Olissippo Lapa Palace

Lisbon

Lisbon, the capital of Portugal since the 13^th century, is a warm and captivating city. Dominated by the Moors for several centuries, it enjoyed its golden age with Vasco da Gama’s discovery of a sea route to India. The Belem quarter of the city is the place where visitors can learn about Lisbon’s rich history, by visiting for example, the Marine Museum. Belem is also where one finds the city’s most impressive monuments, some of which have been classified as UNESCO world heritages. One of these, on the Imperio Square, is the Jeronimos Monastery, built by Manuel I, who had a great influence on the city. One often talks about the “Manuellian” style.

Another quarter, the Carmo, is also an important area in Lisbon’s history. It’s here on the square of the same name that the events of 1974, better known as the “Carnation Revolution” brought democracy back to Portugal after decades of dictatorship. The Carmo is linked to the very commercial Baixa quarter via an incredible hundred-year-old vertical lift that gives those who take it an unusual discovery in this part of the city.

A charm hotel high on a hill

It’s in this neighborhood of foreign embassies, on the edge of the hustle and bustle of central Lisbon that we discover the former residence of the Count of Valença, the superb Olissippo Lapa Palace.

The very luxurious hotel has 109 particularly elegant rooms and suites spread over three buildings. Those in the main building, the former living quarters of the count, all have an original, chic décor, art deco for some, colonial or traditional for the others. They are all very spacious, and some of them have a terrace and a solarium. Special mention should be made of the Royal Suite, worthy of Louis XIV and his court thanks to its Baroque extravagance and splendor, and the Tower Suite, whose terrace has one of the most beautiful views of the city and the river that runs through it, the Tage.

In the garden wing, which is more recent and therefore more modern, the rooms are very well equipped and thanks to their large bay windows and balconies, offer guests a superb view of the river and the hotel’s sub-tropical garden with its fantastic hundred year old hibiscus.

Finally, in the center of the hotel, the atmosphere is more traditional, and the rooms are decorated with regional furniture and fabrics. All the bathrooms are charming thanks to the marble and the typical Portuguese azulejos.

As for dining, breakfast is served in a lovely room facing the garden, and when the weather is good, the Pavilion proposes light lunches and shellfish, which can be enjoyed around the adjacent outdoor swimming pool. In the late afternoon, guests are invited to discover the incredible collection of teas from all over the world at the Rio Tejor Bar, after (why not?) a visit to the spa or the gymnasium. In the evening, guests are welcomed to dinner in the hotel’s magnificent restaurant, the Lapa, where a succulent Mediterranean cuisine is served in a refined setting.

On one of the seven hills of Lisbon, there’s a favorite spot for tourists. In the heart of a magnificent garden, an elegant aristocratic residence has become one of the jewels of the Orient-Express Hotel group, the Lapa Palace, a combination of silks, azulejos, frescoes, classical and art deco styles. And the view embraces the pink roofs of the entire city and the Tage. – Le Figaro