The Story
In 2019, Mikkel Kristensen, originally from Denmark, was traveling through Portugal. He worked as a photographer and art director, ran a small clothing label with a friend and loved 1970s architecture. During the Covid years, he went looking for a change and found it on the coast near Lisbon: a slightly overgrown villa with sea views, a turquoise pool, weathered shutters and a garden that feels improbably lush. The sort of place usually photographed rather than lived in.
With the proceeds from leaving his fashion brand and selling his home, plus some help from friends and his parents, he bought the house in 2022, renovated it carefully and gave it a clear design direction: California ’70s meets Danish ’80s, anchored by Portuguese materials and light. Everything feels considered.
What’s It Like?
We visited on November 1, not the obvious moment for a European hotel stay. A member of staff led us through the house without ceremony, handed us a drink, and let the place speak for itself. The music of Piero Piccioni played softly through hidden speakers. In the living room: a green sofa, a record player, David Bowie LPs, an honesty bar, magazines like “Where Is the Cool?” and Vintage Mirage, and photo books on Helmut Newton, pools and midcentury architecture.
The Rooms
We stayed in the penthouse, the largest of the eight rooms. It comes with a proper espresso machine, sand-colored lounge chairs, a generous bed and a balcony overlooking the garden and pool. Morning light filters in gently through small windows and pale curtains. It is an easy room to spend time in, without ever feeling confined. We could have stayed in it all day.
Downstairs, the rooms lean even harder into ’70s Palm Springs style. Some have colored carpets, others a green bathtub. Not everything is flawless, but the overall design language holds. A few bathrooms keep their original hand-painted tiles; most have been updated in a cleaner ’80s spirit, with square tiles and marble floors.
The marqi. logo, also found on sweatshirts and T-shirts in the small lobby shop, is one of the most precise details. Kristensen understands branding, but he leaves it to settle rather than dominate. During the day he often works at a desk in the lobby, surrounded by analogue cameras, a typewriter and stacks of Polaroids.
A Day at marqi.
The beach is two minutes away, but it is just as easy to stay put. The lovely hosts serve drinks and small snacks throughout the day, and on some evenings dinner is cooked in-house. Kristensen wants guests to enjoy the place all day: to slow down, drift through the house without a schedule and adjust to Portugal’s unhurried pace. Outside, his polished Mercedes SL, an R107 from the ’70s, is parked with quiet pride.
Culinary
Breakfast is laid out in the large kitchen: barista coffee, homemade granola, warm bread, Parma ham, good cheeses, avocado and yogurt, plus eggs made to order (the house specialty is slow-scrambled eggs with Parmesan). Guests sit at small tables on the terrace or in the dining room on seventies chairs, looking out towards the Atlantic and the village of Azenhas do Mar. An honesty bar and snacks cover the rest of the day; beyond that, the surrounding area offers a number of straightforward, often very good local restaurants.
The Beach Club
Since 2025, Kristensen has also run a small cocktail bar on the beach: the marqi. beach club. Red carpet, white Pan Am-style lounge chairs, and the same seventies vocabulary carried through. The drinks are classics, a Negroni or the Marqí Sour with tequila, served with a view of the waves. It functions as a modern listening bar by the sea, and it works.
Surroundings
The stretch of coast around Azenhas do Mar and Colares has two larger beaches, each with a handful of modest beach bars. This is not Forte dei Marmi; it is rough, more practical. Cars are parked along the promenade. In return, there are reliable Atlantic waves on many days. Surf shops rent boards and wetsuits, and several surf schools offer lessons, for children, too. Nearby Sintra, with its colorful Pena Palace, is close enough for an easy day trip.
Combine With
Two nights in Lisbon work well, ideally at our member hotel The Lisboans, followed by a stay at marqi. If you have time, continue south to the Algarve, to Solar do Bisavô or the houses at Quinta do Pinheiro.
Ideal For
Young couples who have yet to find a hotel where wearing James Perse–style track pants to breakfast feels entirely appropriate.
Prices
Doubles from about 200 to 300 euros per night, depending on season and size. Breakfast is extra.
Booking & Contact
Marqi Holiday
Estrada do Rodízio 86
2705-337 Colares
Portugal
