems. And the practice is shown right at the entrance, where you can see, on a table, a bowl of gummies made from fruit peels used for breakfast. “We also make carbonated drinks from the peels, with water and brown sugar”, explains Fernando Morais.
There are still several workshops for guests on how they can reuse food waste and how this is done in the hotel itself. Even because the The motto is to reuse everything possible. And with a lot of creativity in the mix. Not only to produce other foods, but also decorative elements, oils, candles and essences: “All Six Senses in the world have an Earth Lab, but each one is adapted to each context and with the focus defined by each hotel. In this case, our work involves a lot of agriculture, food and also charity”.
Every Monday and Thursday the harvest is also harvested in the company’s own organic garden and the food is treated in this “laboratory”, and then sent to the hotel’s various spaces. “There is a combination of cuisine and sustainability here. The kitchen generates a lot of waste and everything that is generated we can convert into another form”, adds the sustainability director. When it is not possible to have the product come from an organic garden, the policy is to turn to local producers who are within a maximum radius of 300 kilometers away.
The hotel also has the “Eat With Six Senses” concept, in which all restaurant spaces use seasonal products produced in our own garden or purchased from local producers. One of the four restaurants in this hotel is the Vale Abraão Restaurant, where the open kitchen stands out, allowing customers to see the chefs and staff preparing the dishes, as well as all the typical Portuguese decor and photographs of the Serpa Pimentel family posted on the wall. . At lunch (and dinner), the menu is varied, with many options for starters, such as onion soup and moira de Lamego (€16) or mushroom flatbread, creme fraiche and regional cheeses (€24). For the main dish, the options are also diverse, including wood-fired octopus rice (€40) or creamy broccoli rice, São Jorge cheese and pickles (€36).
Currently, 0.5% of all revenue generated at Six Senses Douro Valley goes directly to the hotel’s sustainability fund, as well as 50% of bottled water sales in restaurants. This fund supports 14 associations, from groups that fight against food waste, such as ReFood, to associations that carry out animal rescue missions and also projects to reduce school dropouts in the region. It is also used to support forest cleaning and protection.
Quinta Vale de Abrão, 5100-758 (Samodães, Lamego). 254 660 600. Minimum price per night in a double room: €850.
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