A glimpse into the past

This hidden spectacular hotel sits alone at the top of a small hill, just five kilometres away from Sortelha. The hotel is not marked with signs explaining how to get there, but if you follow the road from Sortelha in the direction of Quinta de Santo Amaro you will at some point spot the majestic building a few hundred metres away on your right-hand side, and then you’ll need to turn right on the next unpaved road. You are in the correct direction when you come across a rock with the word "entrance" inscribed on it a few metres into the journey.

Exploring an Abandoned Hotel

It is preferable to park your car right there and begin the five-minute walk to the abandoned hotel. The closer you get, the more you'll be astounded by its size and condition - especially considering how long it has been vacant. Constructed at the beginning of the 20^th century, the Hotel Serra da Pena – Termas Radium gained notoriety for its curative water which contained radium – a highly radioactive element - that was present in the water of three local springs – Chão da Pena, Favacal and Malhada, also known as Curie 1, 2 and 3. At the time, radioactive elements were thought to have healing properties and were frequently used for various purposes.

As you get closer to the hotel, you'll notice another rock with the word "reception" engraved on it. A large room will be visible where the reception formerly stood on your left-hand side. It's open for you to explore, and inside you can find the ruins of a huge fireplace, as well as the old, half-coloured walls and floor that still hold mysteries. After taking a look at this chamber, you must begin the real adventure, which entails investigating the main building.

Água de Radium

Back in the day, the massive hotel featured 90 rooms and had the capacity to accommodate up to 150 people. When the hotel was at its peak in the 1920s, a variety of therapies were administered there, including deep cleaning skin treatments with radium, immersion baths, inhalations and local treatments with radioactive electric compresses. The most sought-after feature, though, was the bottled water - Água de Radium - which was named one of the "most radioactive waters in the world" in 1927 during a meeting held in Lyon, France. With a hotspot in London at the time, the water was already seeing success with major sales around all of Europe.

The massive building clearly shows the effects of time, given that parts of its major features have already disappeared. However, the conditions are sufficient for you to safely investigate a little bit more. You are welcome to climb up the exterior steps at the front door, although they no longer lead anywhere because that portion of the hotel has collapsed, they do provide a unique and improved view of the Radium Spa's building. Yet, a handful of the rooms below are still accessible; they are devoid of all furnishings but do have some interesting architectural characteristics and partially erased wall paintings.

If you continue along the building by its left, a road will take you to the back of the hotel where you will be faced with the most mind-blowing part of it all. The multiple-store building has been overtaken by bindweed and is now partially integrated into the natural environment. The building’s passageways show vestiges of what used to be a massive complex, and the dozens of windows that make up what's left of the hotel offer a singular view of the surroundings.

A number of the rooms still have sinks in them, and there's a subterranean room with a running water supply that begs the question of its former purpose. The skeleton of what was once a grand, bustling thermal spa and the tranquillity you feel there, enclosed only by nature, is something you must experience by yourself. In another corner of the hotel, there's a charming balcony that remains undisturbed, raising the possibility that it was formerly part of a master suite. Most of the ceilings have collapsed, which means that the top floor no longer exists.

In the 1930s, people began to speculate that the radioactive waters might not have been as healthy as predicted. Subsequently, during the Second World War, radioactivity's destructive consequences were acknowledged worldwide, strongly influencing the business. In 1945 the hotel started closing down and the bottled water stopped being produced. Despite several attempts throughout the years to reopen the hotel, no project ever ended up moving forward. Nowadays, more than 70 years have passed by, and what’s left of this majestic Hotel and Thermal Spa are only its ruins, which are, however, until this moment, open to any adventurous soul to explore.

After studying Journalism for five years in the UK and Malta, Sara Durães moved back to Portugal to pursue her passion for writing and connecting with people. A ‘wanderluster’, Sara loves the beach, long walks, and sports. 

Sara J. Durães