Pousada de Viseu
Viseu is a city and municipality in the center of Portugal and has a population of 100,000 inhabitants. It has been under control of different cultures and currently has a strong wine industry. The city is also a cultural center, with the famous Grão Vasco Museum, the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Viseu, and the Catholic University of Portugal. Viseu is considered the best city to live in Portugal and in 2021, Viseu continues its reputation as the Garden City.
Swimming pool at the Pousada
During one of my trips in August I had the pleasure of staying at the Pousada de Viseu. This Pousada is located in the old Hospital de São Teotónio (dating from the 19th century), one of the oldest hospitals of the city, that opened in 1842 and features views of the historic part of the city. Part of the fascinating local history includes the story of Queen D. Maria I who demanded that all the district councils contribute to the construction of the hospital in 1799. The old hospital was completely reconstructed and adapted by architect Gonçalo Byrne in 2009. The Pousada has a spa, where you can enjoy massages and treatments, an indoor gym, and an outdoor swimming pool with adjacent sun terrace. In the central hall (which is quite impressive) you’ll find the restaurant (where breakfast is also served), the bar and a relax area. The Pousada also offers a restaurant, a bar, a very unique wine room, a cigar lounge and conference rooms. All the rooms are spacious with balconies and great views and equipped with air conditioning, tv, wifi and mini bar. My room was situated at the top floor and a view over the pool from my balcony.
Pousade de Viseu, being part of the Pestana Hotel Group, has a variety of sustainable efforts in place, such as “Planet Guest”, Pestana´s Sustainability Program. The program conveys the position of Pestana Group as an organization and a group of people who respect and value the environment, society and corporate ethics. The signature “We are only guests of the Planet” reflects the hotel group´s deep respect for the planet and the awareness that the appreciation of natural resources is decisive for the future of our business. In addition to the environmental dimension, Planet Guest also includes the social pillar which includes activities to support local communities and promote education and culture. The group´s sustainability efforts can be summarized as follows:
1.Plastics: The Say No To Plastic initiative was launched in 2019 with the aim of achieving a 50% reduction in non-reusable plastic by 2020. First most noteworthy activities:
• Elimination of plastic straws ;
• Replacement of disposable plastic cups with reusable or paper cups;
• Liquid soap, shower gel and shampoo dispensers in the bathrooms;
• Substitution of ballpoint pens with pencils;
• Digital opening of doors to replace cards.
The objectives were fully achieved, with targets surpassing expectations in the first year of implementation: a 60% reduction in non-reusable plastic items worldwide, i.e. less 50 tons of plastic used, 4 million fewer plastic cups and 1.5 million fewer straws.
2. Waste and Recycling:
In 2019, the first Pestana Volunteer Day was established on June 5th. Hundreds of Pestana volunteers celebrated World Environment Day all over the world. Various environmental and social activities in collaboration with local entities were carried out in Portugal, Cape Verde, Mozambique, São Tomé, South Africa, Berlin, Brazil, Brazil, Buenos Aires and Miami.
Participation in the “Paper for Food” Food Banks campaign with environmental and solidarity goals, in which the paper collected (newspapers, magazines, leaflets, etc.) is converted into food products.
3. Local communities:
The Pestana Group launched “Thanks For Helping Campaign” in Portugal. By donating 1EUR upon check out, Pestana Hotels will donate an extra 1EUR to local Social Solidarity Institutions: Acreditar Lisboa, Crescer Ser Porto, Lar Bom Samaritano Algarve, Criamar Madeira, Afacidase in Manteigas and Santa Casa da Misericórdia in Vila Franca do Campo, Azores. Other donations abroad support Siya Buddy in South Africa, Nilus in Argentina, Teto in Brazil, Maracanã in the Cape Verde islands, Oeuvre de la Goutte de Lait in Morocco and Casa do Gaiato in Mozambique.
In 2019, Pestana Hotel Group employees, in partnership with the Pedro Arrupe School, started collaborative volunteer work at the João 13 Association. Every Monday, 60 dinners and 60 breakfasts are provided and served, in collaboration with the Lisbon municipality. In 2019, 2,200 meals were provided.
The Pestana Group supports the Arte Institute. The mission of this New York-based organisation is to promote Portuguese art and culture, providing an inter-cultural space for inspiration, thereby acting as a catalyst for innovative artistic dialogue between New York’s various communities and Portuguese artists. In 2019, the partnership focused in supporting the RHI (Revolution, Hope, Imagination) project.
Pestana promotes youth education, with three social grants awarded to young people mentored by EPIS (Empresários pela Inclusão Social - Entrepreneurs for Social Inclusion) - an association created in 2017 by a group of more than 100 entrepreneurs and managers from Portugal. Their mission is to support and educate underprivileged young people, fulfilling their potential throughout their lives through education, training and professional placement.
Pestana continues the restoration of historic buildings as part of our hotel projects, thus contributing to maintaining the heritage and history of the locations where we have our hotel operations.
Grand piano in the central hall
4. Green Accreditations:
The Pestana Hotel Group was awarded the Social and Environmental Responsibility seals from the AHP (Associação da Hotelaria de Portugal - Portuguese Hotelier Association).
All the Pestana Hotel Group’s hotels in Portugal were awarded the Chave Verde (green key) - a certificate that distinguishes hotels that promote sustainable tourism by practising correct environmental management. One of the projects that stand out is the Efficiency Project (an ESCO [energy savings company] model) at the Pestana Vila Sol, which aims to promote energy efficiency in existing technical systems (replacement of coolers and boilers, installation of LED lighting; construction of a photovoltaic plant, etc.).
The Pestana group is a member of GRACE, a pioneering, non-profit association exclusively dedicated to the promotion of Corporate Social Responsibility. You can find Pestana´s sustainability report for 2019 here.
Location: Rua do Hospital , 3500-161 , Viseu
The central hall