The Best Luxury Hotels to Book in Lisbon, Portugal

The towering nature of this luxury hotel – a 10-minute walk from the not-to-be-missed Gulbenkian Museum – means views of the 18th-century Aqueduct of Águas Livres. Affluent business and leisure guests stay in rooms decorated with a soft touch – light browns, whites and blues. The playful Soul Garden feels fun and holiday-ish with plenty of greenery and wooden cabanas on islands. Breakfast buffets include local pastries – who doesn’t love a pastel de nata? – as well as fresh fruits, hams and cheeses. Bathe in the heated pool topped by beams and a cavernous spa with an aqua circuit based on ancient hot and cold bathing rituals.

Presiding over the Avenida da Liberdade – Lisbon’s main tree, shop and restaurant-lined artery leading to the sea – this 1933-built landmark is less than a 15-minute walk from Baxia, Chiado and Bairro Alto. Look down onto the hotel’s pretty patio with the circular pool or those lovely Lisbon rooftops from rooms you’ll feel serene in – with plush carpets underfoot, signature white bedding and soft tones. Deluxe family rooms suit groups of four with added sofa beds. Keep your kids up late or if you’re riding solo, head up to the Sky Bar to mingle with Lisbon’s locals and tourists clinking cocktails until the small hours. Creamy custard tarts for breakfast and strong coffee might just lure you up in the morning.

Fans of fancy hotels will swoon at the sheer scale and ornateness of this green-painted 19th-century palace set back from the River Tagus. Classified as a national monument, the restoration retained the French-inspired frescoes, hand-painted tiles, marble surrounded by tropical gardens laced with secret paths, a lake and the chapel. Suites feature creamy panelling and period furniture with garden-facing views, whilst the restaurant celebrates Portuguese cuisine with perfectly baked pastries, fruit and cured meats. Cool off in the green-hued pool with a central fountain and lush, foliage-filled grounds or head to the spa’s Turkish bath to steam out last night’s vinho verde.

Hugging the hillside in the residential and ritzy district of Príncipe Real, fans of modern architecture with a side order of slick love this modern box-shaped boutique hotel. White render and oak cladding make a good-looking pairing under the Lisbon sun. Rooms reflect the exterior materials with clever slatted screens to divide up smallish spaces managing to make beige look cool – and beds are slung with faux fur throws where you can practice Portuguese watching the fancy Bang and Olufsen television. The slim slice of an outdoor swimming pool – running alongside the glass-sided restaurant – is more for splashing in, following breakfast on cured meats and miniature creamy custard tarts.

Weekending couples love this grand expanse of hotel spreading across the custard-tart yellow 18th-century building on Praça de Camões – with a statue of Luís de Camões, Portugal’s greatest poet in its centre in chi Bairro Alto. Public spaces and rooms share a well-put-together collection of antique and contemporary furniture, glazed tiles, pretty-coloured woven fabrics, rattan, art and ceramics. Climb to the top floor with its glass-sided restaurant looking across to the old town and the River Tagus. Don’t forget to slide by the oh-so-cool Susanne Kaufmann spa – or simply stroll down the hill to the river banks for a sunset stroll.

Built on the site of the former house of the governors to the medieval Belém Tower – naturally an easy seven-minute stroll away – this grand ole pile perfects the art of modernising historic settings. This being a listed building, no one room is the same – but many feature fabrics inspired by the classic blue and white tile found in the hotel on cushions and even floral rugs. Deluxe rooms feature vaulted brick ceilings and studio suites keep wooden ceilings and modern four-poster beds. You’ll love a dip in the pool after a few Portuguese pastries. Seek more modern history with a mosey around the beautifully contemporary MAAT (the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology), even just for the impressive architecture – a few minutes away on the waterfront.

Just off one of Lisbon’s main boulevards, stay in a historic 16th-century building behind the busy Avenue de Liberdade – close to both São Jorge Castle and Lisbon Cathedral, high up on one of Lisbon’s seven hills. Palatial marble floors and stone staircases lead you up to rooms, decked out in a uniform palette of palest wood and blue and white ceramic plates – which mostly overlook the gardens. Bountiful breakfasts will fill you for the day with a menu divided into salty or sweet, healthy, gluten-free or vegan. A long slice of the pool sits above a pretty courtyard, perfect for a swift cocktail ahead of a night on the tiles.