Philippe Starck’s New Retreat in Portugal Will Have 22 Private Villas—and a Village of Its Own

A timber village, generous terraces and interiors imagined around a writer and a musician: A Serra brings a deeply personal vision of life in Alentejo to Portugal’s next luxury address.

The most intriguing detail in Philippe Starck’s new Portuguese retreat is a note on a desk. In the story he created to guide its design, a writer and a musician have left their home, with books and instruments offering clues to their lives. The note tells visitors where to find them: in the village below.

That imagined journey provides the starting point for A Serra, a planned hotel and residential estate in the hills of Serra de Grândola, near Melides. Its 22 private villas and 25 hotel suites will be connected by a shared world of cafés, creative spaces, gardens and places to gather. For prospective owners, the promise extends beyond a beautifully furnished second home: there is a whole village to become part of.

Why Philippe Starck chose Melides

Starck’s attachment to Portugal predates the project. Having first visited more than a decade ago, he established a second home in Alentejo, drawn to its cork forests, lagoons and Atlantic landscape. In an interview with Wallpaper*, he describes that initial encounter as “love at first sight”.

A Serra turns that personal connection into a place others can inhabit. The development is led by Larfa Properties, with Starck shaping the interiors, architecture by Lisbon-based Atelier AAVV and landscape design by Filipa Cardoso de Menezes of FC Arquitectura Paisagista.

The distinction matters: this is a collaboration with local practices, with the buildings and grounds conceived in relation to the terrain. The ambition is for the estate to sit comfortably among the hills and vegetation, allowing the setting to remain its most compelling feature.

A timber village at the heart of the estate

The project’s social centre will be a contemporary interpretation of an aldeia, or Portuguese village. Timber buildings at the foot of the slope will line a raised main street, creating a route between the places residents and guests might use throughout the day.

Plans include a restaurant connected to a vegetable garden, a grand café with a market-style shop, an art studio and a swimming pool. Painting, pottery, sculpture, drawing and cooking workshops will give visitors reasons to stay beyond lunch or a swim.

It is an appealing idea for a second home. Privacy is valuable, but so is somewhere to wander to without arranging a car or planning an entire outing. At A Serra, the village is intended to provide that everyday point of connection: a coffee, a class, a conversation, then the walk back home.

Inside the 22 private villas

Above the village, the villas take a more sculptural form. Starck’s concept places intimate, enveloping interiors inside concrete shells, using terracotta, reddish woods, natural leather, planting and touches of gold to bring warmth to the spaces.

He has compared the homes to cabins aboard a ship or yacht. The reference suggests a particular kind of comfort: considered interiors in which materials, furnishings and personal objects carry as much weight as the view.

The fictional writer and musician offer another clue to the atmosphere. Books, scores and instruments introduce the idea of a home already rich with interests and habits. Local artists and craftspeople are also expected to contribute, giving the finished interiors detail beyond the architecture itself.

Owners will have access to hotel services including concierge, housekeeping and maintenance, alongside dining, wellness and shared facilities. An optional rental programme is planned for periods when they are away.

A boutique hotel with room to linger

The hotel is intended to feel equally generous. Its 25 independent suites are planned with 70 sq m of interior space and 90 sq m terraces; 12 will have private pools. A communal pool, indoor-outdoor bar and restaurant will provide further places to spend the day. Across the estate, the proposed facilities include a spa, yoga shala, children’s garden and tennis, padel and pétanque courts. For guests considering a shorter stay, this gives A Serra an identity of its own as a hotel destination. For owners, it means a choice between time at home and the services and activities nearby.

When will A Serra open?

The hotel is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2028, with the villas being offered off-plan. Reported starting prices are US$6 million; current euro pricing, availability and the services included with each residence should be confirmed with the developer.

Much remains to be realised, but the concept has a clear appeal. A Serra imagines a Portuguese home with enough privacy to settle into your own routines—and a village down the hill when you feel like company.