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Guimarães, Portugal

The 5 best boutique and luxury hotels in Guimarães, Portugal

The Mediterranean • Stay • The 5 best boutique and luxury hotels in Guimarães, Portugal

The curated list of best hotels in Guimarães

Portugal’s birth city doesn’t just live in the past—it dresses it up, reinvents it and welcomes you into it with style. Guimarães in Norte, often called the cradle of the nation, has a soul steeped in mediaeval charm, but its hospitality scene is surprisingly forward-thinking. Here, cobbled alleys echo with history, but behind 12th-century façades, you’ll find design-savvy boutique hotels, grand townhouses turned luxury stays and intimate guesthouses that feel more like private homes. This city knows how to do contrast – ancient stone walls paired with velvet lounges, baroque courtyards opening into sleek rooftop terraces. We’ve combed through the city’s most distinctive stays to bring you the best boutique and luxury hotels worth checking into.

Top photography courtesy of Emaj Guimarães Boutique Hotel

Overview: Guimarães’s top hotels

01 Pousada Mosteiro de Guimarães

02 Conquistador Palace

03 Paraíso Villas & Spa

04 Hotel da Oliveira

05 Emaj Guimarães Boutique Hotel

Pousada Mosteiro de Guimarães

Set within a 12th-century Augustinian convent founded by Countess Mumadona Dias, Pousada Mosteiro de Guimarães sits atop a hill overlooking the cradle of Portugal. After centuries of religious use, it was meticulously restored and opened as one of Portugal’s flagship pousadas (Portuguese chain of luxury, traditional and historical hotels), retaining Romanesque arches, Gothic vaults and a classical cloister awarded the Europa Nostra prize for heritage conservation. The 51 guest rooms feature dark-wood beams and straw-weave headboards that nod to monastic austerity, while high-arched windows flood spaces with daylight. The outdoor pool is set beside the original mill, where the view over red-tile roofs is a perfect counterpoint to a post-swim regional wine in the former monastery kitchen, now the cosy bar featuring a stone fireplace.

Pousada Mosteiro de Guimarães
Lugar da Costa
Largo Domingos Leite de Castro
Guimarães
Portugal

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Photography courtesy of Pousada Mosteiro de Guimarães

Conquistador Palace

Born from João Sousa’s vision to blend his tennis-champion legacy with hometown pride, Conquistador Palace occupies the shell of a 1827 palace in Guimarães’ historic core. Conquistador Palace offers only 14 bespoke rooms, each themed and named after a chapter in Sousa’s career, spread across over 30 square metres, featuring blackout curtains, marble bathroom finishes and bespoke furnishings nodding to 19th-century palatial style, while the marble-floored lobby with a coffee bar serves house-roasted espresso each morning. The outdoor pool, framed by manicured gardens, is ideal for midday dips, while the spa treatments and evening cocktails in the intimate bar lounge round out the experience.

Conquistador Palace
R. de Camões 106
Guimarães
Portugal

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Photography courtesy of Conquistador Palace

Paraíso Villas & Spa

A short drive from the UNESCO precinct, Paraíso Villas & Spa offers four two-bedroom villas amid private gardens, each with its own kitchen and living area – ideal if you are craving a home-away-from-home atmosphere. We love the seamless transition from yoga or Pilates classes to the full spa circuit – think sauna, Turkish bath, jacuzzi and indoor pool – then a dip in the outdoor seasonal pool as dusk falls. Restaurant 19.95 in the main building dishes up modern northern Portuguese plates that pair perfectly with local wines, and breakfast in-villa gives you space to plan your day undisturbed. It’s a private-villa concept with polished hospitality, perfect if you want quiet seclusion without giving up hotel-like amenities.

Paraíso Villas & Spa
Agrelos Paraiso Pevidem
Guimarães
Portugal

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Photography courtesy of Paraíso Villas & Spa

Hotel da Oliveira

Hotel da Oliveira feels like stepping into a book created by interior designer Paulo Lobo, who preserved the original 18th-century stone walls and beam ceilings while layering in earth-tone textiles and dozens of hidden-spine books in the lobby. With just 20 rooms – each themed around a local historical figure like Alberto Sampaio – the hotel radiates character. You’ll even spot wallpaper motifs echoing civic portraits from the city archives. Designed for bibliophiles, the hotel’s library corner invites you to curl up with a coffee and a selection of Portuguese literature. The in-house Hool restaurant serves Mediterranean-focused breakfast and à la carte menus with a great selection of wine, perfect for sunset drinks.

Hotel da Oliveira
Largo da Oliveira 14
Guimarães
Portugal

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Photography courtesy of Hotel da Oliveira

Emaj Guimarães Boutique Hotel

Emaj Guimarães Boutique Hotel reclaimed the 19th-century Banco Nacional Ultramarino building on Largo do Toural, preserving its classic façade while carving out 18 rooms in two contrasting wings – one modern, one classic – with views over the main square or a tucked-away street. Eighteen individually themed suites that showcase custom mid-century furnishings, handwoven wool rugs, and bespoke headboards wrapped in locally sourced linens. In the newer wing, floor-to-ceiling glass panels frame Largo do Toural, while neutral walls and hidden lighting accentuate original architectural niches. The bathrooms stand out with black granite vanities, rainfall showers, and freestanding tubs beneath lofty ceilings that recall the building’s past. The breakfast room features angular steel-framed tables sitting under a central skylight, with repurposed vault doors as a café counter, adding to the industrial chic design.