If you enjoy booking unconventional hotel rooms and are a bit of a wine fanatic, you may want to consider a stay in Douro, Portugal, at the 280-year-old Quina da Pachecha estate. Hotel guests sleep in giant barrels for CAD$383 a night.
The 100-foot suites mimic the wine barrels used on the vineyard. Owners Paulo Pereira and Maria do Céu Gonçalves designed the pine barrens, which offer a bit of luxury for overnight guests. They barrels include a large, round bed, skylight, walk-in shower, private restroom, wardrobe, air conditioning, and WiFi.
The estate was one of the first to bottle wine under its own label. Its history goes back to 1738. The 140-acre vineyard produces bottles of red, white, rosé, and port that it stores in an 18th century house nearby.
Guests are invited to taste locally made jam and olive oil, eat dinner on site, and explore one of the estate’s 15 wine-making rooms.
“Quinta da Pacheca created the wine barrels as a bold architectural project of suites to reinforce the originality of the wine tourism offered at the site,” a representative from the estate told Metro. “In an idyllic and romantic setting, these wine barrel rooms will provide visitors with a unique experience of the nature and significance of the Douro wine region.”
The vineyard also features regular hotel rooms in the main house.
The Douro Wine Region Valley is the oldest demarcated wine region in the world. There are many things to do in the area in addition to wine tasting. There is the castle of Numão, the Vale do Coa Archaeological Park (a World Heritage Site), and the Museum in Vila Nova de Foz Coa.
You can take a day trip down the river or enjoy or enjoy a more leisurely ride in a floating hotel.
Local delicacies include lamprey cooked in red wine with rice, pork innards in blood, baby goat, fried octopus, salt-cod pie and smoked sausages served with broccoli raab. A popular snack is the francesinha—bread filled with ham, sausages and steak that is wrapped in cheese and covered in a spicy sauce.
