As one of Portugal’s biggest beverage companies, known for its Super Bock beer, Unicer might seem an unlikely business to be operating two leisure, spa and nature parks in the country’s lesser developed northern region. Yet its opulently-restored Vidago Palace hotel, spa and park and eco-centred Pedras Salgadas nature park and thermal spa have been putting this corner of Portugal firmly on the tourist map since opening in 2010 and 2013 respectively.

Despite this, the two sites – designed by several acclaimed Portuguese architects – are still, according to Unicer, just a niche part of its €500m (US$622m, £396m) a year global drinks business (see p48).

So just how did the investments come about and why did the company feel it would be a good move?

Social responsibility
The development story of the parks, located 13km apart around two spa towns of the same name (Vidago and Pedras Salgadas), began when Unicer expanded into the bottled mineral water sector.

In 2001 it purchased drinks company Vidago Melgaço e Pedras Salgadas (VMPS) and automatically inherited 20 hectares (49 acres) containing two nature parks, which were the original source of the naturally carbonated mineral water.

Paula Marques, Unicer representative and GM of Vidago, says: “With the acquisition of VMPS, Unicer achieved one of its strategic goals – to become the main Portuguese beverage company, with its core business as a brewery and in bottled water – and to extend its activity to tourism.”

“We felt a great sense of social responsibility when we acquired the land, and so we undertook a huge project in order to rebuild these two 100-year-old parks. Unicer is well known as a company which cares about the preservation of national patrimony and identity.”

Renovation works
The Vidago Palace Hotel, first built for royalty in 1910, reopened during its centenary anniversary year in 2010, with a rich and stylish new look created by interior architects José Pedro Vieira and Diogo Rosa Lã. In contrast to the ornate, marbled and very colourful interiors of the 70-bed hotel, the 2,500sq m (26,910sq ft) spa has been designed with the signature minimalist look of Pritzker prize-winning architect Álvaro Siza Vieira (right).

The nearby Pedras Salgadas Spa and Nature Park opened a few years later, in 2013, with a focus on the environment. Lisbon-based architect Luis Rebelo de Andrade built 13 deluxe eco houses and two striking tree houses that suspend guests in the verdant pine forest. Siza Vieira was again commissioned to work on the spa by restoring the park’s art nouveau thermal baths. Marques says: “We’ve combined the preservation of the natural environment and renewal of the thermal park concept in Portugal with modernism and innovation.”

Unicer says total investment amounted to €70m (US$87m, £55m) – €50m (US$62m, £40m) for Vidago and €20m (US$25m, £16m) for Pedras Salgadas. “One of our main goals was to renew the thermal tourism concept,” says Marques. “[But] as the two projects were so geographically close, it didn’t make sense to have the same offer. So we decided to create two unique projects, allowing us to attract different kinds of tourists to our region.”

It seems the tactic is paying off. Pedras Salgadas has captured the imagination of Iberian tourists, with 84 per cent of its guests being Portuguese, and 10 per cent coming from Spain. The Pedras Salgadas brand is the most famous mineral water drink in Portugal, which has no doubt helped attract locals. Vidago, on the other hand, appeals to a wider spread of nationalities: 65 per cent of customers are Portuguese; 12 per cent Spanish; and 11 per cent from Europe.

Drawn to the waters
Of course, the USP that ties both sites together is the healthy mineral water, known for its particularly high iron content and for aiding the digestive system, liver detoxification and overall cleansing. Spa manager for both sites, Vera Gonçalves, says: “The Vidago waters are believed to be therapeutic and curative, with only 0.5 per cent of waters in the world sharing the same mineral properties. These waters are collected directly from deep underground granite rock springs and are now used in several of our exclusive signature treatments.”

In stark contrast to the main building, with its belle époque style, the spa at Vidago Palace Hotel is designed as a modern, Zen-inspired space that Gonçalves says “exudes tranquility and promotes an immediate sensation of wellbeing”.

Spa facilities at Vidago include 17 treatment rooms (including five for water therapies and two suites); a doctor’s room; a beauty room; two relaxation areas; a hydro pool, plus an indoor and outdoor pool; and a gym with Matrix equipment. Products are supplied by Clarins, with Aromatherapy Associates used for more holistic treatments, says Gonçalves.

While the emphasis at Vidago is on relaxation and pampering, the focus at Pedras Salgadas is very much on being outdoors in nature. There are many cycling, walking and nature trails and the thermal waters are there to revive guests as a complement to the physical activity.

The renovated thermal baths are much starker and pared down. Architectural details such as the art nouveau doors and original signage remain intact, while modern light wells added by Siza Vieira ensure healthy amounts of light are projected down into the spa spaces.

The spa has 14 treatment rooms (including five for hydrotherapy). Other facilities include a heated indoor pool, an outdoor pool, sauna, hammam and two relaxation areas. Spa products at the thermal baths are supplied by La Phyto.

Water wellness
Gonçalves says that extensive wellbeing programmes (with themes such as Purifying, In Balance and Keep Moving) are offered at both spas, with seven- or 14-day packages both being popular. Programme prices start from around €2,600 (US$3,240, £2,060).

A typical package would include medical and nutritional consultations, a biometric evaluation, personalised spa cuisine, facials and massages, water treatments and traditional therapies like shiatsu, as well as fitness activities such as PT sessions, tai chi, yoga and walking.

Gonçalves adds: “Our guests also like to experience our waters even when they have shorter stays with us and the most popular is the Vichy scrub [treatment] and the personalised relaxing massage made with the best olive oil of the region.”

Currently both spas average the same amount of treatments per month, with 82 treatments being delivered at each site as of October 2014. At Vidago, 20 per cent of hotel guests have spa treatments, but the capture rate at Pedras Salgadas is slightly higher at 25 per cent.

Combined overall revenue for the Vidago and Pedras Salgadas spas was €250,000 (US$311,060, £197,860) in 2013, with expectations for 2014 around €325,000 (US$404,370, £257,220).

The two parks may have started out as an incidental business for Unicer, but in a world where wellness tourism is growing year on year, they’re holding their own. The mix of history, luxury, nature, therapeutic waters and eco-consciousness has created a twin centre that’s sure to attract an increasingly international and affluent group of health tourists.

As Gonçalves concludes: “We want to present to the world the quality and effects of our waters. Our goal is to help the maximum number of people achieve a healthy lifestyle without using medication – for them to see an immediate improvement in their health with the help of nature… and our reputation is growing.”