Évora, one of Portugal’s great historic cities and a World Heritage town, deserved a luxury first class hotel like this. The hotel in question is the M’Ar de Aqueduto, a recently opened boutique/design hotel situated in the very heart of town. Unlike most other accommodations in Évora, or indeed the immediate region, which are usually either historic or done up in a simple way, the Mar de Aqueduto goes for boutique style and design and, we must say it works a treat.

What you get here are sophisticated fabrics, design pieces and a silky blend of colours, the most prominent of which are soothing whites, creams and browns. Still, it’s not all about the present or future here. History is still pretty much alive here, especially as the Mar de Aqueduto is housed in what was previously known as the Sepulveda Palace, a superb 16th century palace.

Thankfully, it still retains a lovely chapel, which hosts concerts of erudite music, dome ceilings and arches here and there, and three windows built in that exuberant and quintessentially Portuguese Manueline style. Still, all 64 rooms, from the classic doubles to the superior and Spa rooms, have been done up from scratch providing guests with rooms that have a bright airy feel of modernity coupled with the legacy of times gone by.

It just goes to show that even in places where the legacy of history is present, accommodation can be creative and imaginative to provide guests with a quality style and differentiation.

Room types are as follow:

Classic: Located on the ground and first floors and include a desk and an individual couch. Some face the aqueduct and hotel gardens, and have a tub and separate shower. The bathroom has natural light through a big glass window which separates the bathroom from the sleeping area.

Superior: Located on the ground and first floors, these rooms differ from the classic rooms by their balcony or terrace with outdoor furniture. On the ground floor terraces benefit from the adjacent gardens; on the first floor, rooms have a spacious furnished deck facing the city Historic Centre. As with the classic rooms, the superior rooms also have a tub and separate shower, and the bathroom receives its natural light through a glass window that separates the bathroom from the sleeping area.

Spa Rooms: Located in the Spa area and are equipped for treatments to couples in the privacy of the bedroom. They all have a shower and a circular hydro massage tub, as well as an ample deck terrace facing an orange orchard.

Suites: Located on the ground and first floors, these rooms have a 20 m2 living room with a couch, an individual sofa and LCD-HD television. The wallpapered walls, canopy beds and other elegant features make these rooms very special and attractive. You can chose from the brown ones located in the old part of the building near the chapel, or the white ones in new wing of the hotel.