Yotel Signs Porto

Date: November 2018

Location: Rua de Gonçalo Cristóvão, in the heart of Porto, adjacent to the city’s business district – Rua de Santa Catarina, Portugal.

Name: Yotel Porto – opening 2019

No. of Keys: 147

Seller: TBA

Owner: Investor Union Investments Portugal will develop the property.

Yotel aims to open further hotels on the Iberian peninsular, with Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona in its sights.

The property will showcase the design that YOTEL is known for worldwide, integrating the fundamentals of up-market hotel into smaller smartly designed spaces, and will offer approximately 147 rooms, or ‘cabins’ as they are known.

As per typical YOTEL style, each cabin will have a signature space-saving adjustable SmartBed™ with Serta gel mattress, ensuite bathrooms with rain showers, mood lighting and HD TVs that can easily be connected to guests’ own devices, keyless entry and the ability to self-check in under a minute with the hotel’s airline-style self-service kiosks.

“We are thrilled to launch our first hotel in Portugal in Porto, home to many of the largest Portuguese corporations and the gateway to the Douro Valley and the northern Portuguese regions.

Having grown in double digits for three successive years, Porto’s hotel market has demonstrated its strength and aptitude to attract an increasingly-wide variety of demand. Strong economic growth, new airline routes and numerous international events are expected to continue delivering demand to Porto, driving higher rates and occupancy levels”, says Hubert Viriot, CEO of YOTEL.

The project came to fruition following investment from owner United Investments Portugal, a luxury real estate developer renowned for the creation of world-class hotels and resorts across Portugal.

Carlos Leal, General Director United Investments Portugal says: “As a long-term strategic partner of YOTEL, we are delighted to bring such a pioneering hotel group to Porto.

Guests will have access to a 24/7 gym, smart vending and ‘food on the go’, and the shared eating, drinking and co-working spaces will be ideal to relax and socialise with like-minded travellers.

The Porto property will also be home to a sky bar and terrace on the 9th floor, with outstanding views.

The property is close to theatres, restaurants, bars and tourist attractions such as the Ribeira quarter (UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Port Wine Cellars, and the docks where the Douro Rio cruises begin.

As with other YOTEL adaptive reuse and regeneration projects in San Francisco and Edinburgh, YOTEL Porto will introduce modernity and vibrancy by injecting new life into a vacant office space, thereby contributing to the overall transformation of the area.

The project is currently in development stages and designed by Nuno Leónidas Architects (NLA).

THPT Comment: Yotel seems to have settled down since it’s acquisition by Al-Bahar, United Investment, Kuwait Real Estate and Starwood Capital in recent years.

First Seen: Yotel website