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Pestana Group to Open a Five-Star Hotel in the “A Brasileira” Building in Porto on Friday
14 March 2018
A new five-star hotel that was the target of a 12-million-euro investment will open on Friday the 23rd, in the historic building that housed the former café “A Brasileira” [The Brazilian], in downtown Porto, a source at the Pestana group said today.
The Pestana Porto – A Brasileira City Center & Heritage Building, located next to the Sá da Bandeira Theatre and the São Bento railway station, “is the result of the rehabilitation of the building that was originally constructed as a home to the Brasileira, more than a century ago.
Speaking to Lusa, the source from the hotel group Pestana, which currently has about 90 units in Portugal and abroad, confirmed that “the historic building will be home to a five-star hotel with 90 rooms and suites spread over six floors.” Thematically, the hotel focuses on the “spice trade in the 15th and 16th centuries during the height of Portugal’s maritime expansion, namely coffee, cinnamon, tea, chocolate, anise and pink pepper.”
Located at the corner of Rua do Bonjardim and Rua Sá da Bandeira, the ‘A Brasileira’ building belongs to the businessman and former football coach António Oliveira, who signed a partnership with the Pestana group for the project, through his company OPPA – A Brasileira, Ltd.
According to OPPA, António Oliveira invested “12 million euros [in the project], and the mandate for construction was awarded to Mota-Engil.”
The Pestana group stated that the characteristics of the façade and the rooms on the ground floor – cafeteria and restaurant – have maintained their original design.
The new five-star hotel is about 50 meters from the Avenida dos Aliados, and about a ten-minute walk from the Douro River, in the heart of a historic city centre that was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Original Story: Diário de Notícias / Lusa
Translation: Richard Turner