Vila Foz Hotel & SPA

If you hear your hosts at Vila Foz Hotel & Spa talking about “Ninimalism,” it’s not a mistranslation, and the pun is fully intended. The Portuguese designer Nini Andrade Silva has been known to design-oriented travelers since long before the current boom in Portuguese design hotels, and her signature style is on display here at Vila Foz. It’s a stunning, ornate 19th-century manor house on Porto’s Atlantic coast, and while its architecture has been meticulously restored, its interior design — especially in the guest rooms — is beautifully contemporary, just like everything we’ve seen from Ms. Andrade Silva over the years.

The most modern guest rooms occupy a tasteful contemporary addition, while the rooms and suites in the old manor house are perhaps the most atmospheric. All are spacious enough, and a little bit glam, with bathrooms in travertine and gold, and all feature custom-designed furniture by Andrade Silva herself. The spa occupies a tranquil garden setting, and the restaurant, serving fresh and seasonal Portuguese fare, has been rewarded with a Michelin star. Here, despite the idyllic sea views, you’re just 20 minutes from the city center, if you’ve got urban business to attend to — it’s not easy, though, to tear yourself away from the seaside district of Foz do Douro.