In today's ISPA SmartBrief, the following article summary from Spa Opportunities highlighted Vidago Palace, Pedras Salgadas and their parent company, Unicer. Below is a reprint of the SmartBrief summary but I've also reposted one of my blog posts from 2011. Unicer's spas take advantage of naturally luxurious healing springs Portuguese beer company Unicer, which also owns the Pedras Salgadas mineral water brand, is opening two spas in northern Portugal. The spas are situated near the natural thermal springs from which Unicer draws its mineral water. The Vidago Palace spa and the Pedras Salgadas Spa and Nature Park were both designed by architect Alvaro Siza Vieira and feature treatments that make the most of the healing properties of the thermal springs and products from Aromatherapy Associates and Vichy. SpaOpportunities.com (4/1) A Perfect Day in Portugal: Hosted by Unicer, the Portuguese Spa Association and Termatalia.October 20th, 2011 I have to say, its nice to have friends in high places. Thanks to Joao Pinto Barbosa, President of the Portugese Spa Association, I had a fantastic day trip that he coordinated with his friends, Manual Atunes da Silva, Director at Unicer and Patricia Bandiera, Publisher & Partner of Estetica Viva magazine. We started in Ourense, Spain and drove in the morning to Northern Portugal’s wine country and landed at Vidago Palace, and on Conde Nast’s “Hot List” in May 2011. The property is spectacular! historic! grande! and if you are a history lover, lover of fine things. lover of aesthetics – this is the place for you! Lucky for Patricia and me that Manual is the Director of Mineral Water with Unicer, the parent company of Vidago Palace. We received a great insider tour of the water source, a private mineral water tasting, a bit of walking tour, and the new spa building designed by a notable contemporary architect – whose design is in stark contrast in its sleek lines and modern approach to the gilded finery and colorful historic design elements found throughout the palace.. New spa director, Maria, who had been onboard for 3 weeks was very accommodating and gave Patricia and I tour and we were each enjoyed a spa treatment! After we had a lovely Mediterranean lunch and we resumed our private tour with Manual on the golf course. Honestly, golf holds no interest to me but knowing this plays an important role to the property, I dutifully was prepared to learn about the course. I was pleasantly surprised as we rode golf carts around the property with much laugher and frivolity and it could not have been more fun! Then on to tour Pedras Selgadas where there was another Unicer property catering more to leisure travelers (where as Vidago is for the luxury traveler). Patricia and I headed over to the lovely garden area where there was a snack shop servicing – you guessed it – Super Bock! (Unicer’s main seller). It was a perfect day in Portugal and sadly it came to and end as all good thing too. However the memory will last a lifetime.
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