The latest filly to join hotel group Pestana’s stable, is housed in a regal 18th-century ochre yellow Pombaline palace, once home to Portugal’s Interior Ministry.
Inside the 90-room property, no expense has been spared, with a mix of modern and classic artworks - surplus from the city’s museums and galleries - lining the plush corridors which lead to the spa, indoor swimming pool and fitness centre on the third floor.
Cascais-based architect David Sinclair led the rehabilitation project with Brazilian interior designer Jaime Morais and civil engineer Ana Melo, transforming a space massacred by years of misuse, restoring everything from the chandeliers to the stained glass windows, adding ecclesiastical purple carpeting that lends an almost spiritual air.
A ground floor cocktail bar and restaurant, with vaulted red brick ceilings, is overseen by up-and-coming chef Tiago Bonito, whose menu - traditional Portuguese with a modern twist - makes the best of local ingredients, including beef, sausages and cheeses from the Alentejo and fresh shellfish from the Algarve.
An outdoor terrace is the ideal spot for a long boozy lunch, while watching the hustle and bustle of Lisbon’s main square, before meandering up to the lavish, cavernous oak panelled Dom Perignon suite, once the office of Prime Minister António Salazar, the country’s authoritarian ruler until the 1974 revolution.
ADDRESS
Praça do Comércio 31-34
-
Six brilliant bars for your 2025 celebrations, hot off the Wallpaper* travel deskWallpaper’s most-read bar reviews of the year can't be wrong: here’s inspiration for your festive and new year plans, from a swanky Las Vegas lounge to a minimalist London drinking den
-
Misfires and Monstrosities: three vehicular design disasters that show taste is in retreatFrom a multi-million dollar piece merchandise to a wretched Rolls-Royce, these are the low points of the year in transportation design
-
Thirty years after Dog Man Star, Brett Anderson looks back on Suede's album coversBrett Anderson talks cover art, photography and iconic imagery
-
Find serenity at Casa Fortunato, a Portuguese bolthole filled with lightDesign-savvy duo Antonio Falcáo Costa Lopes and Filipa Fortunato chose Alcácer do Sal as the perfect setting for the second iteration of their original Casa Fortunato
-
Discover Locke de Santa Joana: a restored convent turned Lisbon hotel catering to ‘creative, Bohemian aficionados’Born from the restoration of an old convent, Locke de Santa Joana has been redesigned by Post Company and Lázaro Rosa Violán into a design-led city break
-
The Rebello is a chic hotel with an industrial past on Porto’s riversideTransforming industrial buildings on the Douro river, The Rebello is a new hotel ‘with an old soul’
-
Modern, earthy lodges await at Lavandeira Douro Nature & WellnessLavandeira Douro Nature & Wellness in Portugal boasts off-track luxury cabins by FCC Architectura
-
Jam Hotel Lisbon is a showcase of circularity and craftJam Hotel in Lisbon by Lionel Jadot and Jean-Paul Pütz offsets the raw aesthetic of its repurposed office building with eclectic art, craft and design with a focus on upcycling
-
The Algarve welcomes Austa, an all-day kitchen in touch with its heritageFrom breakfast to dinner, Austa embraces honest eating and local community
-
Marqí hotel brings a minimalist 1970s feel to Portugal’s Sintra coastDanish duo Mikkel Kristensen and architect Mikas Emil’s mansion conversion offers dreamy, cinematic escapism at Marqí, a secluded boutique hotel
-
The Largo brings craftsmanship and creativity to PortoThe Largo is the latest hospitality offering in Portugal's second city, conceived as an elevated residence with an art programme that connects it to the city’s creative community
