Algarve Mansion Transformed Into Beach-side Bela Vista Hotel
Columbia HillenEvery tile tells a story. Or at least that’s the situation at the 5-star Bela Vista Hotel & Spa in Portimão on Portugal’s Algarve coast. Century-old hand-painted tiles adorn the walls of this 38-room hotel, none more so than on the ornate wooden staircase leading up to the bedrooms. Here, a series of intricately designed tiles illustrate one of Portugal’s most respected books, The Lusiads, an epic poem written by Luis Vaz de Camoes about Portugal’s ‘golden age’ of discovery. Columbia HillenElsewhere, an aptly-named ‘tile room’ depicts the arrival in Brazil by 16th century explorer, Vasco da Gama, while religious…
