The large circular pool
It is not easy to find adjectives to describe the beauty of ** Dá Licença: ** hotel, ode to Jugendstil and the fulfilled dream of Victor Borges and Frank Laigneau.
“This project stems from our desire to bring together our two worlds, that of art and that of anthroposophical design; but also from the desire to bring to the Alentejo the best we learned in the past to build a new future”. Those who speak are Vitor Borges and Franck Laigneau, creators and owners of Dá Licença, almost extraterrestrial hotel –and so earthly at the same time– in which we are received during a hot August day in Alentejo; August sublimated.
The large bathroom of The Rock suite, configured as an amphitheater and with a bathtub made of one piece of hand-crafted Estremoz marble
Until they landed here, on this farm and ecological Reserve located a few kilometers from the medieval and marble Estremoz and now converted into accommodation for only three rooms and four suites –“none equal to another, like the human being”–, Vitor was a director of the Hermès silk and textile area in Paris after directing the Louis Vuitton store on the Champs-Elysées and going through firms such as Chanel, Armani and Prada.
Frank, In addition to being an actor and gallery owner, he is more than renowned collector and scholar of Jugendstil, artistic current born in Munich at the end of the s. XIX from Art nouveau and with an eye on Rushkin's reformism, the movement arts and crafts by William Morris –today more current than ever thanks to his “resurrection” via Loewe– and Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy. Serve this encyclopedic and quick review to understand the reason for Dá Licença.
The reason for each piece of furniture, each tree, each window. Nothing is casual here, of course not. As soon as we take our first steps through the library, the missing name escapes us: Stendhal, already ready to appear as a "syndrome" in the face of so much beauty.
Swimming pool with panoramic views of the Alentejo countryside
Frank smiles proudly. At the end of the day this is the result of many years of passion, of commitment "to promote and publicize artistic periods less known by the general public", and he knows that that beautiful cabinet by Patriz Huber (1899) would have as much talk as the amazing three-door wardrobe signed by Hermann Ranzenberger (ca.1920) that we contemplate flushed. Or what to detail the Adam and Eve chair by Okänd Konstnär would lengthen a desktop as well as more current pieces, such as the monumental textile sculpture by Lieva Boesten (1982) that presides over the Japanese-inspired bathroom in The Rock suite, or the tables, sinks and wall lights that Vitor himself has designed with the famous Estremoz marble as starting point.
My Pool Suite Exterior
We therefore launch the rhetoric of where does the luxury hotel end and where does the art integrated into the luxury of a hotel begin, gibberish that both unravel immediately:
“More than a museum, Dá Licença is a space that makes available to visitors a journey through different times and countries. We intend to share with our guests the creative genius of the artisans and artists of other times, who had in common their way of seeking inspiration from traditions to create a new lifestyle”.
Room dominated by a framed tapestry by Johnny Ludécher
And surely, is there anything more modern than this today? Absolutely not. Because, ultimately, it was the movement arts and crafts the pioneer in giving value to the savoir faire of the popular, of the regional, with the aim of creating a better world in which they fade the limits between nature and the interior of houses.
And nature in the Alentejo has something to give and take. As Victor says, “This region is a great paradise still unknown to many, even though its name sounds so much now. It is the largest in Portugal, with the lowest population density and one of the least polluted in Europe, hence its starry skies, its families of eagles and storks and the deep aroma of its wild land”.
Victor Borges and Frank Laigneau
Except for the stars, which are not hours, we realize all of this when we contemplate a horizon in which they mix the dark green of the olive trees, the ocher of the earth, the intense blue of the sky and the white dotted with some tiny houses, in addition to the vigilant silhouette of Estremoz.
That is Alentejo, indeed. But being (so) earthly also forces us to rub our eyes several times before the main pool of the estate, a perfect circle fifteen meters in diameter that, seen from the highest roof of the hotel, takes us straight to the moon.
Lobby dominated by a large iron and lead sculpture that evokes the fireplaces of Alentejo homes
The surrounding landscape helps: huge blocks of pinkish marble extracted from the quarry and polished by hand along with lemon trees over sixty years old they evoke the light, we could say, of a Greek island. And also to the huge triptych by Giuseppe Viner (1902) that we have just seen inside the house and whose image, they confirm, inspired them to create this environment.
Slabs of pink marble carved by stonemasons from Estremoz create an intimate patio in The Sky Cube room
The boundaries between inside and outside are thus blurred again while we, now for real, see Stendhal appear. Nothing that doesn't appease (or trigger) a canonical Alentejo aperitif, with its rosé wine, its cheese, its tiny olives with an explosive flavor, its sausages, its bread. It is then when we put on the table other references, from the film In the White City, by Alain Tanner (1983), at waden, Thoreau's famous essay has become an unexpected bestseller today.
Anthroposophical bed from the 1930s with the original alabaster lamp
And, with the feeling of having visited A magical place, had they lived for a while that would give much more than this handful of lines, we ask them before leaving how they imagine the future of Dá Licença... even if it sounds adventurous in such a new utopia:
“We want to offer a retreat away from the trends for sensitive souls seeking disconnection and authenticity. Nothing more".
A fact: if you come, don't forget to say the magic words, “dá licença”, ancient formula of Portuguese courtesy used by those who came to the houses on horseback. And it happens, you are at home.
_*This article and the attached gallery were published in the number 121 of the Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (October). Subscribe to the print edition (11 printed issues and digital version for €24.75, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website ) and enjoy free access to the digital version of Condé Nast Traveler for iPad. The October issue of Condé Nast Traveler is available at its digital version to enjoy it on your favorite device. _
The My Pool Suite