Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon: A Comprehensive Guide to a Luxurious Stay in Portugal’s Capital City.
Welcome to my review of The Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon; a stunning 5-star hotel located in the capital city. The location was great (I’d say extremely central, if not necessarily in the centre itself), the food fantastic and the accommodation itself was definitely top notch understated luxury.
We decided to visit Lisbon as the first stop on my first ever trip to Portugal, and although I’d looked at a few options (albeit in advance of seeing the Netflix series The Reluctant Traveller where Eugene Levy stayed at the Verride Palacio de Santa Catarina) the Four Seasons was the place I wanted to stay. I booked through Classic Travel and this gave us benefits like complementary breakfast, and upgrade on arrival (which we got) and a $100 credit which was deducted from spa treatments (could also have been on dining too).
In this review of the Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon, I’ll detail our experience of the location, local activities, the best restaurants in town and of course, the accommodation and facilities at the hotel itself. Read below to find out everything you need to know before your next trip to Lisbon in Portugal.
Portugal’s Capital City - Lisbon Skyline
Fast Facts for Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon in Portugal:
Address - Rua Rodrigo Da Fonesca, 88, Lisbon, 1099-039 Portugal
TripAdvisor ranking - #45/348 (at time of review)
Contact - reservations.lis@fourseasons.com
Nearest airport - Lisbon (Humberto Delgado) International (LIS) - 8 km or 5 miles (about 30-45 min drive traffic dependent)
Opened - 1959
Number of rooms / suites - 282 total (241 rooms, 41 suites)
Number of floors - 10
Bars - 2 (Ritz Bar & Pool Bar)
Restaurants - 7 (Cura, Varanda, O Japones Sushi Bar, Almada Negreiros Lounge, Ritz Bar, Pool Bar, & In Room)
Wellbeing - Indoor & outdoor pool, sauna, steam, fitness centre, rooftop running track and spa treatments
Visited - July 2023
Indoor Pool Four Seasons Lisbon
Hotel Accommodation: Luxurious & Timeless
It’s a big hotel with ten floors of accommodation and 282 rooms in total, 41 of these being suites. Unless you like modernist/brutalist concrete architecture (which I actually do) it’s probably not the most aesthetically beautiful on the outside, but the interior and service more than make up for this with its art deco influences.
The design was still classic despite the recent refurbishment and this seemed to include everything on the floor from stepping out of the lifts into a large open reception area. We had room 231 on the second floor, with great views across the park and to the city scape beyond. There was a decent sized balcony to sit on with a table and chairs and inside a big chaise longue too as well as another small table and chairs. A large writing/vanity desk completed the seating options, and right in the centre of the room a supremely comfortable bed was more than king size.
The bathroom (both large soaking tub and walk-in shower) was beautifully designed with a combination of white sanitary units (modern Duravit toilet ‘Toto’ style) but more traditional (twin) sinks; the walls either black gloss or amber-coloured marble with both a heated floor and heated mirrors (great for steam avoidance). There was lots of space, the design simple but very elegant, and everything you could want like lots of cupboard space, drawers, and of course ‘Mrs’ The Private Traveller’s must have, an iron and ironing board on request.
“Located in the heart of Lisbon, our historic Hotel wears the cultural heart and soul of Portugal on its sleeve. Inside, art-deco sensibilities mingle with an updated Louis XVI style, and a collection of important contemporary local artwork fills our halls.”
Facilities & Service at The Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon
There was everything we could need in the hotel itself, from a great choice of dining options and bars, to the spa and wellness facilities like both an indoor and outdoor pool. There wouldn’t be many comparable (if any at all) luxury hotels with the amount of outside space that the Four Seasons Ritz has. In terms of spa, there was a fantastic choice of treatments and therapies, and a fantastic gym on the rooftop with the most amazing city landscape views. This was surrounded by an outdoor running track, and some outside gym equipment too.
Other than the outside pool bar, service everywhere from our arrival to the hotel on our first day, to assisting with luggage storage after our train was cancelled on departure and concierge helping facilitate an amazing lunch at the Verride Palacio de Santa Catarina, everything was exemplary,
I’ve broken down the key facilities and services and shared my opinion on them below:
Rooms
Such a choice from the entry level Superior City View to the slightly more expensive Superior Park View, then Deluxe City or Park, then the ultimate room the Premier City or Park View. We were lucky enough to be upgraded to a newly refurbished Premier Park View.
Levels of Comfort
The bed was so comfortable (huge) with beautiful white Four Seasons linens, and the room so perfectly appointed with everything we could need. Although the bath robes were XL (and we’re not big) we probably could have had slightly bigger again to be even more luxurious. The robes in the spa though were spot on - perfect size and that wonderful combination of inner towelling with an outer fabric.
Bathroom
Wow - I always love an amazing bathroom and this was definitely it. I’d always sacrifice a soaking tub for a bigger shower, but the shower was decent sized (it had a black marble bench seat) and was definitely a power shower. The twin sinks I always love and there was plenty of storage around, above and below. We couldn’t get the shaving mirror to light up though, and bizarrely there seemed to be a few light switches that just didn’t ‘switch’. The toiletries were great - full size bottles, and because I’d forgotten a toothbrush I left a note on our first day and by the time we came back from a walk it was delivered.
Breakfast
When we were being shown around as we arrived, we were told that breakfast in the Varanda restaurant was a sumptuous buffet, which indeed it was. Served from 7am to 10am there was an extensive selection of fruits, yoghurts, Bircher muesli with is always a favourite of ours; along with everything else you could think of like cheeses, breads, pastries, hot food options and more to order from a la carte. Service was excellent and you would be served teas, coffees or hot chocolate and juices at your table.
Restaurant & Bars
I counted a choice of 7 dining options and 2 bars; the dining options being Cura (fine dining tasting menus), Varanda (breakfast but all-day dining too), O Japones Sushi Bar (like a pop up area with the Ritz Bar), Almada Negreiros Lounge dining, the Ritz Bar (other menu apart from the sushi), the outside Pool Bar, & In Room dining to boot too). Although I normally like to always eat in the hotel one night to try out options, I didn’t actually like the idea of a lengthy tasting menu from Cura (although there was a good vegetarian option too) and with so many amazing options on the doorstep, other than breakfast we tended to eat out.
Spa & Wellness
I’d booked in advance (easily through their WhatsApp service) so was able to get the right treatment at a time of my choosing. I would normally have gone for a deep tissue massage and thought the 80 minute Reviving Massage was the one for me. It was recommended however that I go for the Aromatherapy 80 minute massage instead which they said would be more customisable and indeed it was. The therapist was excellent, and although I’ve had what I thought was deep tissue massage all over the world in some incredible spas, the therapist at the Four Seasons here took deep tissue to a whole new level of intensiveness. Such an excellent therapeutic massage which I really benefited from.
What about the Lisbon location?
It’s right next to the main Eduardo VII park on one side, and only a couple of streets up from the Avenida da Liberdade, one of the main boulevards in Lisbon. The area felt extremely safe and although it’s only about 5 miles from the centrally located airport, with traffic it took about 45 minutes for us to get to the hotel. We could walk to shops, bars and restaurants; but equally it was so easy to get a choice of Uber vehicles right from and to the hotel. They weren’t expensive and it made for easy transport around the city.
Some of the top activities I’d recommend doing in Lisbon are:
Elevador da Bica
One of the historic elevators in Lisbon, this takes you up a steep incline to the Bairro Alta area. We happened across it by accident, wondering why there was a small queue in the doorway of a building just on the side of the street. This wasn’t far from the Time Out Market, and was a good way to get up to a more elevated position, from where we enjoyed the views.
MAAT waterfront building - Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology
Stunning building right down at the water, albeit a slight distance away from the central Lisbon waterfront and where the cruise ships tend to berth. The rooftop views are even more spectacular, as is the staircase to get up onto the roof of this majestic modern building. We were a bit short of time, so we just had a wander about in the sun here, we didn’t actually go into the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology.
Museu da Marioneta
Loved our visit here, such an interesting building (Convento das Bernardas) and a great display of puppets from all over Portugal and a dedicated historical representation of puppet theatres. There was also a small gift shop, and an outside courtyard at the back which gives you more of an insight into this historic convent.
The Historic Lisbon Tram 28
We had read a lot about this historic tram journey through the narrow Lisbon streets, especially how difficult it could be to get on it, especially if you try to get on at a later stop. We actually started at Martin Moniz, the starting point, and the first tram of the day. There was a bit of a queue when we got there, but it wasn’t too bad and we actually opted to wait for the second tram so that we could get the individual seats. You can buy tickets on the tram, as we tried to buy in advance online (actually more expensive) yet the payment feature on he website kept failing to conclude. We ended up at Campo Ourique, the final stop, but it didn’t look particularly interesting around there (albeit we saw our first ever automatic dog wash in the park there) so we just got the tram back, but stopped off on the way.
Elevador de Santa Justa (Santa Justa Lift)
Although we didn’t take this (National Monument) lift as the queues were very lengthy and didn’t seem to be moving very fast, it was good to look at the unique installation and its Art Nouveau structure. This connects the lower streets of the Baixa district with the higher up Largo do Carmo (Carmo Square) which is connected by a walkway. I did also read that rather than wait to take the lift, you can equally walk up to the square and still experience the same views from the walkway without the need to pay or wait in the queue.
Food and Drink in Lisbon
There was a good choice in the hotel itself, albeit having breakfast each morning in their Varanda restaurant we didn’t really want to be back there for dinner. There was the tasting menu options at CURA, the sushi bar or the Almeida lounge/Ritz bar casual dining menu too; if not room service as well as other options too.
Some of our favourite restaurants and cafes we encountered over the course of our stay in Lisbon, Portugal were:
Time Out Market
I actually just heard about this from the men seated behind us on the flight into Lisbon. On our first day out in the city, we thought some food stall dinner might tick the box, and realised that the Time Out Market was very near where we were at the Lisbon waterfront area. It was very busy and hard to find a table to sit inside, but basically the concept is high-end food stalls in an old historic market-type building surrounding tables and chairs/stools. The food we opted for was good, albeit it seemed very expensive for what it was and portions weren’t big. Maybe we were just unfortunate with the choice of vendor, albeit food quality was good.
Pharmacy Museum Cafe Drinks
We came across this by accident, having walked around the Bairro Alta area once we came up from the city centre on the famous Elevador da Bica. It’s located with great views across the city and immediately adjacent to the Verride Palacio de Santa Catarina. We actually went a couple of times as it has a lot of outside seating (some shaded) - one time for drinks only, then we ended up being back there another time when we also had some snacky food too. Service was a bit slow, but it’s relaxing just to take in the views and all that’s happening in and around the square immediately in front of the hotel.
Fauna & Flora
A perfect spot just down from the Museu Da Marioneta and seems to be one of Lisbon’s new trendy restaurants. We just had drinks (I had a fruit shot and a mimosa) but there were lots of coffee, tea, fruit drinks options as well as lots of lunch or brunch food options. Quirky design and nice atmosphere.
Heim Cafe
An unexpected find (through TripAdvisor) once we had finished our visit to the Museu Da Marioneta, only a few steps away. Perfect lunch spot, good choice of brunch/lunch options including loads for a vegetarian. There was seating inside, but we opted for an outside (canopied) table on the sidewalk so we could people watch at the same time. Food was excellent, and great additional was a cheeky G&T with fresh berries.
Avenida Restaurant & Bar
Part of a chain of hotels (Browns) this was the restaurant in their Avenue property, not far from the Four Seasons where we were staying. Lovely light airy space for the restaurant, there was a small outside courtyard area too but we sat inside for the air conditioning, and it was also a much nicer space too. Excellent food choice and great G&T’s; highly recommended.
Varanda Restaurant, at the Four Seasons Lisbon
This was the main restaurant at the hotel, albeit there were also other options highlighted above. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the day 7-days a week; we only had breakfast here fancying a change of location for other meals. Breakfast was excellent as I’ve described, and a wonderful old-world charm to the huge ceilinged room with outside terrace overlooking the Eduardo VII Park.
Allora Restaurant
Very close to the hotel, the Allora Restaurante Italiano & Bar (part of the EPIC SANA Marques Hotel) and a great choice of Italian dishes. Service was good and food quality excellent, maybe the DJ wasn’t necessary from our point of view.
SUBA Restaurant at the Verride Palacio de Santa Catarina
Being a huge fan of the Netflix programme, The Relucant Traveler with Eugene Levy, I had really liked the look of the Verride Palacio de Santa Catarina (part of the SLH chain - Small Luxury Hotels) which was featured in episode 7 of season 1. With our train being cancelled to Porto, we had some extra time in Lisbon and we took the chance to book SUBA restaurant here, a real fine dining option.
It really was excellent, on one of the uppermost floors of this historic palace with stunning views, the service was exemplary from our arrival to departure with a fantastic choice of food, wine and drinks, even for a vegetarian. So many extras included and we loved all of it, including the visit to the rooftop bar afterwards with full 360 Lisbon views from the top viewing platform. Definitely made we want to go back to Lisbon and stay there next time.
Highlights of our stay
There were so many highlights of our stay at The Four Seasons Ritz Lisbon but here are just a few of the key points, which I hope you find a useful summary.
Location - very central and either a walk to the places or restaurants nearby, or Ubers were freely available and weren’t experience (lots of electric Tesla Model 3’s)
Cleanliness - second to none. Our room was recently refurbished, but at each morning service or evening turndown, the standard was exemplary.
Spa - great treatment choices, fantastic treatment suites and facilities.
Breakfast - a sumptuous buffet each day, with made to order a la carte options as well. If it's not too hot, it's nice to sit on the shaded terrace.
Toiletries - full size Oliófora in both the shower (shampoo, conditioner and shower gel) as well as both hand wash and body lotion in the bathroom.
Twin sinks - sad I know, but I do always love this in a hotel.
WhatsApp service - so quick for all questions, spa bookings, concierge etc.
Airport service - we had arranged a car in advance from the airport, and the very helpful driver was there to meet us and escort us to the hotel.
Design - loved the art deco touches throughout, a favourite style of mine.
Space - for such a central hotel, there is so much space from the huge reception space on each accommodation level, to the downstairs indoor and outdoor pools and outside terraces.
Areas for improvement
Wherever we stay, I do always like to look on the positives on any property we stay in, and airlines we fly with etc. but sometimes you can’t help but notice things that (for me, but I realise this is always personal) might have made for a better stay. A sister of a friend always recollects their validation of a comment of mine in a very early blog about hotels using fabric softener in towels (a pet hate as it makes them appear soft but absorbency becomes rubbish).
Pool service - this is really the only negative of the hotel. We sat for an eternity trying to get someone’s attention, before the lady next to us got fed up and went to find someone. She explained (we could see) that she also pointed us out and advised that we wanted service too, but still no one came. We eventually got drinks menus, but again no one paid any attention to take an order that we just gave up and went to the indoors Ritz bar instead.
Again on the pool, the hotel throughout is classic and understated, yet having loud music at the pool made it feel like it was trying to be Ibiza. It wasn’t conducive to reading or relaxing, and just didn’t feel like it was in keeping with the rest of the property.
We found a few times (like turndown which was late for us - 10pm one night) that staff would just appear in the room without us ever hearing a bell or knock on the door. Once this happened a few times, we always made sure to switch on the Do Not Disturb whenever we were in the room.
The indoor pool could be noisy at times with kids, so not sure if there are kids only times. This was by no means constant, but there were quite a few families in the hotel and it wasn’t the most relaxing after my spa treatment to be back there with the noise. There seemed to be so much space in the hotel, and especially on the spa level, I’d have thought there was the option to have a quiet post-treatment relaxation area.
We had such a wonderful stay, I couldn’t finish on a negative and there is nothing else I would add as a recommendation.
Would I stay here again?
Yes definitely, albeit I think on revisiting Lisbon I might like to try another location just for a different experience. Great accommodation and a great central location. I’ve never been disappointed by any Four Seasons that I’ve stayed at - they’re not cheap by any means (and Lisbon was very expensive) but it was worth the cost for the understated luxury. If I’d been staying in one of the non-refurbished rooms (I think some floors have still to be done) it might have been a different story.
Four Seasons Lisbon Portugal
My final thoughts on The Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon
Loved it - as above, wouldn’t hesitate to stay again as the facilities were excellent.
Have you stayed at The Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon before or another Four Seasons Hotel elsewhere? I’d love to hear your own thoughts and opinions on it as well as your impression of Lisbon and Portugal as a holiday destination.
Comment below to share your thoughts and opinions.
Let me know which hotel I should review next!
