Deep inside the fashionable and leafy district of Lisbon’s Príncipe Real, a candy-pink palace lovingly restored by British owners Gail and Miles Curley has opened as a hotel. Its' called Palácio Príncipe Real.
The hotel sits overlooking a generous expanse of lawn — a rarity in Lisbon — the lawn, in turn, punctuated by a jacaranda tree and enticing swimming pool. The former perfect for hiding underneath with a book and the latter for cooling off in, during those long summer days.
Inside, there are 27 bedrooms all individually decorated; my favourite is one housed in the old kitchen, the walls clad in the room’s original blue and white tiles and a copper bathtub resplendent in front of the fireplace. The en-suite bathrooms have underfloor heating (in the winter temperatures can dip below ten degrees celsius) and oversized rain showers. Byredo amenities come as standard.
On the ground floor, the light-filled restaurant specialises in light, healthy dishes and Portuguese classics, such as the house bacalhau and dried codfish, here, oven-baked with sweet potatoes. A bar, with sofas and chair upholstered in warm burgundy velvet allow for a thorough exploration of delicious local wines.
What to do in Lisbon
- In Belém, visit the magnificent Jerónimos Monastery, a relic of Portugal’s Golden Age
- Stop for a Pastéis de Nata in Pastéis de Belém (the birthplace of the famous custard tarts in 1837)
- Shop for homeware at Costa Nova, Vista Alegre and delicious soaps and candles at Claus Porto
- Have a cocktail at rooftop BAHR & Terrace
- Go to the beach: Costa da Caparica (above) is a thirty minute drive from Lisbon's centre. Try to visit mid-week. It's popular with locals so can get busy at the weekends
- Don't rush home: after a long weekend in Lisbon, hire a car and visit one of Portugal's sleepy coastal towns south of the capital. Comporta is a favourite with surfers and Melides with artists. Vermelho Hotel — designed by shoe-maestro Christian Louboutin opens in the latter this Spring
-
Can't you hear me S.O.S? Our treasured native dog breeds are at risk of extinctionDo you know your Kerry blue terrier from your Lancashire heeler? A simple lack of publicity is often to blame for some of the UK's native dog breeds flying dangerously low under-the-radar.
-
'There are architects and architects, but only one ARCHITECT': Sir Edwin Lutyens and the wartime Chancellor who helped launch his stellar careerClive Aslet explores the relationship between Sir Edwin Lutyens and perhaps his most important private client, the politician and financier Reginald McKenna.
