Terceira Island in the Azores archipelago of Portugal has a new four-star hotel with the debut of Zenite Boutique Hotel & Spa. The island is an affordable destination for nature-lovers offering dozens of viewpoints, natural rock pools and volcanoes to explore and local wines to sample. It is also accessible from an international airport, which gets direct flight from Boston.
Centrally located in the World Heritage Town of Angra do Heroísmo (Angra), Zenite Boutique Hotel was created from the restoration and transformation of historic ruins, including an 18th-century manor house, damaged by an earthquake in 1980. Zenite Boutique Hotel is a contemporary full-service hotel with 46 rooms, including two junior suites, seven master suites, a spa, fitness center, free Wi-Fi and an indoor and outdoor swimming pool. Its casual fine dining restaurant serve traditional regional cuisine in the dining room or al fresco on the terrace with its colorful vertical garden.
(Photo by ZeniTravel)
"The Gold and Silver Route" is the inspiration behind the hotel’s décor which is a testament to the city’s maritime history. During Portugal’s "Golden Age of Discovery" in the 15th and 16th centuries, Angra served as a principal port of call for ships from the Portuguese East India Company filled with gold, silver, spices and other goods coming to Europe from Africa and the East and West Indies.
According to hotel owner João Luís Gonçalves, a very rare coin was discovered when the hotel was being built. In 1829, the citizens of Angra do Heroísmo melted down church bells and religious artifacts to mint the new coin. The idea and process were so "crazy," the coin was named Maluco, valued at 80 reis, as can be seen on the replica displayed in the hotel.
In addition to Zenite Boutique Hotel & Spa, as CEO of the Zenite Group, Gonçalves owns the two-star Zenite, also located in Angra, and Zenitravel, a travel agency and tour operator dedicated to promoting the Azores and planning vacations for travelers coming from around the world.
For more information, visit www.hotelzenite.com.
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