The best hotels in Lisbon
The Portuguese capital, Lisbon, holds many draws for travellers: a coastal setting, beautiful architecture and a vibrant food scene, to name a few. With an increasingly enticing hotel scene making it a popular destination for European weekend breaks, it also benefits from warm weather for most of the year, giving it the edge over Porto, in the wetter north. 2025 has already seen important private museums open here; one, The Albuquerque Foundation, is exhibiting the world’s most significant collections of Ming and Qing dynasty export porcelain. The other, MACAM, displays modern and contemporary art collected by Armando Martins), as well as boasting Portugal’s first hotel in a museum. Read about that, and the other best hotels in Lisbon to stay in, below.
The best hotels in Lisbon:
1/12Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon
Every city has a landmark hotel and this is Lisbon’s. The Ritz was built in 1959 by Salazar to show the world that Portugal could do luxury as well as anyone else and it is still setting the bar, now as part of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. It has the best spa in town, a large swimming pool inside and out and a running track on its rooftop. Food is excellent throughout, rising to sublime at Cura, where Portugal’s culinary highlights are delivered on a plate. Bedrooms and suites have recently been redecorated, bringing them into the 21st century with a flourish.
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2/12Locke de Santa Joana
This design-savvy, urban resort brings a new energy to Lisbon’s hotel scene. 370 rooms, the majority of which come with a kitchen, are housed between a beautifully renovated 17th century convent and a purpose built, design-led hotel with interiors by New York-based, Post Company. But it is just as much what is outside the rooms, that is creating a buzz here, from the food by London-based Nuno Mendes in seafood Restaurant Santa Joana, to the city’s first Listening Bar, The Kissaten. The latter, operated by Spiritland, has a vast choice of whiskies alongside an even larger choice of vinyls.
In summer the pool, inset between the hotel wings, comes into its own, as does a table outside, at Santa Marta Restaurant with a dish of charred red prawns from the Algarve with spicy coriander.
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MACAM
A first for Lisbon, this hotel sits inside an early 18th century palace surrounded by modern and contemporary art from the private collection of Armando Martins, the man behind this innovative concept. Two permanent galleries display works by notable Portuguese artists such as Amadeo de Sousa Cardozo or Paula Rego and international names from Thomas Struth to Marina Abramović. But art is also woven through the hotel, from the bar, housed in the old, desacralized 18th century chapel where an installation by Spanish artist Carlos Aires fills the altar niche to every one of the 64 bedrooms.
A rooftop pool and bar, modern Portuguese dishes in Contemporâneo Restaurant and mesmerising views onto the 25th April bridge complete the picture.
4/12Palácio Príncipe Real
This perfectly pink 19th-century palace sits looking onto a large and leafy garden, a purple jacaranda tree giving shade to its sleek pool. Owned by British couple Gail and Miles Curley, its restoration has been a labour of love. It houses 25 rooms, many of which come with original details, from Moorish stucco work ceilings to old blue and white tiles. There is a restaurant serving delicious, predominantly plant-based, locally sourced food and there are wellness rooms offering everything from Augustinus Bader treatments to Indiba facial rejuvenation. For once a real home from home experience, this is a tranquil oasis in the heart of the city, which is genuinely hard to leave.
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5/12Bairro Alto Hotel
The grande dame of boutique hotels, Bairro Alto faces one of Lisbon’s loveliest squares, straddling chic Chiado with its enticing shops and Bairro Alto, once the haunt of the capital’s artists and poets and now brimming with lively restaurants and bars. 87 rooms are housed in the three 18th-century buildings, thanks to a skilful interweaving by Pritzker prize-winning architect Eduardo Souto de Moura. Interiors, courtesy of Atelier Bastir, draw on Portuguese art and crafts. The rooftop bar, one of Lisbon’s nicest, has widespread views over the capital’s red roofs and the Tagus River, while neighbouring restaurant BAHR serves modern Portuguese cuisine.
Dean Hearne6/12Santa Clara 1728
There are just six rooms in this design-centric Lisbon bolthole, which looks onto one of the capital’s prettiest skylines, dominated by the domed Pantheon. There is a feeling of history – and of stillness – between these ancient walls, one of the few buildings to survive the devastating earthquake of 1755. Interiors draw on a neutral palette – much is in the creamy, local, limestone; think open bathrooms with huge tubs carved, seamlessly, out of the stone. Downstairs around a long oak table, gourmet dinners are held in Ceia, illuminated by lights from David Groppi. It is farm-to-table fare, ingredients coming from Silent Living’s farmhouse in the unspoilt Alentejo.
7/12Sublime Lisboa
The Lisbon outpost of the acclaimed Sublime in Comporta comprises just 15 rooms in an elegant 20th-century townhouse in the centre of the capital. Bold Jupiter geometric wallpapers and Farrow & Ball paints set the tone, which is warm and welcoming. All the rooms are different, but all are spacious, some with showers others with bathtubs. On the top floor, rooms come with large terraces. Downstairs, spilling out onto the street in the summer is an Italian restaurant, Davvero, which serves authentically delicious dishes from spaghettoni cacio i pepe to saltimbocca alla Romana.
Filipa Scarpa8/12Verride Palácio Santa Catarina
A long time in the making, this 18th-century palace has been painstakingly restored and now houses 18 rooms, the most magnificent of which have wooden coffered ceilings, ornate stucco work, and original blue and white tiles. Marble bathrooms come with a shower or a bathtub or both and Aesop amenities. There is a rooftop from where you can see most of the capital, a tiny swimming pool to cool off in on a hot day and a restaurant serving contemporary Portuguese cuisine.
9/12Valverde Lisboa Hotel & Garden
Located on the capital’s main artery, the imposing Avenida de Liberdade, there are 48 rooms housed behind the beautifully preserved 19th-century facade. At its centre is a leafy courtyard and a restaurant, Sítio, with deep green tiled interiors and tables outside in the summer. Bedrooms and suites are all different, but come with wooden floors and a warm colour palette. Decor draws on Portuguese design, with much of the furniture vintage or bespoke following a mid-century vibe. Elegant bathrooms come in black and white. A good-sized swimming pool can be found on the first floor, above the courtyard.
10/12Memmo Príncipe Real
Situated in fashionable Príncipe Real, with far-reaching views across the capital, this 47 room hotel brims with charm. Contemporary elegance is layered over local heritage from the limestone walls to original tiles. Touches like hand-made hats from one of Lisbon’s oldest neighbouring shops and modern art from Miguel Branco and Iva Viana ensure an immersive Portuguese experience. The restaurant, whose glass walls allow you to look onto the red roofs of Lisbon, serves Portuguese cuisine, as well as offering a vegan menu. Try the cuttlefish tempura with avocado and lemon mayonnaise. A sleek swimming pool is inset in the outside terrace.
11/12Corinthia Lisbon
This is an excellent hotel on any level, but especially if you have an early flight and want to be near to the airport, for it stands slightly outside the historic centre of Lisbon. Its multi-storied building, housing 518 luxurious rooms and suites, has a wonderful view onto the city’s 18th-century aqueduct from its rooftop club lounge. Erva Restaurant on the ground floor serves contemporary Portuguese cuisine such as the much loved octopus rice, accompanied by a good selection of local wines. A spa and a small swimming pool are the icing on the cake.
12/12Pousada Lisboa
Right on the magnificent Praça do Comércio, under the yellow-painted arcades built by Marques de Pombal after the 18th-century earthquake, the 90 room Pousada looks across the square onto the Tagus River. Nearby is the oldest café in Lisbon, Martinha da Arcada, which dates back to 1778 and was the favourite haunt of poet Fernando Pessoa. Decor in the Pousada celebrates Portuguese culture across the centuries with art pieces throughout the building. Rooms come with parquet flooring and an earthy colour palette. There is a small spa, fitness room and indoor swimming pool on the top floor. RIB Beef & Wine set under vaulted ceilings will delight any carnivore.
