Christian Louboutin’s hotel in Melides

Every now and again, a hotel concept comes along that generates real excitement around a place making it a true destination – the new Louboutin hotel in Melides is one of those properties inspiring visitors to Alentejo.

Christian Louboutin’s Baroque Masterpiece

If you know anything about fashion, you’ll be aware of Christian Louboutin. Top of mind for most people will be the iconic red soled heels he is most famous for with their vixen-like bedroom appeal. One of the Parisienne design greats, he claims to be inspired by culture and people from all over the world. Now Louboutin has opened a new boutique hotel , ‘Vermelho‘ (which means red in Portuguese), inspired by his many different design influences and created by a hand-picked selection of artists and artisans, it’s a stunning baroque Portuguese masterpiece.

Easy access to Comporta

The hotel is in the heart of Melides, an intimate village in Alentejo, Portugal, close to the beautiful beaches and stylish villas of Comporta, and is around 2 hours from Lisbon in a car. Louboutin, already a fan of Comporta is said to have chosen the location for the ‘dreamy atmosphere of the sand pine forest and unique beauty of the sunlight on the rice lagoon’, it’s a place he has returned to many times when designing new collections, staying in an old fisherman’s cottage he restored.

The hotel has thirteen bedrooms, and a restaurant called Xtian where the culinary treasures of Portugal can be discovered. There is also a bar serving signature cocktails, wines and spirits, and a space for restoration with massages and care treatments available.

Fine dining concept

The restaurant features specially designed bistro chairs from Maison Gatti, created from a design found in the company archives and given a Louboutin twist. It is headed up by Portuguese Chef David Abreu. David has worked with Alain Roux amongst others, and has an impressive CV, having worked in many luxury and fine dining concepts in Portugal, London and elsewhere. Signature dishes with a modern Portuguese twist include; Vegetable Ramalhete, The Duck and the Rice, Tia Fatima’s wild boar stew and Imperial Wine Drunk Pear.

The architects involved

From a design perspective Louboutin has chosen an eclectic, maximalistic aesthetic juxtaposing styles, eras, materials and colours. He collaborated with Lusitanian architect Madalena Caiado, and long term friend Carolina Irving who advised on textile creations and overall decoration. His wish was to showcase the excellence of artists and artisans he admired.

Exterior finishings

Italian Giuseppe Ducrot, a leading Italian classical sculptor, created the stand-out exterior finishings of the hotel. He was first spotted for his one-of-a-kind ceramic fountain created for a hotel in Positano, Louboutin gave him carte blanche to decorate the hotel’s facades. The result is an blend of Greek and Roman influences with a riotous Baroque expressionism typical of the sculptor’s style. His fresco’s reference imaginary goddesses and caryatides in an area which he imagined could be a promenade in a baroque or Renaissance garden.

Reception by Klove Studio

Once inside the hotel you are welcomed by a a green and gold gigantic glass-blown mural chandelier. It was created by Klove studio, a cutting-edge pair of Indian lighting designers who hand-make everything in India keeping local artisanal skills alive.

Hand-painted Suites

Konstantin Kakanias is a painter, illustrator and ceramicist with drawings published in the New York Times, Vogue and other magazines. He recently worked with Louboutin on bags and accessories inspired by Greek civilisation.

The suite Konstantin painted for Louboutin is inspired by Villa Kerylos in the South of France, but also imaginary frescoes in Italian villas and places he would have liked to have visited.

Azulejos tiles in antique designs

The Azulejos tiles that decorate the bedrooms and the floors in parts of the hotel, are hand-made from clay from Leira, and decorated with antique designs using natural dyes, Louboutin specially commissioned local craftsmen to create a red tile floor pigmentation to exact specification for the floor.

Explore the area:

Epic have created an itinerary for those who want to experience the hotel and surroundings, which takes in the stunning beaches of Comporta and buzz of Lisbon. Contact info@epic.travel for more details.