A Casa das Portas Velhas has been conceived as a 'boutique hotel', a new international idea of a facility with a high-design concept and a unique personality - one that attracts a sophisticated crowd with hipness rather than with grandeur. The ambience is that of a clubby luxury retreat that has been carved from a ruin, the remnants of a corner building in Salvador's historic district that has the architectural characteristics of the early nineteenth century.

Unlike traditional hotels, A Casa das Portas Velhas offers unique lodging and dining facilities in a space that is pleasingly simplistic while, at the same time, being sublimely deluxe. Relaxed and informal, the hotel is situated in one of the most celebrated squares in the historic district - Palm Square, made famous as the site of Dona Flor's home in the first filming of Jorge Amado's ' Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands'.

Unique to boutique hotels are the themes around which most are decorated. As the name A Casa das Portas Velhas implies - 'doors', a symbol of safety, coziness, hospitality, and warmth - is the decorative focus throughout. Doors and/or objects generally associated with them are the center of the décor, as evidenced by the restored old doors that serve as headboards, as well as the old windows which frame the bathroom mirrors. Additionally, artistically interesting doors and photographs of the same are generously displayed throughout the corridors and stairwells as art pieces. The theme is also supported by door paraphernalia, such as old keys, locks, bolts, hinges, knockers, and knobs which are conspicuously exhibited throughout public spaces.

Guests who stay at A Casa das Portas Velhas are assured a unique, seductive, and consummate hotel experience because of its location within a rapidly expanding section of Salvador's historic district, its guarded size, its distinctive architectural features and ingenious decorations, its emphatic and unparalleled attention to detail, and its personalized service. At any price, the value of such an experience in Brazil is without parallel.