The legendary designer opened a first hotel and the result is breathtaking

There are places in the world where it seems as though time has stood still. The village of Melides in Portugal is exactly such a place. Only an hour and a half south of Lisbon, between green forests and a large lagoon, hides a small village where it seems as though time has stood still – with stone squares, white houses and red tiled roofs. For years it was considered a quiet, local secret, one that very few tourists truly knew. However, now this is about to change.

Behind a heavy wooden door in the heart of the picturesque alleys, the Vermelho hotel has opened, the first boutique hotel by legendary shoe designer Christian Louboutin. The man who turned the red sole into one of the most recognizable fashion symbols in the world, decided to take his personal aesthetic into the hospitality world and design a hotel that looks like a combination of an art gallery, a European palace and an eclectic dream house.

Louboutin discovered Melides by chance more than a decade ago, after having an accident in the area. On his way back from a local hospital, he noticed the small village and fell in love instantly with the wild landscape and the extraordinary tranquility. Shortly thereafter, he purchased a small fisherman's house there and later expanded the property into a private compound that also includes a studio with a panoramic view of the lagoon.

The new hotel includes only 13 rooms, out of a desire to maintain intimacy and blend into the local nature. The facade was designed together with the Portuguese architect Madalena Caiado and looks almost like an inseparable part of the village. Blue and white toned walls, sloping roofs and decorated chimneys give the building a traditional look from the outside, but the moment you step inside, everything changes.

The interior design of the hotel is a celebration of colors, cultures and materials. Alongside classic Portuguese elements like painted ceramic tiles and decorated wooden ceilings, one can find French, Italian and Egyptian influences that tell the story of Louboutin's life and his travels around the world.

In the central lounge, glass tiles inspired by Indian palaces were placed, along with an enormous bar made of green marble from India and silver plating in a Baroque style handcrafted in Seville. Old Bollywood movie posters hang on the walls alongside ceramic sculptures and extraordinary art pieces.

The color red, so closely identified with Louboutin, also stars in nearly every corner, with red doorframes and shutters, ceramic tiles with touches of red and terracotta, and reddish accessories that add character. All of this, together with styled staircases, gilded chairs and glossy tiles, creates a space that looks like it was taken straight from the set of a fashionable 90s movie.

Despite the rich design of the public spaces, the rooms themselves are calmer and softer. Every room is completely different from the other and features glossy parquet floors, antique Venetian mirrors, impressive lighting fixtures and furniture that feels like a combination of an ancient Italian house and a luxury suite.

Some of the rooms include private balconies overlooking the garden, others offer direct access to the pool, and in some, enormous bathrooms covered in colorful tiles from floor to ceiling await.

One of the most impressive areas in the hotel is actually located on the top floor. There, the Greek artist Konstantin Kakanias decorated the walls with large, colorful frescoes of trees, snakes and surreal figures. Even one of the bathrooms became a work of art after the artist used it as a color experiment and Louboutin decided to leave everything exactly as it was.

But beyond the impressive design, the true magic of Vermelho lies precisely in the atmosphere. This is a place that encourages slowing down: To sit with a book on the balcony, listen to the church bells and forget about the phone for a few hours.