Luxury hotels in Lisbon

5 MUST-STAY

Lisbon's hotel capacity is expanding every year, but it pays to book ahead to bag the best places. The least expensive options are good value from 25 Euros for a double room.

For special occasions, 150 Euros plus will get you a room in some of Europe's best hotels "" and often for less if you visit out of season. Lisbon's smartest areas are along the Avenida da Liberdade, around Parque Eduardo VII or in the prosperous suburb of Lapa. Kristina Pentland from travel publishers, Rough Guides, checks out some of the best luxury hotels in Lisbon.

Lapa Palace
Formal service, plush rooms and two pools, one in a tropical garden, in this hotel nestled among embassies and consulates.

This is a stunning nineteenth-century mansion set in its own over Tejo. Rooms are luxurious, and those in the Palace Wing are each decorated in a different style, from Classical to Art Deco. In summer, grills are served by the outdoor pool. 375 Euros.

Residencial York House
Completely hidden from the street, this former convent has luxurious rooms with rugs, tiles and four-poster beds.

The best are grouped around the beautiful internal courtyard, where drinks and meals are served in summer, and there's a highly rated restaurant. Advance bookings recommended. 200 Euros.

Solar de Castelo
A beautifully renovated eighteenth-century mansion abutting the castle walls on the site of the former palace kitchens, parts of which remain.

Fourteen rooms cluster round an inner courtyard, where you can enjoy a vast buffet breakfast. It's not cheap and rooms aren't enormous, but most boast balconies overlooking the castle grounds, and service is second to none. 215 Euros.

Hotel Lisboa Regency Chiado
Designer hotel in the heart of the city, it has style and modern flair and superb views from its terrace and bar.

The spacious interior decor is oriental-inspired. Orange segment-shaped windows give glimpses of Chiado in one direction and the whole city in the other. All rooms have fax points and modems. 154 Euros.

Pestana Palace
Combining modern rooms with traditional opulence and fantastic gardens, this is considered Lisbon's top hotel.

Set in an early twentieth-century palace full of priceless works of art, most rooms (in wings that stretch either side of UNESCO World Heritage gardens) have large terraces and lie a short walk from a sushi bar, a sunken outdoor pool with a fountain to swim out to, and an inside pool and health club. 300 Euros.

This information has been extracted from Lisbon DIRECTIONS (1st edition), written by Matthew Hancock, published by Rough Guides (http://www.roughguides.com)