The Casamarel

The History of Casamarel

This history of Casamarel starts with the Gomes family brothers who came from the island of Sao Nicolau.

The brothers were merchants and came to live in Sao Vicente in the early 1900s. The house was built by Antonio Gomes. When his brother Norberto came to live in S. Vicente, he fell in love with house and bought it from Antonio

Norberto lived in the house with his wife Angela and their children until his death.

Although Norberto`s brothers were all merchants, Norberto was passionate about education. He was a teacher and tutor all his life. He taught mathematics, geography, national sciences, French, Portuguese, among other disciplines

The house was always full of people, some of them, students from Sao Nicolau, Santiago and even Fogo islands who attended high school in São Vicente and lived in the house. Norberto Gomes was a man of great vision.

At that time, girls were supposed to be at home and not at school. On the contrary, he put all his children in school, including his three daughters. Some of his offspring went on to attend university in Portugal and Brazil.

The Start – The Gomes Family and a Tale of 2 Brothers

The next chapter – Lutz the passionate Sailor with a love of music

Enter a sailor originally from Hamburg with a passion for Capeverdian Music and a vision to create a professional and safe Marina for yachts.
Lutz stumbled across the house and immediately, just like Norberto, fell in love with it. He found out that the 7 children of Norberto wanted to sell the house and he bought it from them in 2003

In February 2004, Lutz started the renovation. The house was not in the best condition. Lutz wanted to keep the wonderful style of the house, and took detailed photos of the exterior and interior in order to faithfully renew the features like windows, staircases, ceilings, doors. He used a talented local carpenter and craftsmen and builders from Santo Antao.

The renovation was complete in February 2005. Lutz built a recording studio, in the area that is now the lounge. It was a house within in a house. In November 2005 the first recording was made. He encouraged young musicians to use the Studio. Lutz lived in part of the house.

Oh….and not to forget, the Marina – it was realized! It opened in June 2008. Today the Marina Mindelo is the only safe professional marina in West Africa.

The final chapter – A love Story - an Australian / Latvian girl enters the picture

Lutz met Laura an Australian / Latvian accountant and project manager in Europe. At that point, Lutz had already made the decision to move to Cabo Verde and build his Marina. It was hello, nice to meet you Laura and goodbye! However, there was something between them……

Laura first visited Lutz in Cabo Verde in April 2004 (while the renovation was in full swing) and like Lutz immediately fell in love with the country, the people, the music, Mindelo and of course the house.

So started a very long distance romance between Lutz and Laura (they married in 2009 in Australia and Latvia).

In 2016, they decided that perhaps, after 13 years it was time to live together! Long story short, in 2017 Laura moved to Cabo Verde, but what was she going to do in Mindelo?
Laura always loved architecture, taking care of people and food and wine. So, she and Lutz developed an idea to create something with the house.

Just like Norberto, Laura had fallen in love with the house and bought it from Lutz and embarked on a major 2.5 year renovation. This involved once again renewing the old original elements, as well as modernizing the infrastructure by adding solar energy and solar hotwater systems, water saving technology, insulation for walls and ceilings and more.

Most of the furniture and decorations were made locally by craftsmen from Mindelo or Santo Antao. Everything from the old house was saved and reused – old window or door frames that could not be used were upcycled and are now the tables in the bedrooms and bathrooms !

Being passionate about architecture, preserving old history and sustainability, Laura was determined to create something with a reduced environmental footprint and a strong commitment to sustainability. A vital aspect was, and still is, to preserve a piece of Mindelo history and heritage for the future.

So developed her motto: Comfort with a Conscience

Finally on 11 December 2019 Casamarel was open for business. As for many people around the world - the timing was not great - thanks to Covid 19. After 3 months the hotel closed on 21 March 2020. With no hotel guests Laura focused on creating a Plan B – using the outside terrace space and creating a restaurant open to everyone.

We often welcome the Gomes family members back to Casamarel and particularly for special celebrations. In February, the close family members held a celebration for Norberto`s daughter, Donna Germana, 90th birthday!

It is a joy to regularly hear many of our guests from Mindelo, and descendants of Norberto and Angela, telling us of their memories and stories of being in the house, living in the house, being born in the house ( yes on a table in the atrium!) and having lessons with Norberto Gomes!

In the spirit of the past, Casamarel actively supports and encourages many initiatives and projects which benefit the community.

Oh …..and just to mention… Lutz and Laura`s romance worked out well – they are still together- now after more than 20 years !

So…here we are today …. the adventure continues and I am so happy to share it with you!

Welcome To Casamarel!
Laura