Lisbon’s boutique hotel choice just got wider with the recent inauguration of the Fontecruz Lisboa, a fancy five-star property located in Avenida da Liberdade, the Portuguese capital’s principal thoroughfare. This modern, 72-bedroom property is noted for its daring interior design, a la carte restaurant, and the generous dimensions of its bedrooms, among the city’s largest. Its contemporary good looks and offbeat character is attracting a national and international clientele.
The Fontecruz Lisboa Hotel occupies a prime position on Lisbon’s Avenida da Liberdade, the wide, tree-lined boulevard that cuts a dash through Portugal’s capital city. This new and contemporary five-star boutique property is currently the talk of the town, turning heads with its remarkable composite façade – part 19th-century mansion, part 21st-century glasshouse, and raising eyebrows with its moody black marble and plastic-coated interior.
The lobby of Fontecruz Lisboa Hotel — Photo courtesy of Paul Bernhardt
Inside, concrete columns lend the lobby a chic brutalism that appears at odds with the avocado peel veneer of the Champagne Bar and its collection of crimson retro Victorian armchairs and pert bar stools. The reception desk is placed in front of a wall mural made up entirely of antique treasure chest keys, a way, perhaps, of urging guests to unlock their preconceptions of how a place to sleep should look like?
Nearby, another wall acts as a surrogate cinema screen reflecting projected excerpts from old black-and-white movies. Are you getting the picture? This is one of Lisbon’s funkiest, sexiest and most extroverted designer boltholes, and the wow factor is off the scale.
Fontecruz Lisboa consists of 72 rooms, each featuring either black or white décor and a flourish of printed fabrics. Floorspace is so generous it makes a presidential suite appear like a running mate. In fact, this is some of the most luxurious accommodation in the city, and the beds are huge! Mod cons include flat screen TV, free wi-fi and min-bar, while the ensuite bathroom wraps itself around an inviting glass-panelled walk-in shower.
