Vermelho Melides, Vera Diana-Gonçalves

My name is Vera Diana Gonçalves and I'm the general manager at Vermelho Melides. We are located in a small village in Alentejo, Portugal. This place is a boutique hotel designed as a vacation house built by Christian Louboutin to welcome anyone who is willing to relax, reconnect, and get inspired. It was envisioned as an artist's retreat—a place where people can shut down from the outside world, get in touch with nature and art, and feel completely comfortable with who they are, without any prejudice or judgment.

The constant support of the team from Influence Society was very important when building our website. We wanted something that felt artistic and creative, yet highly user-friendly. When a website is meticulously detailed, it can sometimes become overwhelming for the user. We believe our mission to make life easier for our guests should start right from the reservation process. Therefore, it needed to be easy to book, while still incorporating our main brand elements: our colors, visual identity, and editorial style. It turned out to be a perfect combination that worked beautifully.

We have been open for almost two and a half years now and have welcomed tourists from all over the world, mainly from the US and Europe. The people who visit us are generally not looking for intense adventure or nightlife; instead, they want to immerse themselves in the local culture. They want to experience the traditions of Melides, taste the traditional food, discover the local customs, and learn about the materials used in the region.

Christian Louboutin has been coming to Portugal for about 20 years. He initially owned a house in the Comporta region, about 20 minutes away from here. One day, while working on a collection, he accidentally cut his finger and had to be driven to the hospital. On the way, he passed the main road in Melides and was deeply attracted to the beauty of the local rice fields.

On his way back from the hospital, he asked his driver to take the dirt roads so he could explore the surroundings. The car broke down, leaving them stuck. Instead of getting upset, Christian was completely mesmerized by the raw, untouched nature around him. He ended up buying a property there, which is now the house where he spends most of his time when he is in Portugal.

Thirteen years ago, the gastronomic options in Melides were quite limited, with only two restaurants in the entire village. Christian felt the need for a place where he could simply show up for dinner without a reservation and know it would be open. When he bought the land where we stand right now, his original vision was simply to build a restaurant to fulfill that need.

In the meantime, he was challenged by the local mayor to build a hotel instead. This is how Vermelho Melides came to life. We kept the initial vision of a private vacation home to be shared with friends and family. This is why we have only 13 rooms, each entirely unique, and why the decor features pieces coming mainly from Christian's personal art and furniture collection.