Palácio Príncipe Real

"For a palatial stay Indian Runner ducks are not perhaps the bird that you most readily associate with Lisbon’s leafy Príncipe Real, where soaring palm trees play hide and seek with faded palaces, but at this perfectly pink Palácio, they are everywhere. There are one or two sitting on the counter in the appropriately named Duck Bar, another one embossed in gold on your leather key card holder, and even some wrought in the iron railings of the large balconies. “We chose them as our logo as they come from Asia, like us,” says British owners Miles and Gail Curley, who did a stint in Singapore before settling in Madrid for many years. It was from there that on a visit to Lisbon, they fell in love with this 19th-century palace and decided to swap law for hospitality. Gail embraced the challenge of restoring and redecorating 28 bedrooms drawing on her style. Due respect is paid to the palace’s Portuguese heritage with ancient blue and white tiles preserved and even the colorful Moorish stucco work ceiling which adorns one of the bedrooms. But over these are laid English touches from the huge stand-alone bathtubs from Drummonds to the Dyson hairdryers. Bathrooms are clad in the barley-colored local limestone with heated floors and Byredo amenities. Bedrooms come with complimentary minibars (try the ginger health shots), Nespresso machines, and locally sourced pink pepper candles. But everywhere there is an overarching generosity—of space, of Gail and Mile’s time (Miles folded his tall frame into his old Renault 4 run around and drove me to the station when my Uber didn’t materialize), and a warm desire to please. Breakfast can be had in the beautiful gardens, in the shade of the Jacaranda tree, enjoying poached egg on toasted sourdough before a lazy day by the huge swimming pool under a cloudless Lisbon sky. Price: Doubles from $376 Address: R. de São Marçal 77, 1200-419 Lisboa, Portugal" - Abigail Malbon

"Palácio Príncipe Real, a lovingly restored 19th-century mansion, offers elegantly designed rooms with luxurious amenities. Guests can enjoy all-day breakfast in the private garden and relax by the infinity pool, heated by solar panels." - Laura Dannen Redman

"It’s hard to put a finger on exactly why going through the gates to the garden of Palácio Príncipe Real feels quite so much like arriving home. On the face of it, this is an imposingly grand affair: a renovation of an exquisite 1877 pastel-pink home set around a soaring atrium; a garden oasis in Lisbon’s smartest quarter, where the Teixeira da Mota family once hosted legendary parties. And yet, from the red Renault 4 in the cobblestone courtyard to the proper English breakfast tea and borderline kitsch runner ducks around the place, there’s a cosy, unpretentious whimsy to life here. A lot of that comes from its English owners, Gail and Miles Curley, who rescued the tired building from an ugly office conversion in 2015, embarking on a challenging renovation just as Lisbon was starting to boom. They are charming and self-effacing hosts, clearly in love with their very personal project, but wont to reference Fawlty Towers while making sure it’s nothing of the sort. One of 25, the garden room we stayed in is sublime, with ornate ceiling-height blue tiles and a roll-top copper bath next to the old fireplace. It looks out over a miniature Eden of palms, jacaranda, and lemon trees toward the pool, lit up come evening as a chatty cocktail hour begins outside the main house. Now and then, Isabel Amaral, an etiquette coach who grew up here with her seven siblings, will drop by, wowed by the restoration, but perhaps not the only one for whom Palácio Príncipe Real feels like a homecoming. From $475. —Toby Skinner" - CNT Editors

"Why book? If you want a hip hideaway that’s close to all that Lisbon has to offer and yet feels slightly removed all at once, Palacio Principe Real is a stylish retreat teeming with history in every step. Set the scene Principe Real is one of Lisbon’s prime neighborhoods, with elegant, storied mansions lining quiet streets a stone’s throw from the city center. Step through an unassuming gate and you’ll find yourself in a sprawling oasis you never could have imagined was hiding in plain sight on a quiet, steep street. The other guests are largely seasoned travelers who seek out a bit of personality and panache in their stays, preferring this grande dame brimming with personality in a posh area to something in the thick of the action. The backstory This rose-tinted mansion was built in 1877 by co-owners of the Portuguese newspaper Diário de Notícias and, by some miracle, many of the stunning original details remained intact by the time the current owners, UK expats Gail and Miles Curley, first laid eyes on it in 2014. It still required a years-long restoration before the couple were just about ready to open it in 2020, before, well, you know. The Curleys finally soft-opened Palacio Principe Real in 2021 with 25 rooms spread across three floors, many of them overlooking the oasis-like garden anchored by a vast swimming pool. The accidental hoteliers—Gail was in finance, and Miles in law—are content with running just this boutique hideaway according to their tastes, with no plans to build an empire. Which is a shame, because many destinations could benefit from Gail’s keen eye for interiors (the Indian runner duck motif, which surfaces in unexpected ways everywhere from the pool to the stairwell to the branding, is a charming touch) and the couple’s laid-back approach to hospitality (no check-in or check-out times, for instance). The rooms The 25 rooms have ample space—even the “Cozy” category—and while no two rooms are alike, each comes filled with local amenities: local port wine, chocolates, Lameirinho bathrobes, a fridge stocked with complimentary local beers, wines, and juices, and Portuguese ceramic tea sets. Bathrooms are stocked with Byredo’s Bal d’Afrique toiletries, and the Dyson hair dryers are a welcome touch (as a curly girl who’s long decried the lack of diffusers in hotels, I felt seen). While it’s not the rowdiest neighborhood, the degree of soundproofing in the windows is impressive. The top-tier Signature Suites have the most space and come with standalone tubs, and some have gorgeous original details woven in seamlessly into the themes: the scarlet-tinged Arab Room has an ornately carved neo-Moorish ceiling, while the original home’s tiled kitchen is now a spacious suite with a fireplace fashioned out of the hearth. Food and drink The restaurant and bar are only available to guests, and help add to the homey ambience; last Christmas, Gail recalls, a group of guests sat down for lunch at 2:30 and didn’t rise from the table till 11—it’s just that inviting a place. When the weather is nice—which is usually the case in Lisbon—meals can be enjoyed in the bougainvillea-draped garden surrounding a vast swimming pool. Breakfast options range from avocado toast and greek yogurt and fruit to scrambled eggs with salmon and coriander, while other menu standouts include hearty fresh salads, asparagus and lemon risotto, and classic Portuguese pasteis de bacalhau, or cod fritters. All the local wines, beers, and juices in the rooms’ mini-bars are complimentary, but be sure not to miss the house-made cereal bars restocked every day. The spa Palacio Principe Real’s small spa punches far above its weight: diverse treatments range from a sound massage with Tibetan singing bowls to rice powder exfoliation to facials using Augustinus Bader products. The neighborhood/area This is a prime residential neighborhood, perfect for anyone who claims they want a truly local experience in Lisbon—a quick walk or drive to the more tourist-friendly Baixa, Chiado, and Alfama neighborhoods, but removed enough to offer some much needed respite from the relentless barrage of tour groups. The surrounding streets are lined with grand villas, and the steep hills offer sweeping views. You’re also close to some excellent shopping—concept shops like the popular Embaixada center, with a collection of homegrown boutiques clustered around a riad-style courtyard, are just a few blocks away. The service The Curleys may not have a hotel background, but they credit a long stint in Singapore, during which they experienced some of the finest hotels in Asia, as informing their approach to no-holds-barred hospitality. “We run this the way we want to live in a hotel,” says Gail, and it shows: The pair love spending time at the property with their guests, making sure they’re well taken care of. Despite having 25 rooms, at most only 18 or 19 are occupied at any given time, making sure there’s plenty of flexibility for late checkouts or early checkins and one-on-one attention. The 36 staff members are very international—hailing from Brazil, Nepal, and Pakistan, to name a few—and are incredibly warm and welcoming, and always happy to help arrange a tour or put together a snack pack before a flight. For families I didn't see any families with young children. Accessibility The hotel has an elevator for access to all floors. Anything left to mention? While the hotel’s central location makes it easy to treat this as an urban crash pad, you should definitely dedicate plenty of time to linger on site during your stay—from the dreamy pool to the spa to gorgeous nooks like the blue-tiled main sitting room to the hunt for the Indian runner duck motif, it felt like there was always something new to discover around every corner." - Sarah Khan