Welcome to Christian Louboutin's Hotel, Vermelho

Louboutin lovers, rejoice!  Welcome to Christian Louboutin's world in the shape of his beautiful new hotel, Vermelho, in a quiet and unspoilt village of Melides in Portugal. 

Portugal, and especially Lisbon and the quiet villages to the south of the city are now firmly established as  cultural and creative hubs for the world’s global nomads to live their lives. Not only is the cost of living 43% lower in Portugal, compared to the UK, the country has definitively found an artistic soul mate in the French shoe designer.

Last month the designer known for his architectural shoes with their signature red soles opened his first hotel, Vermelho, which means red in Portuguese, in the village of Melides 75 minutes south of Lisbon -  also home to a flourishing community of artisans, artists and craftspeople.  

Louboutin’s passion for the art, craft and cultures of Portugal and Melides is the outcome of him having a long time private home set in 350 acres, and dotted with multiple buildings, including a design studio, in the area.

This laid-back corner of the Alentejo region of Portugal is home to vineyards, rice fields, white cobbled squares and endless views of the Atlantic Ocean on the horizon, and is a 25 minute hop in a car to vibrant Comporta. But visitors to the area will have no need to leave now that Louboutin’s 13 room love-letter to Portuguese craft is open. “I realized many people have the fantasy of designing or owning a hotel,” says the designer. “I like to make my dreams a reality. That is why Vermelho is born.”

The interior of the hotel is an absolutely breathtaking showcase for Louboutin’s eclectic and maximalist aesthetic – intimate, warm, vibrant and shimmering with colourful azulejo,  the ornamental tiles which decorate every surface interior and exterior, across the country, and which he calls “my favourite things.”

“What I love about craftsmanship is that it transcends culture,” says Louboutin who has personally sourced the furniture and collected the art and ceramics - all the while incorporating and celebrating local Portuguese talent and traditions.

The home-away-from-home experience to which guests are invited to experience will extend to the restaurant, Xtian, where the culinary treasures of Portugal can be discovered, and the Vermelho bar, where cocktails will be served in a relaxed setting. Spa treatments and massages will be available to guests to soothe both body and soul.

To bring Vermelho to life, Louboutin has called upon the talents of the Lusitanian architect Madalena Caiado, whom he had already worked with on his Lisbon house, as well as long-time friend Carolina Irving, who has acted as an advisor on textile creations and overall decoration. “This project allows me to empty my storage full of antiques and objects I have purchased over many years! Furthermore, it is an opportunity to show the excellence of many artists and artisans I admire,” says Louboutin.

Patricia Medina, his friend from Sevilla, connects Iberian artisans with a unique and secular savoir-faire with contemporary architectural visionaries. French landscape architect, Louis Benech, regarded as one of the most remarkable landscape architects of his generation with a portfolio of public and private commissions from Peru to Morocco and the U.S, has designed the hotel’s gardens which also sit comfortably within the wider landscape in seamless harmony – colourful but natural.  

Vermelho Hotel