Thanks to two new hotel resorts and upgrades in Brazil, a new tourist complex in São Tomé, a new hotel in Caracas, the beginning of construction of three new pousadas and the remodelling of some existing ones, the renovation of the famous Pestana Casino Park in Madeira and the opening of the Pestana Porto Santo, the Pestana Group is consolidating its position as the leading player in the Portuguese tourism sector, one of the 50 largest tourism companies in Europe and one of the 100 largest in the world.
The Pestana Group has approved projects up to the end of 2008 representing an overall investment of 200 million euros - 40 million in Brazil, 29 million in Africa, 16 million in Venezuela, 30 million in Pousadas de Portugal and 80 million in Madeira.
Today, we are also presenting one of our tools for publicising the Group’s expansion – a new version of Pestana Lifestyle magazine, which will be coming out in January.
INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS
When the Pestana Group first established itself in Brazil in 1999, its 10-year goal was to buy, build and manage 10 hotels. After eight years of recognised presence on the international scene, the Pestana Group has already exceeded this goal with the Pestana Ipojuca Beach Resort & Bungalows and Bahia Lodge Residence.
Bahia Lodge Residence is a five-star unit adjacent to the Pestana Bahia Hotel. Bahia Lodge Residence, with its stunning view, is on the seafront and just 15 minutes away from the main tourist areas. Here, around 20 km from the airport of Salvador da Bahia, one of Brazil’s most important cities of culture, we can drink in Bahian culture, so rich in sounds, aromas and colours.
The plans have already been approved and building will begin in the first quarter of 2007. It is scheduled to open in late 2008.
Bahia Lodge Residence is a luxury apartment complex offering full hotel service. It has 100 studios and one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, with areas ranging from 30 m2 to 120 m2. Their selling price starts at €65,000. Sales and initial reservations will begin in March 2007.
The main targets for this exclusive property are Brazilians (as first or second homes) and the international public, with special focus on the Portuguese market for holiday homes.
Bahia Lodge Residence offers its owners an outdoor swimming pool, a pool bar and restaurant, a spa and a fitness centre.
The Pestana Ipojuca Beach Resort & Bungalows is a five-star unit with a luxury residential complex attached. This new unit is located in the Porto de Galinhas area and occupies five hectares of land. It boasts 200 metres of seafront and direct access to the beach.
The complex is situated between the Muro Alto beaches and the city of Porto de Galinhas. Porto de Galinhas is 60 km from Recife and has some of the most popular beaches on the north-eastern coast. It has excellent facilities for visitors, including bars, restaurants and hotels. It also boasts natural swimming pools full of colourful fish, and clear, warm water, perfect for families, fishing boats and beach buggy rides.
Construction of the Pestana Ipojuca has already begun and it is scheduled to open in the last quarter of 2008. The main hotel building is already complete and the second stage of construction involving the communal areas and bungalows will begin in April 2007.
In addition to the central hotel building, the Pestana Ipojuca Resort also has bungalows, pools, restaurants, bars, a Kids’ Club, a spa, tennis courts, a convention and event centre and a helipad.
The Pestana Ipojuca Resort will have 120 rooms and 100 family bungalows (suites), most of them with private pools.
The bungalows will be sold to private buyers, to whom the Pestana Group will provide a wide range of hotel services.
It is a luxury property with 100 one-, two- and three-bedroom bungalows with areas ranging from 70 m2 to 120 m2. Prices start at €100,000. Sales and initial reservations will begin in March 2007.
The main targets for this exclusive property are Brazilians and international buyers, with special focus on the Portuguese market for holiday homes.
The Pestana Ipojuca Resort will employ 220 to 230 people.
In May 2006, the Pestana Group purchased the Pestana São Luís Hotel, showing its belief in the tourist potential of north-eastern Brazil. This five-star unit will be completely remodelled to bring it up to the international standards of a hotel of this category in the Pestana Group. The refurbishment will begin in mid-February 2007 and last for four months.
Architect Jaime Morais was responsible for designing the remodelling work, which will give the Pestana São Luís a spa, massage rooms, a Jacuzzi and a new fitness centre. The work will start with the 110 rooms and suites. Sixteen new rooms will also be added, leaving the Pestana São Luís with a total of 126 rooms.
The swimming pool will be enlarged and the tennis courts and multi-purpose sports facility will be restored. The capacity of the convention centre will be increased with the construction of a large ballroom for more than 700 people. Today the hotel has four rooms holding up to 310 people at the same time, as well as a business centre.
There will also be changes to the hotel’s catering arrangements. In addition to the modernisation of its physical environment, the main restaurant will be renamed Cais da Ribeira, like the other luxury restaurants at most Pestana hotels in Brazil. Its menu will feature mostly Portuguese cuisine. The pool bar and lobby bar will also be remodelled.
In Africa, the Pestana São Tomé Hotel & Casino, a tourist complex with a hotel, casino, disco, office centre and a real estate complex called Condomínio Vila Maria, will be opening in the third quarter of 2008. Building work began in January 2006.
Part of the work will be devoted to completing Condomínio Vila Maria, a luxury residential complex of 51 villas, now in the final stages of construction and sale. Condomínio Vila Maria is located on the beach next to the Hotel Pestana São Tomé and not far from the congress centre.
In addition to this complex, we are also building a new five-star hotel, the Pestana S. Tomé near Fortim de São Jerónimo. It will have 115 rooms, a restaurant and bar with a large terrace, a conference room with natural lighting and a panoramic sea view, and a health club with a gym, sauna, Turkish bath and a treatment and massage room.
The Pestana São Tomé will also have outside adults’ and children’s swimming pools overlooking the sea with direct access from the hotel. A small jetty will be built for pleasure boats. The hotel will be surrounded by a magnificent garden filled with the typical luxuriant tropical vegetation of São Tomé and Príncipe.
An office building with an area of around 3,200 m2 and a covered car park will also be built in the hotel’s grounds.
The construction of the complex will be completed with a casino and disco. This octagonal building overlooking the sea will be near the hotel and Vila Maria. It is a clear commitment to luxury entertainment and recreation found nowhere else in São Tomé.
The Pestana São Tomé will create 120 direct jobs.
The Pestana Caracas, a five-star hotel in the Venezuelan capital, is strategically located in the centre of the premium shopping, business and financial area. The Pestana Caracas Hotel is in the eastern part of the city, just a short walk from the Parque del Este, and is already under construction. It is scheduled to open in late 2007. It will have 312 rooms and 3,000 m2 of rooms for conferences, meetings and functions. The Pestana Caracas will boast the largest, most modern and innovative multi-purpose hall in Caracas.
A modern, sophisticated spa will occupy the top floor of the hotel. Its picture windows will afford its patrons a unique 360º view of Caracas. The hotel will have restaurant seating 115 diners, a rooftop pool with a splendid view of the mountains, a solarium, VIP lounge, pool bar, fitness centre, sauna, massage room and Zen lounge.
PROJECTS IN PORTUGAL
Pousadas de Portugal
In 2007 and 2008, Pousadas de Portugal will be strengthening its position in the Portuguese market, with an ongoing commitment to growth, the opening of new units, such as Pousada de Braga – São Vicente, the former Quinta de Ínfias in Braga, and upgrades of the pousadas in Gerês, Setúbal, São Brás, Vila Nova de Cerveira, Manteigas and Óbidos.
Thanks to the opening of Pousada de Braga – São Vicente, Pousadas de Portugal will be able to strengthen its position in the northern region. This unit in a restored late 19th century palace will be one of the Charm Pousadas.
The hotel has now been reclassified as a Pousada and is the result of a project to enlarge existing areas and create new ones, including a restaurant.
Pousada de Braga will be opening to the public in the second quarter of 2007, with 30 rooms and suites. There are also plans for extending it to create 10 new rooms. The “Minho Route” is a destination with growth potential for Pousadas de Portugal for tourists with an interest in the environment, monuments and cultural traditions. It will also help to encourage inland tourism, for which there has been increasing demand, especially among senior clients.
In late 2006, Prime approved our application to turn the old São Teotónio Hospital in Viseu into a pousada, with plans by the architect Gonçalo Byrne. The Corporate Modernisation Incentive System (SIME) run by the API will therefore enable us to open the Pousada de Viseu, with 75 rooms, and create 60 new jobs in the region.
Building work will begin in February and Viseu Pousada will be one of the Historical Pousadas. The plans involve an area of 9,000 m2, and the 75 rooms will abide by very high standards of quality. The pousada is on the so-called “Rota dos Comeres das Beiras” (Beiras Culinary Route) rich in gastronomic traditions, with many religious and historical buildings and countryside full of opportunities for pleasant hikes.
Two years of negotiations and studies culminated in approval by Oporto City Council of the plans for the future Pousada do Porto – Palácio do Freixo and after working meetings and technical visits, IPPAR issued a favourable opinion in the first week of December 2006. Palácio do Freixo and the restored factory, Antiga Fábrica de Moagens Harmonia, designed by architect David Sinclair, will make it possible for us to create 75 rooms and 70 direct jobs. Construction work is scheduled to begin in March 2007.
Pousada do Porto – Palácio do Freixo will be a Historical Pousada. The reconstruction plan will fully respect the restoration work headed by architect Fernando Távora. The architect Paulo Lobo has designed the decor and furniture. New technical and kitchen equipment will be installed in the service areas, the gardens will be restored and opened to the public and the quay will be rebuilt.
The Pousada’s rooms will all be located in the factory building and the size of the complex will remain unaltered.
In addition to these plans, the Pestana Casino Park in Madeira is being fully refurbished and will reopen on 1 March 2007. The rooms and communal areas of this famous hotel designed by the architect Óscar Niemeyer have been totally remodelled and it now boasts a new pool-side restaurant, a 2,000 m2 spa and an indoor swimming pool.
The five-star Pestana Porto Santo and the Pestana Promenade will be opening in Madeira in 2008.
Pestana Lifestyle
Pestana Lifestyle magazine will also bring something new in 2007. Pestana Lifestyle has been totally revamped to meet the latest international trends in tourism and leisure publications and is coming out in January. It has an innovative format – 18.5 cm x 22 cm and 96 pages plus cover - and is now lighter and more attractive.
The beautiful colours of the magazine’s pictures and photos invite its readers to dream. Its clear, simple holiday information and suggestions will help everyone to make the right decision when it’s time to travel and make these dreams come true.