THE FACTS ABOUT ROMANEIRA, QUINTA DOS SONHOS

Portugal

For centuries a sleepy corner of Europe with a lack of decent places to stay, the Douro Valley now has at least two super-luxury hotels (and there are more to come). Quinta da Romaneira, a famous wine estate on the north bank of the River Douro, had been in a state of decline until a group of international investors began converting the quinta's two houses and various winery buildings into a high-concept hotel, to be run by hospitality guru Thierry Teyssier. The site is magnificent: it sprawls over 400 hectares, up to the rim of the valley and beyond, and has 2.5km of river frontage and three train stations. Romaneira, Quinta dos Sonhos ('Quinta of Dreams', as it has been newly named) is the first of its kind in a rural area mired in tradition. Sleek, ultramodern design and lighting is combined with tribal artefacts and objets trouvés, and its smooth-as-silk personalised service works well. Minor pretensions may irritate; for example, a staff list in the welcome brochure credits the perfumier, 'colourist', and 'luminous objects creator', and employees pad around in white shirts emblazoned with poetic phrases about fulfilling your dreams. Taken as a whole, however, there is no denying the spectacular ambition of this state-of-the-art project. WHEN TO GO Late September, for a privileged view of the grape harvest. ROOM TO BOOK Any river-view suite. Cotas, Portugal (00 351 254 732 432; www.maisonsdesreves.com). Suites from 1,000 Euros Find out more about Portugal in our destination guides