Aqua Pópulo - Eco Village

There’s no place quite like the Azores, and at the moment there’s nothing quite like the new wave of high-end, high-design Portuguese luxury boutique hotels. Put the two together and you’ve got Aqua - Pópulo Eco Village. The name is partly a reference to its location, a short walk from Praia do Pópulo, a lovely little beach with a well-known surf break. And “eco village” is more or less self-explanatory — though the hotel’s seven luxe apartments are gathered together in a single modern building, it’s built with sustainability in mind, and overlooks the Atlantic on one side and the island’s mountains on the other.

Local architects SAL and famed interior designer Nini Andrade Silva are responsible for the hotel’s structure and decoration, which strikes a rare balance between urban sophistication and the organic charm of country life. The apartments are spacious and well-equipped, luxurious but understatedly so, and among the hotel’s attractions are a heated rooftop swimming pool and jacuzzi. Kitchens are provided for self-catering, and while there’s no restaurant on premises, there are several nearby, and more in the Ponte Delgada town center, barely two miles down the road.