The 54 rooms and suites at Furnas Boutique Hotel are meditative coves in white and brown, symbolizing the Azorean volcanic vapors and the earth. Black and white landscape wallpaper and salvaged wood furniture connect guests to nature, which is showcased by large floor-to-ceiling windows. In the spacious marble bathrooms, indulgent bath products by Molton Brown give guests a bit of the spa experience in their own rooms. The tempting minibar also features highlights such as local juices. Thoughtful details such as American and European outlets ensure international travelers are well taken care of.

It could be said that Francisco Moser is “book smart” in two different ways. There’s the bookwork he did while earning undergraduate degrees in hospitality—including those from the Porto School of Hospitality and Tourism and the Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism—as well as for his postgraduate degrees in Accounting and Finance at the Catholic University of Portugal, another in Digital Marketing, and a master’s degree in marketing. But Moser is also a student of the industry he loves, counting books by the great New York City restaurateur Danny Meyer and by Isadore Sharp, the founder of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, among his favorites. “I like to read books by and about people who look at the hospitality industry in a different way,” he says. Like all great thinkers, Moser is constantly asking questions—How to be different? How to look to the future? How to provide guests with what they are looking for?—and then he answers those questions with his own hotels.