When we planned our Lisbon & Sintra trip, one of my initial decisions was to stay in Sintra. Sintra is beautiful. Its extremely beautiful, its green, its lush, its so much more gorgeous than the city of Lisbon, which is a metropolitan city!!! After seeing pictures of Sintra, which many people go as a day-trip from Lisbon, I knew I wanted to stay here and see this place more than just a day-trip. When looking for places to stay in Sintra, this one place stood-out from the rest - Sintra Palace Marmòris.
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This was a palatial private bunglow of the Alves family, built in early 1890s. When the Portugal revolution happened in 1974 it was abandoned. After the revolution they returned and expanded the house extensively to more suit their needs of the time, as they were aging. There were rooms for themselves, their helpers, they had a library, they had multiple guest rooms, they had 2 kitchens and more. They had a swimming pool. After the children grew up and left, and the house was occupied by only the elderly couple, they also set-up elevators from some of the upper floor rooms to ground floor! Ofcourse to help them, their assistants had their bedrooms just outside of the master bedroom! They lived here till 2015. Now the elderly lady, Mrs.Alves has relocated to a smaller house and since the last 2 years, since 2017, this humongous, palatial, charming property has been converted to a hotel.
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All the rooms, including their own bedroom, living room, guests rooms, library etc have been converted into various rooms of the hotel. Depending on the size of the rooms, they've been set up as classic rooms, double rooms, deluxe rooms, suite with a garden view or mountain view or family suite! This is a tiny little boutique hotel with just 9 rooms. Being a small hotel, every guest is treated with absolute utmost care. The check-in time, check-out time, breakfast time etc are totally flexible as there are only 9 guests to serve at a time and the staff do their best to suit the needs of each and every one!
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The rooms have a fruit platter and coffee machine with a variety of coffee & tea cups. There is also a special treat - the local delicacy called Queijada de Sintra as well as some whisky! Water is served in a glass bottle, which can be replenished as needed, to be more environment conscious. The bottle itself is available for purchase. Ofcourse all the other regular stuff like toiletries, hair dryer, locker etc are available. Rooms have one or more of jacuzzi shower, jacuzzi tub and bathtub depending on room size, style etc.
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Instead of home-phones, guests are provided with mobile phones here. That was definitely unusual - not giving a mobile per se - but having the mobile customized for the hotel in the OS level!!! That's something I haven't encountered anywhere! The mobile is free to use, to take outside while exploring Sintra throughout your stay! It is even possible to make international calls upto 30 mins a day!
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The eye to little details is exceptional. The key bunch of the rooms look like a palace key bunch with vintage style keys; the curtain holders have a royal emblem on them; the chandeliers, lamps and mirrors match the charming, vintage beauty of the place; the ceilings have paintings; the fire-place is the common-area has an absolute royal touch to it with engraved golden tigers and so so so many more such details.
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The breakfast buffet needs a special, super-duper mention. In Europe, its very rare that you get to see something at all in it, that's vegetarian. I usually fill up on bread and sometimes the best is usually mashed potatoes and baked beans... Here there were not 1 or 2 but 4 varieties, 4 options in freshly prepared sauteed/boiled/fried vegetables!!!
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Apart from 'options' (!) in vegetables, there were options in milks incl. plant-based, baby food, cereal bars and more. Another thing that caught me by surprise was the fresh honey - I mean, literally there was a piece of raw honeycomb!!!!!! There is a deck outside for dining. This is open-air when the weather is suitable. Btw, everyone is definitely served with a Pastel de Nata, the famous Portugal pastry!
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The pool is awesome! This too is open-air when the weather is suitable and temperature regulated with the weather is cold. Guess what, this was the family pool of the Alves family. There are pool noodles, wine glass floaters and other stuff available as well. There are bathrobes provided in the rooms. I suggest that they also provide with beach-bags to carry the bathrobes from the rooms to the pool.
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The Alentejo family which has taken over the property and converted it into a hotel, has its primary business with Portuguese marbles. So any renovations and additions that has happened in the hotel have been done with the best quality of Portuguese marbles.
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Some of the rooms in the first floor even have a private elevator, which was once used by the Alves family to their own mobility. The kitchen of the hotel also once served as the kitchen of Alves family! Even the traditional utensils used are still the same! While the hotel provides a limited a la carte options during reception hours, there are few restaurants in the historic city centre, and Ubereats operates here in Sintra!
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Many a times, you can feel absolutely alone, like you're the only guest of the hotel!!! To help on this and improve interaction among guests, the hotel has the unique concept of an evening get-together! Every day something special is organized like a Fado performance (traditional folk music), magic or so. This is enhanced with a wine service with some bread & cheese platter!
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The hotel's garden is humongous - 14000 sqm to be precise! We did go on a stroll around. The view of the Moorish Castle is fabulous. The common area in the first floor has a balcony and from here too, the view is exceptional. There is a huge traditional Portugal handpainted tile here in the balcony! There is a little fountain in the front-yard and a lot of seating arrangements. On a warm day, it would definitely be awesome to sit-back here and relax.
P.S: I was hosted by the hotel to experience it for review purposes, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.
To Get There:
On Google Maps: Hotel Sintra Palace Marmòris
From Sintra Railway Station: 600m (7 min walk)
To Book online: Hotel Sintra Palace Marmòris
Room rates begin at €144 (for classic double room)
Complimentary car parking & breakfast.
Hotel Ph no: +351 21 923 4504
Complimentary car parking & breakfast.
Hotel Ph no: +351 21 923 4504
My complete Lisbon & Sintra Travelogue: coming up soon...
P.S: I was hosted by the hotel to experience it for review purposes, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.