Luxury hotel and resort brand Six Senses has added a new project to its pipeline, signing the Six Senses Comporta on Portugal’s Blue Coast.
The development will combine a luxury resort hotel with 70 rooms, plus a linked development of luxury branded residences. Of those 70 suites, 66 will be regular style luxury hotel suites and rooms, while there will be three garden villas, and a presidential villa, ideal for larger groups seeking more privacy during their stay.
Combining hotel and branded residences
The 58 villas and apartments will have between two and five bedrooms each. As well as the luxury hotel amenities, there will also be an owners’ lounge.
The project will be delivered by VIC Properties, which will create a sustainable haven as part of the Pinheirinho coastal estate. For many years, the 400 hectare estate was privately held, with much of it covered in pinewood forests, and a few lucky invitees got to see its natural beauty.
Core to the Six Senses brand is not only luxury, but also a strong focus on sustainability and wellbeing. The Comporta project will include some distinctive features, including a Path of Life, built on the principles of sacred geometry that will have opportunities along it for guests to stop off and enjoy new experiences. These will include a children’s area with indoor and outdoor spaces, and an Earth Lab sited adjacent to the property’s vegetable garden. Workshops will support the adoption of more sustainable practices.
The Six Senses brand is part of IHG Hotels & Resorts, and sits within the group’s luxury and lifestyle division. That portfolio has close to 100 hotels open in Europe, including eight other Six Senses resorts in Italy, Switzerland, France, Israel, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. Further European additions in planning and construction include Six Senses Loire Valley, Six Senses Cortijo de la Caprichosa, close to Gerena in Spain, Six Senses Lisbon and Six Senses Porto Heli in Greece. The brand is also about to launch in the UK capital, opening Six Senses The Whiteley London.
Portuguese refine their tourism offer
Tourism plays a key role in supporting the Portuguese economy, with tourism receipts of EUR27.7 billion, according to the Banco de Portugal. In 2024 the country recorded 31.6 million guests, with 4% growth in overnight stays compared with the previous year, and total tourism revenues up 8.8%. The main source markets were the UK, with 2.5 million visitors, ahead of Spain with 2.4 million and the USA at 2.3 million.
Portugal is a market of growing importance for IHG. It will open Hotel Indigo Albufeira in the first half of 2025, and recently signed Vignette Collection and Kimpton hotels in Cascais. These properties join a Portuguese pipeline including Kimpton Atlantico Algarve and Kimpton Lisbon; and for the Vignette Collection, properties upcoming in Convent Square Lisbon, and the Casa da Companhia Hotel & Spa in Porto.
