What happens when one of the world's most recognisable designers opens a hotel, not in Paris, but in a tiny village on Portugal's Alentejo coast?
In Melides, Christian Louboutin's first hotel feels less like an extension of his fashion empire and more like a deeply personal love letter to a place he has returned to for years.
Vermelho opened in the heart of the village with just 13 rooms, each entirely individual. But look beyond the theatrical interiors and bold colours and there is something much more interesting happening.
This is a hotel built around Portuguese craft, culture and character.
Vermelho opened in the heart of the village with just 13 rooms, each entirely individual. But look beyond the theatrical interiors and bold colours and there is something much more interesting happening.
This is a hotel built around Portuguese craft, culture and character.
Why Melides?
Long before Vermelho existed, Christian Louboutin had fallen for this quieter corner of Portugal.
Melides sits within the Alentejo, surrounded by rice fields, cork forests, lagoons and the wild Atlantic coastline. It is a landscape that feels markedly different from the more developed Portuguese destinations further south.
Rather than creating a resort removed from village life, Louboutin chose a site in the heart of Melides itself.
And that sense of place became fundamental to what Vermelho would become.
Melides sits within the Alentejo, surrounded by rice fields, cork forests, lagoons and the wild Atlantic coastline. It is a landscape that feels markedly different from the more developed Portuguese destinations further south.
Rather than creating a resort removed from village life, Louboutin chose a site in the heart of Melides itself.
And that sense of place became fundamental to what Vermelho would become.
A celebration of Portuguese craftsmanship
Walk through Vermelho and almost nothing feels anonymous.
Across its 13 rooms, Portuguese craftsmanship sits alongside pieces gathered from Louboutin's travels and works created specifically for the hotel. Tiles, textiles, ceramics, carved details and artworks turn each room into its own little world.
This is where Vermelho feels particularly relevant to The Libra Guide. Its sense of Portugal doesn't come from simply adopting a familiar "Mediterranean" aesthetic. It comes through the hands of the people who make things here.
The result is colourful, eccentric and unmistakably Louboutin, but also grounded in the traditions of its setting.
Across its 13 rooms, Portuguese craftsmanship sits alongside pieces gathered from Louboutin's travels and works created specifically for the hotel. Tiles, textiles, ceramics, carved details and artworks turn each room into its own little world.
This is where Vermelho feels particularly relevant to The Libra Guide. Its sense of Portugal doesn't come from simply adopting a familiar "Mediterranean" aesthetic. It comes through the hands of the people who make things here.
The result is colourful, eccentric and unmistakably Louboutin, but also grounded in the traditions of its setting.
A different room every time
There is no standard Vermelho bedroom.
Each of the 13 rooms has its own palette, objects and personality, making the hotel feel closer to a private home assembled over many years than a newly designed property.
The eclecticism feels deliberate. Contemporary artworks sit alongside traditional craftsmanship; elaborate patterns meet quieter natural materials; Portuguese influences mingle with objects and ideas gathered from elsewhere.
It reflects something we particularly love in a hotel: a sense that the interiors have been collected rather than simply decorated.
Each of the 13 rooms has its own palette, objects and personality, making the hotel feel closer to a private home assembled over many years than a newly designed property.
The eclecticism feels deliberate. Contemporary artworks sit alongside traditional craftsmanship; elaborate patterns meet quieter natural materials; Portuguese influences mingle with objects and ideas gathered from elsewhere.
It reflects something we particularly love in a hotel: a sense that the interiors have been collected rather than simply decorated.
Portugal on the plate
That connection to place continues at Xtian, Vermelho's restaurant, where Chef David Abreu interprets Portuguese cooking through a more refined lens.
Rather than separating the hotel's design story from its food, the restaurant forms part of the same celebration of Portugal, with local culinary traditions becoming another way to experience the destination.
Outside, French landscape architect Louis Benech has created gardens filled with endemic vegetation, forming secluded pockets around the hotel and its pool. There is also an intimate spa offering signature treatments.
Rather than separating the hotel's design story from its food, the restaurant forms part of the same celebration of Portugal, with local culinary traditions becoming another way to experience the destination.
Outside, French landscape architect Louis Benech has created gardens filled with endemic vegetation, forming secluded pockets around the hotel and its pool. There is also an intimate spa offering signature treatments.
Why we've selected Vermelho
At first glance, it would be easy to describe Vermelho as simply Christian Louboutin's first hotel.
But that misses what makes it interesting.
Yes, his exuberant aesthetic is everywhere. But Vermelho is also the product of his fascination with Portugal and the craftspeople, traditions and landscapes he discovered here.
For The Libra Guide, that's an important distinction.
The most authentic hotels don't need to recreate the past or restrict themselves to a single design tradition. They can be playful, glamorous and intensely individual, while still revealing something meaningful about where you are.
Vermelho could only have come from Christian Louboutin. But, just as importantly, it could only have been created here.
But that misses what makes it interesting.
Yes, his exuberant aesthetic is everywhere. But Vermelho is also the product of his fascination with Portugal and the craftspeople, traditions and landscapes he discovered here.
For The Libra Guide, that's an important distinction.
The most authentic hotels don't need to recreate the past or restrict themselves to a single design tradition. They can be playful, glamorous and intensely individual, while still revealing something meaningful about where you are.
Vermelho could only have come from Christian Louboutin. But, just as importantly, it could only have been created here.