Launching a new Hotel and Cultural Space in Porto to the UK Media
In 2021 Porto welcomed a new hotel and cultural space where music is the headliner. This all happened via an entire regeneration of an area of 5,000 square metres. M.Ou.Co. celebrated its one year anniversary in September 2022. This independent space in the city’s Bonfim neighbourhood combines a 62-bedroom hotel, a 50-seater restaurant, a bar, a garden with alfresco dining, an outdoor swimming pool, a music library, musical instruments for hire and a concert hall with a capacity of 180 seated and 300 standing guests. Music is at the heart of everything at M.Ou.Co. The interior design is focused entirely on vintage making the most of the city’s vast vintage shops and warehouses. All furniture is either vintage or was commissioned locally to reflect a vintage look. All hotel guests are given a GuestU phone for use whilst in Porto offering complimentary wifi and city guides with walking distances included.
The objective was to launch the hotel to the English speaking world by generating UK media coverage in print and online across leading UK newspapers, magazines and websites. This was achieved with journalist stays (press trips) for reviews and features and other features secured without journalists stays. Peter da Silva Communications also secured competitions with opt-in data capture. We developed local relationships with independent like minded brands including a restaurant called Tia Tia who also hosted journalists when they were in Porto. The online articles are accessed and read globally especially in the English speaking world and remain online for many years.
The UK market remains the number one inbound tourist market to Portugal and Porto is served by five airlines with flights from across the UK.
M.Ou.Co. has now appeared in many UK newspapers, magazines and websites including:
The Guardian: “Europe’s 10 best new design hotels. Singing a new tune by combining a 62-bedroom hotel with a concert hall and cultural space, M.Ou.Co. is set to be a lively new addition to Porto’s Bonfim neighbourhood.”
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2022/apr/23/europe-10-best-new-design-hotels-ibiza-paris-lisbon
The Daily Telegraph: “A slice of Californian cool slightly removed from the heart of Portugal’s second city. The hotel is part of a larger cultural space that includes a concert venue, and takes its music credentials seriously. Meanwhile outdoor areas, especially the saltwater pool, are a real boon of staying here in warm weather.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/portugal/porto/hotels/mouco-hotel/
The Independent: “A quirky, music-themed base for creatives in Porto. Everything about this hotel is geared towards music. The hotel has its own concert hall and a music library with records which guests can take to their rooms to play and musical instruments for hire. You get the sense that this is a place where you can rub shoulders with artists and musicians in the bar or lounge areas.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/hotels/porto-hotel-review-mouco-music-portugal-b2200631.html
The Times: “Porto’s latest cutting-edge design hotel has landed in hip Bonfim. There’s a huge library full of vinyl and record players in rooms plus a cavernous performance space in the basement and a saltwater pool.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/porto-city-guide-your-weekend-break-sorted-9msn7l8fp
Esquire Magazine: “M.Ou.Co. is big into music: each room is equipped with an impressive record player. But it’s also a design destination. The former warehouse is a sanctuary of poured concrete, teak wood and natural light: a members’ club feel, but thankfully without members’ club pretensions.”
https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a41089619/porto-city-travel-guide/
Conde Nast Traveller: “Best hotel in Porto for music-lovers; while there’s a focus on music, the final result feels cool rather than gimmicky – think 1970s-inspired decor courtesy of exposed walls and vintage wooden furniture, with leather and rattan furniture.”
https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/hotels-in-porto
National Geographic: “M.Ou.Co ticks all the necessary design boxes for the resurgent neighbourhood. The 62 rooms are minimal and stylish, their stripped-back nature reflecting the understated vibe of the hotel. The room rates are very reasonable, too. The ground-floor bar is distinctly retro-cool and casual — with DJs in the evenings — while the basement restaurant offers an impressive breakfast buffet as well as modern and traditional dishes.”
https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2023/02/where-to-stay-in-porto
Business of Everything: “This ‘music concept’ hotel has the motto of ‘Stay. Listen. Play’ and this is exactly what visitors are encouraged to do. This approach means that there are record players in every room and a record library where you can borrow one of the 600-vinyls.”
http://www.boemagazine.com/2022/08/the-best-of-porto-your-travel-guide/
Antler Journal: “Born from a love of music and created by three vinyl-junkie friends, M.Ou.Co. is a hip hotel cum cultural space in Porto, the second-largest city in Portugal. Set in a vast former warehouse spanning 5,000 square metres, M.Ou.Co. opened at the end of 2021, adding a generous dash of cool to a city better known for its industrious side.”
https://eu.antler.com/blogs/the-traveller/unpacked-mouco-hotel-porto-portugal
Lodestars Anthology: “We’re staying at M.Ou.Co.: the city’s coolest new hotel, located in the characterful, creative Bonfim district.”
https://lodestarsanthology.co.uk/blog/aportoescape
House of Coco: “M.Ou.Co. is a new hotel, a former warehouse that has received a meticulous redevelopment, it’s been transformed into a contemporary space filled with light (and music!) the rooms are light and airy. Like the rest of the hotel, the aesthetic is minimalist with post-industrial leanings, with large windows and high ceilings, but still retains a real sense of chic.”
https://houseofcoco.net/wake-up-here-mouco-porto/
Luxury Lifestyle Magazine: “A former warehouse, M.Ou.Co. is, today, a new contemporary space in Bonfim, a neighbourhood which is now the must-visit and must-live part of central Porto. Following a meticulous redevelopment, this entire area of 5,000 square metres of building has been transformed into a welcoming, modern space filled with light.”
https://www.luxurylifestylemag.co.uk/travel/hotel-review-m-ou-co-porto-in-portugal/
Beau Monde Traveler Magazine: “M.Ou.Co. is edging into the music industry and it is probably the coolest place to stay in Porto. Even the name, a mix of initials, is radical. M.Ou.Co.’s cutting edge when it comes to technology too.”
https://beaumondetraveler.com/content/m-ou-co-portos-stay-play-and-listen-music-hotel/
TripReporter: “M.Ou.Co. is exceptionally spacious for a hotel. Having the space of a former factory, the rooms are unusually large. M.Ou.Co. has eclectic musical tastes. One of M.Ou.Co’s aims is to be globally inclusive.”
https://www.tripreporter.co.uk/m-ou-co-hotel-porto-portugal/
50 Connect: “Some hotels have a gym and spa treatment rooms. M.Ou.Co. has a performance hall and music rehearsal rooms. M.Ou.Co. aims to be inclusive, welcoming to an eclectic selection of musicians. Already musicians from classical through jazz to Indie have performed at M.Ou.Co.”
British Airways High Life Magazine: See image above.
Coming up confirmed media coverage for M.Ou.Co.: Glamour Magazine, ELLE Magazine, Wanderlust Magazine, Sainsbury’s Magazine, City A.M Newspaper, The Arbuturian and many more.
