by Marie-Luise Stromer

Created on: December 16, 2010   Last Updated: December 24, 2010

*Location*

More central is not possible. My husband and I had been to Lisbon before and knew the layout of the city. We decided that this time we didn’t want to use the underground, bus or tram to get to the centre, so we opted for a hotel in the Baixa, the low part of the city, which constitutes the centre. The Internacional Design Hotel is at the corner of Rua Bellesga and Rua Augusta, the main artery of the city centre. It runs from the Rossio Square to the PraV a di Comercio which opens up to the river Teide. It’s a pedestrian precinct throughout with small elegant shops on either side. Nightlife is elsewhere, when the shops close, the pavements are rolled up (as the Germans say). The traffic round the Rossio Square isn’t heavy at night, double-glazed windows and earplugs help the tired-out tourist to sleep well.

*The building*

I haven’t found a date, my guess is that the building is more than a hundred years old, the facade has some nice Art Deco elements. The International Design Hotel inside is rather new and modern, it belongs to a group of ‘small luxury hotels of the world’. It has 54 rooms on four floors.

The front door opens directly to the small reception area. We found the young staff friendly and efficient. Occasionally there’s even someone who opens the door for the entering or exiting guests, a rather old-fashioned gesture in these surroundings. The main colour of the interior is violet, from the ties of the receptionists to the glass panel in front of the (slow) lift, which is lit by violet light bulbs underneath, to the carpet on the stairs.

The Design hotel has four concepts, the ground floor is Urban, the second floor Tribe, the third floor Zen, the fourth floor Pop. On the fifth floor are XL rooms of 22 m² with a veranda overlooking Rua August and Rossio Square. I couldn’t find out in which style they’re decorated.

In the hotel brochure each concept is described in breathless ad speak, for example Urban:

“Inspired by the rhythm of large cities.

Fast! Pace.

Graffiti.

Music, house, techno.

Contrasts, straight lines and forms,

Metals, strong colours.

Black.

Dark. Stop!”

One can find this either poetic or poor English. You decide.

*Our room*

We had room 302 on the Zen floor. It has 17 m² which according to the hotel list is size L. It was fine for us, but we’d rate the size average to small, certainly not L. Apart from the white bed linen the colours

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>