Small meetings, business events, company retreats and private celebrations can be held at Pousada da Ria, a 24-room inn of the Pousadas de Portugal network in Torreira, on the coast north of Aveiro, Portugal. The house has two meeting rooms and a restaurant for 80 guests, and all 24 rooms can be reserved together, so a group can have the whole pousada to itself.
Seminars and company events
The pousada markets itself for business events, meetings and celebrations, with two meeting and conference rooms on site. With only 24 rooms, it suits a board meeting, a strategy retreat or a team day rather than a large conference. Free WiFi and a 24-hour reception are part of the standard services. Outside the meeting room, the hotel suggests activities on the lagoon that work as team outings: kitesurfing and windsurfing lessons in a shallow private school area, shellfish harvesting with a guide, carriage rides on the NaturRia route through Murtosa and guided walks in the São Jacinto Nature Reserve.
Weddings and receptions
The pousada hosts private celebrations, and exclusive use of all 24 rooms keeps the guest list and the house together. The gardens, the pool and the waterfront give settings for photographs.
Rooms and capacities
There are two meeting rooms, whose sizes are not published. The Búzios restaurant seats 80 people and looks over the lagoon. The Garça bar, the lounge with fireplaces and the pool area complete the shared spaces.
Accommodation
The pousada has 24 rooms in warm, bright colors, each with a balcony over the gardens or the lagoon. Room types run from Classic rooms and Superior Ria View rooms to Superior Terrace rooms, a Junior Suite and two family room types for four or five people. Guests have an outdoor pool, a small private beach and free bicycles to ride around the village. Dogs up to 15 kg are accepted in some room types for a fee.
Catering
Búzios serves Portuguese cooking built around fish and shellfish, such as cockle pies, eel stew and cod loin, with international and vegetarian dishes as well. Regional sweets such as pão de ló from Ovar and ovos moles from Aveiro close the meal. Lunch is served from 1 p.m. and dinner from 7:30 p.m. The Garça bar serves afternoon tea and evening drinks, and snacks are served by the pool.
History and setting
The building dates from the 1960s and stands on pillars directly above the water. It sits on the narrow peninsula that separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Ria de Aveiro, a lagoon known for its herons, ducks and other migratory birds.
Getting there
The pousada is 43 km from the city of Aveiro and a 15-minute drive from São Jacinto. Parking on site is free for guests.
