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Torel Palace Lisbon
Lisbon, Portugal · Torel · Core Luxury
Two mansions on the Sant'Ana hill, one built in 1902 as a family house and the other in 1904 as the guest house of the Bishop of Lisbon, opened together in 2013 as the first Torel hotel. A 2023 expansion brought in Casa do Lavra and its late-nineteenth-century tower, once the highest point in Lisbon, which you climb past antique stained glass to a view over the whole city. Down in the old wine cellar, 2Monkeys seats fourteen at a single counter and took a Michelin star in February 2024, ten months after opening.
- 33 rooms
- Opened 2013
- Neighborhood: Baixa
About Torel Palace Lisbon
- 2Monkeys won its star at the first Michelin gala staged for Portugal alone, and Francisco Quintas, then twenty-five, became the youngest chef in the country ever to earn one.
- Vitor Matos, who consults on that kitchen, holds six Michelin stars, more than any other chef in Portugal.
- Casa do Lavra, the palace folded into the hotel in 2023, is itself classified as a National Monument.
- Every room is named after a Portuguese king, queen or infante and decorated to match. The Queen Maria Pia room runs to deep blue walls, velvet and Art Deco.
- Thirty-three rooms and suites, five apartments and a villa are spread across four buildings, with two outdoor pools, an English-style bar and a hammam.
History
Torel Palace Lisbon began as two separate private mansions on the Sant'Ana hill, above the Jardim do Torel and looking down over the Tagus. The first, from 1902, was built as a family residence. The second, from 1904, was the guest house of the Bishop of Lisbon. The two were restored and opened together in 2013 as the first property of Torel Boutiques, and the group has been adding to them ever since: a modern apartment building, then in 2023, for the hotel's tenth anniversary, the neighbouring Casa do Lavra, which is classified as a National Monument and brought ten more rooms and suites, a second pool, a garden, a classic English-inspired bar, a spa with a hammam, and a tower.
That tower is the oddity worth knowing about. Built in the late nineteenth century, it was once the highest point in Lisbon, and the climb up it runs past panels of antique stained glass to an observation level over the city. The four buildings are now known in the hotel's own telling as the Pink Palace, the Blue Palace, the Lavra Palace and the White Building, and the whole property is themed around the Portuguese monarchy, with every room named for a king, queen or infante and furnished to suit: antiques, high ceilings, velvet headboards, oversized chandeliers, and in some rooms a freestanding bathtub set by the window.
The kitchen made the hotel famous outside Portugal. Vitor Matos, the most Michelin-starred chef in the country, came down from Porto and took over the Black Pavilion, then opened 2Monkeys in the palace's old wine cellar in June 2023. Fourteen seats at one counter, a surprise menu, and the two chefs cooking in front of you. Ten months later, at the first Michelin gala dedicated solely to Portugal, held in Albufeira on 27 February 2024, 2Monkeys took a star, and Francisco Quintas became at twenty-five the youngest chef in Portugal to hold one. Guilherme Spalk has since replaced Quintas as resident chef alongside Matos.
The setting
Sant'Ana hill is one of the quieter of Lisbon's seven, which is the whole point of the address: you are minutes above the Avenida da Liberdade and the Baixa grid but out of the noise of both. The Jardim do Torel is next door, a small terraced garden with one of the city's best free views over the rooftops to the castle and the river. The Lavra funicular, the oldest in the city, climbs the slope from Largo da Anunciada below. Restauradores, Rossio and the Avenida metro are a short downhill walk, as are the Bairro Alto bars, and the return trip is steep enough that most guests take a taxi up. The hotel's terrace and courtyard face the Tagus, and the tower at the top of Casa do Lavra sees the lot.
Restaurants and bars
- 2Monkeys — Restaurant · Chef Vitor Matos (consulting) and Guilherme Spalk (resident) · One MICHELIN Star
- Black Pavilion — Restaurant
Amenities
- Balconies with views
- Free Wi-fi
- Hotel Club 11% discount
- 24 Hours Check-in
- Personalized event concepts including gastronomy and decoration
Awards
- MICHELIN One Key (2026)
- MICHELIN Guide One Star (2Monkeys) (2024)
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