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Portugal’s chauvinism lays in his Pousadas, the first national hotel chains in Portugal. Back in the nineteen forties, António Ferra as Minister of Information, dictated by Salazar, worked out the finer details. The first Pousada de Santa Luzia in Elvas, Alentejo opened its doors in 1942. With the restoration of country houses in the style and traditions of the region, in short with its regional Pousadas, this diligent propaganda specialist wanted to encourage an influx of tourists. They paid next to nothing for the service, as the level of comfort certainly left a quite deal to be desired. Even so, the success was so phenomenal that the number of overnight stays had to be limited to three nights. Back in the nineteen fifties, historical buildings and national monuments like castles, monasteries and abbeys were also refurbished into hotels, the ‘historical’ Pousadas. The focus was on comfort during the seventies, which also pushed up the prices. To make it easy for tourists, the Pousada’s were recently divided up into four themes. In addition to the ‘Historical Pousada’s’, which are around nineteen classified monuments, there are also ‘Charming Pousadas’, ‘Nature Pousadas’ and ‘Designer Pousadas’. Some of the historical buildings were tackled by contemporary architects during the nineties. The Portuguese in particular, a little over half, enjoying making use of this cultural inheritance. And the principle still continues to be further developed.

More chauvinism at www.pousadas.pt