Solar Investment will add a new four star hotel to its portfolio, located at the Outeiro Seco civil parish, within the Chaves municipality (and part of the Way of St. James), Hotel Santa Rita Wellness & Spa, will represent a 6.9 million euro investment.
Benefiting from Compete 2020 program’s financing, the new unit will recover the former Solar dos Montalvões (Montalvões Manor), a 17th century historical building, which was derelict and in possession of the municipality until it was sold, in 2018, to Solar Investment.
«A well-being centre with a hotel structure» will be created using the old manor and a new attached building yet to be created. It will have more than 7.000 sqm and offer 40 rooms. Small non-invasive plastic surgeries, dermatology and holistic treatments, acupuncture and shiatsu will be some of the services offered by this unit as well as Vichy showers, massages and Turkish baths.
Italian investor Matteo Arthur Colombo, in charge of Solar Investment, explained to Publituris Hotelaria that «the building was completely abandoned, as a consequence of the bad management of the last 30 years. We had a clear idea on how to provide a future to this heritage of the city and purchased it».
He believes that «this will be one of the first hotels in the country designed for the future after Covid. All was well thought out: from the architecture to the spaces and materials used, which were chosen so as to allow the best possible sanitation. This hotel will have no fitted carpets for example. It also took in consideration people with allergies. It is a safe hotel; we wanted to do it before, but Covid-19 presented an opportunity to fine-tune the concept», he explained.
Solar Investment will assume the hotel’s management. The construction works will be carried out by group Costa&Carreira.