Palácio do Governador invites you to step into a timeless story between the past and the future.
Palácio do Governador’s rebranding has positioned the hotel as a ‘second home’ for visitors to Lisbon. Inspired by the Governor’s symbolic figure, representing the fusion of all the palace's eras, we created an identity that reflects the duality between tradition and contemporaneity, honouring every visit.
Having acquired Palácio do Governador, The Highgate Group had a new ambition for the hotel, remodelling it entirely and adding it to the Small Luxury Hotels of the World network. These structural changes - after 8 years under NAU Hotels management - led the Highgate Group to challenge us to create a new positioning and a new identity.
We met with the decision-makers and visited the hotel several times to get to know the space (and its remodelling) and the people (both staff and guests).
Given the site's historical significance, getting to know its past became the main focus of our methodology.
Two thousand years ago, the Romans built a garum (fish sauce) factory here, the structures of which are still preserved and can be seen in the hotel. In 1519, it became a house. Gaspar de Paiva, the first governor of the tower of São Vicente de Belém, lived in this palace, which later passed to his successors. At the time, it was a place for observing arrivals and departures, encouraging discoveries, and welcoming novelties.
We analysed the renovation project in which historical elements were preserved and contemporaneity was introduced: in the design and in the renewed customer experience, visible in the restructuring of the available services - such as the restaurant, bar and spa.
We faced the rebirth of the Palácio do Governador brand as another opportunity to write a new chapter in its history.
All the transformations the space has undergone, from the Roman Empire to the present day, have one thing in common: the ability to preserve the past while welcoming the future - which makes Palácio do Governador a place of all times. The building, which had served as a home to numerous governors and undergone countless transformations, was once again poised for rebirth. This time, it would open its doors as a new home for visitors. Set in Belém, outside the centre that many are looking for, it was clear from the start that the hotel was not positioning itself as a hotel for first-time visitors to Lisbon but rather as a second home.
How can we tell the story of a place of all times that aspires to be the second home of those who visit Lisbon? We focused on the essence of the name: Governador. When we explored this figure of the Governor, we realised that he perfectly embodied what it is like to live and be welcomed in a place of all time.
We didn't want this figure to be a concrete representation of one of the governors who passed through. Instead, we wanted it to symbolise a combination of all the governors of the past and future: ready to discover the world and welcome their guests.
We kept the name but changed the narrative, imbuing it with authenticity, proximity, and charm. To guide us, we created a story that characterised what we wanted to convey with this brand, with the governor's figure at the centre of the narrative.
From this narrative, we created the brand tagline that synthesises the essence of the space: Honoring You.
With this tagline, we convey to each guest the nobility of the governor’s figure as well as the nobility of the space. It allows us to create declinations to communicate essential arguments. And so we honour the history and geographical context of the palace - ‘Honoring you, dear Lisbon.’; we honour each guest and the care taken by the team to offer the best service - ‘Honoring you, dear Guest.’; and we honour the diversity of cultures and flavours that passed through in the age of discoveries and which do so again today - ‘Honoring you, Japanese flavours’.
We created an identity inspired by history but adapted to the present and prepared for the future, developing an elegant and clean visual universe that balances tradition and modernity. By combining the letters P and G (Governor's Palace), we created a symbol that visually looks like a key, representing the Governor's invitation for guests to enter and feel at home, opening the door to unique experiences. To reinforce this, the imagery deepens the duality between the old and the contemporary, reinforcing the premise that you are entering a place of all times.
