It’s no surprise that I fell deeply in love with Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Hotel, a convivial city estate found on Lisbon’s equivalent to New York’s Fifth Avenue. Historic, steeped in Art-Deco glam and brazenly authentic in a timeless, old-school Portuguese way, the five-star haven opened in 1933 and still exudes a Jazz Age mystique. With proud bearing, it occupies a prime site on Avenida Liberdade, steps from tony stores, sought-after monuments and top restaurants. It’s elegant and airy, friendly but formal, and hums with the city’s quirky allure, a trait I crave when I travel. After all, why wake up and think you could be anywhere?
[See also: Inside the New-look Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon]
Perhaps most enticing, Portuguese Golden Age actress and icon Beatriz Costa checked into Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Hotel – and stayed at the hotel for some 30 years. It’s something I’ve imagined myself doing, the hotel lover that I am, so I’m drawn to her story, the grand marquee backdrop and the whisper of her artistic aura that continues to inspire the ambiance. The fact that I run into American actor Carson Kressley and his entourage at the hotel’s distinctly romantic pool, ensconced in a leafy garden behind the main building, doesn’t diminish my intrigue. Rather, it enhances it, underscoring the sense, too, that Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Hotel exudes a bit of Hollywood moxie along with everything else.
Stay
With Art-Deco grandeur and sleek contemporary flourishes, the hotel flaunts 285 rooms, many with avenue and city views. Built around a center courtyard, the common areas impart an undeniable airiness and residential intimacy that belies the building’s size. To pay homage to Beatriz Costa herself, opt for the exceptional Diplomatic Suite. A beau ideal of creamy opulence, it features abundant artwork that pays tribute to the actress, delicious modern renderings of her visage and references to her career. Overlooking the River Tagus and the avenue, it encompasses 830 sq ft on the fourth floor.
Larger and more lavish, the Presidential Suite, at nearly 3,000 sq ft, stretches across floor seven. Besides a piece-de-resistance Portuguese red marble bathroom, it impresses with sophisticated furnishings and artwork from the Ricardo Espiríto Santo Silva Foundation and Mily Possoz Collections.
Related
Dine
For both a metaphorical and literal taste of what it might have been like to dine at the hotel during Beatriz Costa’s time, reserve a window-side table at Cervejaria Liberdade. Here you’ll watch the world amble by as you nibble classic Lisbon-style seafood dishes, capping the evening with a glass of decades-old port.
Upstairs, on the rooftop, it’s full-on New World Lisbon at Seen, the zealous domain of ‘chefpreneur’ Olivier da Costa. Killer views and Seen’s unique Brazilian meets Japanese menu make for a cool kid favorite. Drinks in the Lobby Bar and at the sculptural Seen Sky Bar seal the deal.
Content from our partners
Relax
Besides the aforementioned, circular swimming pool, and a well-equipped fitness center, the place to seek repose is the soothing Anantara Spa. Both Eastern and Western-style modalities can be booked, but keep the Beatriz Costa theme going with a Beatriz Costa Signature Treatment, purportedly based on the actress’ own beauty regime. It begins with a foot bath, followed by a rice powder scrub (her passion) and a massage with jasmine and orange blossom oil (her favorite scent).
Explore
Planted near almost anything you’d like to do or see in Lisbon, the hotel excels at getting its guests out on the streets. The excellent experience teams sent me out on a private tuk-tuk tour one day and with a private driver to Sintra and Cascais another. From the hotel, you can walk to the most characteristic neighborhoods and attractions on your list.
[See also: Inside The Ivens, Lisbon’s Maximalist Hideout Hotel]
