Fontecruz Lisboa, Autograph Collection

June 01, 2019

On our way back to North America we had a stop in Lisbon, Portugal, one of my favorite cities. We landed late at night and only had the next morning to do a quick tour of the city. Friends had stayed at the Fontecruz and raved about it. My previous trip two years prior had seen me at the large business friendly Sheraton a short walk further from the downtown core and waterfront. The Fontecruz Lisboa is an excellent property. Upon check in at 1 am the front desk evening manager apologized for only being able to upgrade us to the Junior Penthouse suite. I was impressed already! The suite was very stylish reminiscent of a W but with more subdued colours. There was an excellent view over the main Avenue Liberdade, a huge living space, and stunning bathroom.

After a few hours rest we were up early to do a walk around the city. The exterior of the property shows the beautiful tiles that the city is famous for along with beautiful balconies. The hotel is conveniently located on the main avenue of the city. The lobby, though dark, has an eclectic historic and almost colonial feel.

We walked down to the waterfront, saw the trolleys, the triumphant arch, and hiked up into the historic Alfama to see the castle and the stunning views. Once back at the waterfront we hopped on the commuter train the short trip to Belem along the water to see the Belem Palace and the Mosteiro Jeronimos. We also had to have a stop at the famous Pasteis de Belem to have the signature Pasteis de nata, which is absolutely delicious. The waterfront is beautiful along the park in Belem but we had to grab an Uber back to the hotel where we had some champagne with breakfast before showering and heading out to the airport.

The TAP lounge at Lisbon Airport is quite new but very busy and shows its high traffic use. We were very excited for our flight to Chicago on the new TAP A330-Neo. We gifted the flight crew a box of chocolates and they could not have been more appreciative gifting us a bottle of their reserve red wine when we landed. I had managed to snag us the first row in the amazing new Business Class. As it was an afternoon departure I was trying to stay awake the entire flight through the two meal services. The staff was friendly and the service excellent. The TAP Business Gift bag is one of the most stylish funky bags I have ever seen, not overly high end, but cute and quirky, as were the long high quality socks inside.,,,I still wear those unlike most of the socks from planes. The only complaint I had was the lack of a self-service bar and snack area when the lights are all turned down a few hours into the flight. I binged several James Bond classics and the flight crew was great in coming to check on me to bring some tea and cookies and some after dinner drinks as I was about the only one determined to stay awake.

As always Lisbon and Portugal and the people we met were all friendly and wonderful. TAP was great and the Fontecruz was a stunning property in a location that cannot be beat. Highly recommended, looking forward to going back and staying several days next time.