In the old days, Porto‘s Duoro River would glisten with rabelos filled to the brim with barrels of port wine. Over the years, the small wooden boats—unique to Porto—were eclipsed by faster, more efficient means of transport. But their significance never faded.

Their history is honoured in other ways too, by namesakes in the way of restaurants, cafes and hotels scattered across the city. One example is The Rebello, a five-star hotel in Vila Nova de Gaia (a ten-minute drive from Porto), spread across four 19th-century industrial buildings with panoramic vistas of Porto.

The work of architects Metro Urbe and interior design studio Quiet Studios, both Lisbon-based, what makes the property even more special is its proximity to the city’s only remaining boatyard. Previously unoccupied, the site had once held a factory for kitchen utensils—a reference that served as the seed point for the new ground-floor restaurant.

The architectural team adopted a comprehensive approach to revive the bones and highlight the historic stonework while reimagining the structures to meet world-class hospitality standards. As Bomporto Hotels’s third venue in Portugal, the hotel holds a mirror to the laid-back style of its Lisbon cousins, while asserting an identity that is distinctly its own.

The Rebello marries homelike comforts with hotel-style luxuries. Comprising 103 apartments, a restaurant, a rooftop bar, a lobby bar, a kids’club, two meeting rooms, a spa, a gym, a shop and a coffee shop, it’s equally ideal for work and play. And not just for holidayers. It welcomes discerning travellers and locals in equal spirit, serving as a hotspot for nomads, artists and entrepreneurs from around the globe. The site’s industrial past set the stage for its future. In terms of interior design, anyway.

Interior designer Daniela Franceschini of Quiet Studios brought an eclectic spirit to the spaces with original artworks and handicrafts in distinctive colours, textures and materials. Daniela combined works of Portuguese artists and makers with pieces and reproductions by noted international designers to bring about a global sensibility through local sensitivity. Her four touchpoints through the creative process were water, wine, wood and industry.

Equally of note are the sinks inspired by old water tanks and amorphous headboards that mimic the ripples of the Duoro. Whether outdoors or indoors, here or there, the river is a leitmotif that reappears over and over, buoying and guiding guests through a stay like no other.