Six Senses Douro Valley: A Comprehensive Guide to Staying in the Douro Valley, Lamego, Portugal.

Welcome to my review of Six Senses Douro Valley; a stunning 5-star hotel and spa resort located in the heart of the Douro Valley near Porto. The location was marvelous, the local food fantastic and the accommodation was exceptional. An incredible property for the Six Senses collection, a definite favourite of mine.

The grand view of Six Senses Douro Valley Portugal

We decided to visit Portugal, with this being a country I’ve actually never visited before. It certainly didn’t disappoint - we did a three centre trip to include Lisbon, Porto then the final stop being Six Senses. We should have been arriving by train from the historic and architecturally stunning Sao Bento train station (only a few minutes from where we were staying at Le Monumental Palace) to Regua, a train station only a few minutes away from Six Senses, but with Portugal trains cancelling this service at the last minute we ended up arriving by Uber.

In this review of the Six Senses in the Douro Valley, I’ll detail our experience of the location, local activities, the restaurants and of course, the accommodation and facilities at the hotel itself. Read below to find out everything you need to know before your next trip to the Douro Valley or a Six Senses hotel, resort or spa.

Indoor swimming pool and spa from spa waiting area above

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The majestic pool at Six Senses Douro Valley, overlooking the Douro River

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Fast Facts for Six Senses Douro Valley

Address - Quinta de Vale Abraão, Samodães, 5100-758 Lamego, Portugal 
Website - https://www.sixsenses.com/en/resorts/douro-valley
Group website - https://www.sixsenses.com/en
TripAdvisor ranking - #1/1 (Samodaes)
Contact - reservations-dourovalley@sixsenses.com
Nearest airport - Porto (OPO) Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport about a 90 minute drive (125km or 77mi) 
Opened - 2015
Number of accommodations - 71 total (rooms, suites & private villas)
Number of floors - 8
Bars - 3 (Quinta Bar, Wine Terrace & Pool Bar) 
Restaurants - 4 (Vale de Abraão, Quinta Lounge, Summer Garden BBQ & Pool Terrace)
Wellbeing - Indoor and outdoor pools, Vitality Thermal Suite, Fitness Center, Studio, Extensive Treatments (health, wellbeing and beauty)
Visited - July 2023

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The summer BBQ set up overlooking the resort and vineyards

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Hotel Accommodation: Luxurious, designer choices

There’s a combination of 71 accommodations (rooms, suites and private villas with pools) across both the original 19th Century manor house (floors 4 and 5). Some of the rooms and suites (the villas are separate in the grounds) face towards the Douro River (which is what we had originally booked) and others face into the valley and vineyards surrounding the main building. We moved from a Quinta River to a Quinta Courtyard Suite (ours was 406, Style 2). I love the website where it details all the options, including floorplans and all the different variants of category, albeit it can be a bit overwhelming as they’re all different and such an array of options.

The main hotel buildings from the lower pool terrace

While I’d read that specific room allocations would not be made until arrival, I hadn’t appreciated that individual preferences would be taken into account, like if you wanted to request a balcony. Of the Quinta River (our initial choice) there were three types, only one with a balcony. I was so glad we were able to relocate into the larger suite, albeit this did not have a full on river view but it didn’t matter being so predominant from everywhere else around the hotel.

The sense of space and valley outlook more than made up for this - there was a large covered terrace on one side, panoramic valley windows on the other two sides and even large full size windows onto an internal courtyard filled with kokedama - a Japanese ball of soil, covered with moss, on which an ornamental plant grows (‘Mrs’ TPT knew what they were, and actually Six Senses run a class on how to make these).

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“A sense of history that’s still in the making. A setting of vine-covered rolling hills and the majestic River Douro. Come and stay in the world’s oldest demarcated wine region at a beautifully renovated 19th-century manor house with glorious gardens, woodlands, and sweeping panoramas. The town of Porto and charming heritage villages and other Portugal destinations are close by.”

— https://www.sixsenses.com/en/resorts/douro-valley/destination

The Alchemy Bar at Six Senses Douro Valley

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Facilities & Service at Six Senses Douro Valley

Other than an initial overwhelming disappointment at the initial room allocated, then the way an alternative was handled, service throughout the rest of the stay was phenomenal. The facilities of the resort were amazing, absolutely everything you could need or want on your doorstep in such spectacular surroundings.

Front view of the hotel from the vineyards surrounding

I’ve broken down the key facilities and services and shared my opinion on them below:

Rooms/suites

Exceptional - ours was huge (over 1,000 sq.ft. or 100 sq.mtrs.) with almost a 360 degree outlook, with a covered loggia on one side, panoramic view windows, full length bathroom window looking to the organic kitchen garden below or into the internal courtyard. In the centre was a pod containing both toilet/bidet and an open-sided dressing area (lots of hanging space, shelving, drawers etc.) so that everything else in the suite could be open-plan minimalism.

There was ample seating space and a huge LCD wall TV, a small dining area, vanity area, separate mini-kitchen/mini-bar area with a full selection of complimentary drinks in the SMEG mini fridge, tea/coffee making etc. Snacks were abound, with containers of roasted nuts, cocoa nib bites, olives, chocolate truffles and always topped up with (recycled glass bottles) mineral water. We came back one night to find a bottle of champagne had been delivered, super chilled in an ice bucket and two glasses. They’re always looking after you, and so many treats!

Levels of Comfort

Superb - the huge bed was super squishy soft, and with the (electronic, touch of a button) blackout blinds we had exceptional sleep. There was the option through the wellness spa for sleep tracking, but I’ve got FitBit for that and it showed my sleep pattern was excellent during our stay. The suite was serviced morning and night and always left immaculate.

Bathroom

Actually in three parts, this was definitely a wow bathroom. Off to the side of the suite was a large recessed area which housed double sinks on a huge vanity unit, with a massive lite mirror behind and lots of storage space. There was a huge walk-in shower, beautifully tiled and mosaic wall, with an overhead rain shower and separate hand shower too. Loved the traditional Portuguese painted ceramic bottles for shampoo, conditioner and shower gel; body lotion in the bathroom itself along with lots of other bits like comb, cotton pads, earbuds etc.

Then, as I’ve said there was the large WC/bidet pod for privacy, with a large soaking tub in the middle of the bedroom/lounge side of the suite. We always seem to have rooms and suites with some incredible baths, but never tend to use them having a preference for a shower. 

Breakfast

Every day in the main restaurant, the Quinta Farmhouse breakfast was served with a different menu each day. Once you were seated at one of the table either in the parasol shaded courtyard (stunning vineyard views) or in the air-conditioned main restaurant area, a selection of local fruits, yoghurt and nuts would be served along with a choice of juice, tea/coffee and an ever-changing choice of fresh bread, butter and jams. There was a huge selection of hot food to choose from the menu (like “Avoquit” Six Senses Nourishing Toast). In addition, there were also two huge tables (and more at the side) inside the main restaurant with a further selection of fruits, breads, cakes, juices, salads etc.

Restaurant & Bars

It would be recommended to book in advance during busy times (while we were there they were almost at 100% occupancy) to ensure your first choice of restaurant and time. There was the (main) Vale de Abraão (where breakfast is served), the Quinta Lounge (a bar mainly but also had a lot of great tables outside on the terrace overlooking the river and great food, albeit more casual), the Summer Garden BBQ & Pool Terrace where we would have lunch daily. Although we’re not big wine drinkers, there did also seem to be special wine inspired tapas menu in the evenings on the wine terrace. 

The choices of food (and drinks - fabulous selection of gins, including a local one - Ventozelo was my favourite) were excellent, always farm to table and each restaurant had differing options

Design & Architecture

The original house (I think Quinta can mean farmhouse/country estate/manor house) is stunning in its own right, but has been so sympathetically converted and added to, with a wonderful contrast of the history with modernism too. Getting your head around 8 levels and reception being ground at the front, but actually being level 8, is a good conundrum to start your trip. From the reception area (look out for the two dog beds - Roxy and Aqua, who might easily join you in the lift) there’s an incredible large picture window with a balcony which gives you that full-on initial river view.

Taking the glass box lift to different levels, modern add-ons (but stunningly designed) seamlessly connect levels 3 through 5 which must be the original house, dark corridors only help accentuate that feeling of light and space when you then walk into such an amazing light and bright, dual height/vaulted ceiling suite like 406. The amazing spa (across two levels) covers new floors 1 and 2 (below the original house) has been exceptionally designed too, even with a partial glass roof to let in lots of light, never mind full frontal glass walls out to the river.

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What about the Douro Valley location?

Normally wherever we visit, we like to see some of the local area, but despite being at Six Senses for six days we didn’t leave the property once. It’s not to say however in any way we felt trapped or contained, the grounds were huge and there was so much to do and see literally on the doorstep, including those stunning river, valley and vineyard views.

Some of the top activities I’d recommend doing at Six Senses are:

The Six Senses Spa

I’ll be posting much more about my spa experiences here with both a male spa review (one of the treatments I had during my stay) along with a much more general Wellness Journey blog post detailing all the treatments. However, it has to be said this was one incredible spa.

Tile Painting

Not something I did (I’m not remotely artistic) but there are usually a couple of complementary classes organised across the week or you can pay by person for an ad hoc private session. ‘Mrs’ The Private Traveller took an organised class, albeit was the only person that turned up. He said the local artist was excellent and he ended up being there for hours, a four tile collection being the result.

Kokedama Class

Again not one for me (not gardening either) but ‘Mrs’ TPT did a private class as we’d missed it on Wednesday, and really enjoyed it. There were a lot of activities taken in the Earth Lab.

So much to do with wine

From the automatic wine ‘vending’ machine, there were lots of tasting options and activities being wine focussed, but not really for us.

Outside Cinema Paradiso

A couple of nights a week there is a film shown outside, weather dependent with wireless headphones. We had tried to do this when staying before at Six Senses in the Maldives, but there were technical difficulties and the film kept ‘skipping’ and was unwatchable.

Fitness

So many options in the fitness suite (gymnasium & studio), outside bikes, the outside gym on the terrace overlooking the river, watersports like kayaking or SUP (stand up paddleboards).

Forest Walks

The hotel organise scheduled walks, but do not miss doing either this or just under your own steam. The area is vast, with so many paths and viewpoints and lots of stopping possibilities where there are hanging seating cabanas etc. You can either start from the top with signposts from the reception area and work your way up/down, or as we did, start from level 3 and work your way along the river and then up, finishing at level 1 reception. A nice end is to visit the bar and marvel at the river view with a G&T afterwards.

So many other options like garden walks, kitchen garden tours, etc.

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Food and Drink at Six Senses

The room rate includes a complimentary continental breakfast (detailed above and such a wow experience each morning). There were quite a few options for dining in the hotel, and I’m sure (had we ventured out) with all the wineries and vineyards around that there could be lots of nearby quality options too.

Just part of the amazing breakfast set up at Six Senses Douro Valley

The food was excellent, choices were fab and there were always loads of options for me as a vegetarian. All menus were extremely detailed with all dietary requirements etc. and presented so well.

Vale de Abraão

We ate here a couple of times at night, and had breakfast here every morning. Main restaurant of the hotel but such a wonderful option too - great food, views and  fab outside terrace albeit there were nice seating areas inside too, we just never sat in with such incredible weather. Breakfast menus were seasonal and would change daily, all freshly prepared.

Quinta Bar and Lounge

Good for a drink at any time of day or night, and we had a couple of enjoyable more informal meals here in the evening. You would always be served some locals snacks even if just having a drink.

Summer Garden

This was such a highlight - we’d seen the menu beforehand (with vegetarian options too) but hadn’t realised that it wasn’t a menu to pick from, but that you’re served everything! You started off with a selection of cheeses, fruits, nuts and breads (with extra meat options too) and a side salad of tomatoes and peaches - all amazing and a meal in itself. Then there was fish and baked potatoes or I had baked squash with the potatoes, followed by another main course of baked cauliflower in a spicy sriracha sauce, aubergine and kale. For dessert, there was a baked apple pie. All incredibly delicious and included all drinks, whether this was a wine flight or Porto tonics or soft drinks.

Wine Library and Terrace

Actually somewhere we never ate during our stay, albeit it was a Portuguese tapas style barbeque menu to accompany wines.

Pool Terrace

A highlight for us at lunchtimes - although there was a full set of options, from cold to hot choices, flatbreads and between bread (burgers) then a full dessert selection; we generally opted for flatbread (pizza style) with the most delicious tomatoes and mozzarella with basil and accompanied by a Ox heart tomato salad, with an extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing. This had to be accompanied by the local Ventozelo gin and tonic with rosemary.

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Highlights of our stay

It’s actually going to be hard here to distil my positive views down to just a few highlights, as it was such a wonderful stay, after an initial hitch with the room allocation.

• Location - stunning valley views from the whole property, and (some advice) I wouldn't get hung up on having the river view from your room.

• The suite space - exceptional, such a nice simple, elegant design, but with wonderful facilities and function too.

• Localisation - Portuguese elements like the soap containers etc. rather than just ‘trotting out’ Six Senses standardisation.

• Spa - wow, more on this elsewhere, but what a wonderful focus for the resort

• Button at the pool for drinks - there were little wooden covered buttons that would be brought each morning to the loungers areas (each had two loungers, a large parasol and tables). Just press for service, like drinks or food to your recliner, or order lunch in advance then have it at some of the shaded tables near the pool bar.

• Food - only positive views on every single meal and dining option throughout our stay. Particular positive shout out to the gin selections (tried a few locals, but Ventozelo was a go to, as well as my usual Tanqueray and Tanqueray Ten).

• App for contact - there is the Six Senses app that connects you to the local GEM (Guest Experience Manager) team, and if you book direct with Six Senses you can connect your booking in advance of your arrival. This made it easy to request dining arrangements, activities, etc. and there is also an in-room iPad which does the same. The app can also turn your phone into a digital key for room access, and control some of the functions in the suite like lighting, air conditioning etc. 

• Ice cream cart - not as free flowing as some of other Six Senses where there was a dedicated ice cream shop, but a trolley cart would be wheeled out to the pool area every afternoon (probably around 3:30pm) with a choice of a few different ice creams (cone or tub) and some sauces/toppings.

• Those touches like leaving your reading glasses then finding them cleaned on a new lens cleaning cloth

• The two hotel dogs, Foxy (boy) and Aqua (girl). Although not the most people-centric dogs, it was great to see them wandering round the property, and really odd (but fun) seeing them travel in the panoramic elevator.

• The SMEG ‘mini bar’ fridge - definitely so much nicer than a traditional hotel mini bar; filled with complimentary drinks like Vermouth, beer, organic cola and soft drinks (lemon & mate), mineral water (still & sparkling) etc. There was local wine and Port chargeable.

• The forest walk area - looks unassuming but don’t miss it; so interesting, great viewpoints and lots of interest.

• The staff around the spa pool area and vitality suite were excellent, especially Daniel the Spa Butler, who also did the Alchemy Bar sessions - always so incredibly friendly and welcoming.

The stunning outdoor pool and terrace

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Areas for improvement

Whenever I write a hotel review, I always like them to be as positive as they can be, but always 100% honest and truthful. There’s nothing better than having a 100% perfect stay, with nothing negative to pick up on. If I do spot anything during a stay, I’ll generally mention them here with the idea being that it’s a positive option for an enhancement or improvement.  

• Really not sure there is much I could add here, other than perhaps having it clearer before arrival that specific requests for a room variant (like a balcony) can be made on a request basis.

• We didn’t actually try it, but amazing as the (outside) pool looked, everyone commented about how cold it was.

• Maybe it was just us, but the outside chairs in both the main restaurant and bar were really awkward. The support base was at the front and rear of the chair, rather than the sides, so it was really awkward to try and pull the chair closer into a table without it hitting into your shins or ankles.

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Would I stay here again?

Yes definitely - fantastic hotel and incredibly stunning surroundings. Has all the positive influences and vibes of the other Six Senses we have really enjoyed, but with a very localised Portuguese influence too. Incredibly relaxing and chilled with very special accommodation, views, food, drinks and not to forget the unique expansive spa. I’d initially ruled out the vineyard suites thinking they were like an annexe, but don’t be fooled. The main building there has an incredible sunken seating areas, all the suites look really unique and they serve a mini-breakfast there just for the suites before you come to the main building for the full affair.

One of the many garden areas at Six Senses Douro Valley

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My final thoughts on Six Senses Douro Valley

Book in advance and do your research on room choice. We overheard a couple of people coming over on the plane to Lisbon (one of them local) that they had always wanted to stay at Six Senses here but that it was always booked when they wanted to go. 

Have you stayed at Six Senses in the Douro Valley before or visited another Six Senses hotel, resort or spa elsewhere? I’d love to hear your own thoughts and opinions on it as well as your impression of Portugal and the Douro Valley as a holiday destination.

Comment below to share your thoughts and opinions.

Let me know which hotel I should review next!

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