The Old Palace Giving Rise to a New Generation

If it is the first time you come to Lisbon, it‘s easy to feel the standstill of time.”Skyscrapers” doesn‘t belong here. The sunshine sprinkles on the low and old houses and crisscrossing gravel roads, the splendor is simply untrue; the ”man with a briefcase rushing along” doesn‘t belong here. On the face of the Lisbon people. It‘s hard to see a hurried expression. The nine to five schedule doesn‘t seem to exist on their watch even.

But it is too early to judge that Lisbon is a lazy and lifeless city. Turn the clock to 11pm and go to Bairro Alto to meet up the most fashionable young people in Lisbon,get a cup of coffee from a cafe, and book a room at The Lumiares, then it is show time for Lisbon‘s most contemporary culture and lifestyle.

The Lumiares Hotel is undoubtedly the ”new generation” of the Lisbon hotel industry. It has only been opened for one year, but it has become a household name in the Uptown District. What magical power was hidden in this former 17thcentury Countess Palace hotel, that prompted fashionable men and women to check in here. After we experienced ourselves in the hotel this spring, we finally found the answer.

More than three centuries ago, a countess of the Lumiares family ordered to build a palace for himself after losing her husband and demanded that it be higher than all buildings in the surrounding area. Today‘s Lumiares Hotel not only uses the countess‘s surname, but also has the best view of the uptown area because of her. In addition, ”Lumiares” means ”bright” in Portuguese, so the logo of Lumiares Hotel is an image of a luminous body, like the sun, and also like a lamp, that echoes the abundant sunshine and exciting nightlife here.

Representative of the Neighborhood

The original intention of the Lumiares Hotel was to show the true nature and personality of Lisbon, so it cooperated with many local Portuguese companies and artists. Almost every piece of furniture, tile and decoration in the hotel was designed and produced in Portugal, some even came from places within 500 meters of the hotel. The founders wanted to present the best part of Lisbon to their guests.

In terms of design concepts, the hotel hopes to best reflect the character of Bairro Alto. This neighborhood is a fusion of old and new art, nightclubs and Michelin restaurants, studios and high fashion brands. It is also this quality that attracts the founders of the hotel the most. Therefore, in many of the interior design of the hotel, you can find the projection of the characteristics of Bairro Alto.

Bairro Alto is formed by a matrix of cross and parallel roads. Once inside the Lumiares, the floor tiles are designed with this inspiration in mind. The large black area in the lobby is in contrast to the brass, which mirrors the strong contrast of the day and the night of Bairro Alto. The public areas and the rooms are colored in pink, yellow, and blue, which echoes the various colored houses on the streets.

The extensive use of brass in the hotel shows the love for the ”light” of Bairro Alto, and the most amazing of these is a giant brass chandelier suspended from the stairs in the center of the hotel. It was created by the Portuguese lighting artist Beau McClellan. It is worth mentioning that the chandelier designed by Beau in 2010 had broken the Guinness Book record of the world‘s largest chandelier. The chandelier he designed for Lumiares runs through the space above and below of the hotel, reflecting each small unit light source through the brass frame, so that the chandelier exudes a fascinating glow at any moment of the day.

Homelike Trendy Venue

The best representative of Bairro Alto is the residents . Many of them are artists, writers, and craftsmen, so the whole neighborhood is full of hippy and bohemian style. The design of the Lumiares Hotel rooms is to satisfy these people‘s preferences.

The Lumiares has five floors and the guest rooms occupy four. The 53 rooms range from 35 to 120 square meters. Among them, there are 5 lofts ,each with its own style to meet different needs. The rooms here are more like art studios and design apartments, combining the facilities and standards of a fivestar hotel with the style of a highend apartment, so that residents can have an intimate living experience away from home. The hotel has sharply captured people‘s psychological aspirations towards home and design. It matches the lights, colors, fabrics and decorations with harmony and comfort, and at the same time, it does not forget to publicize the original intention of Lisbon. Wool handwoven tapestries hanging from the guest room living room and the hotel lobby from the old handmade carpet workshop in Europe Ferreira de Sá, are tailormade for the Lumiares hotel, using Lisbon‘s representative colors and patterns; photography on the wall comes from The Portuguese photographer Vasco Celio, and shows the light effects of the Lisbon cable cars and the Tagus River; the bedside works are from the contemporary artist Maser, depicting the colors of Lisbon; if you look closely, you can also find Lisbon‘s most famous ”literary poet”, Pessoa‘s poems in the room, which is the result of Joao Rei‘s movable type printing work.

Cultural Expression in Taste

Diet is an important part of the lifestyle advocated by Lumiares Hotel.The Mercado Café, the casual restaurant on the first floor of the hotel, is a modern interpretation of the Portuguese diet. The wood, white, and floorto ceiling windows make people feel at ease. The Brunch here is especially worth recommending. A cup of coffee and a tart will definitely find the right way to welcome the Lisbon morning.

Staying in Lumiares, you must not miss the Lumni restaurant on the top floor. The demanding height from the countess can only be understood by sitting here. By the restaurant‘s terrace, the high and low roofs of the downtown area are spread out in front of your eyes and the scenery of the Tagus River is unobstructed. In the evening, when the entire neighborhood began partying, if you can book a place in Lumni, that was undoubtedly the best place for the nightlife of Bairro Alto.

In addition, Chef Miguel is also the reason to come to Lumni for dinner. Miguel is one of the most prestigious chefs in Portugal. In the time when foreign cuisine was still rejected by the Portuguese, Miguel made many bold attempts to blend the flavors of other countries and was a pioneer in the Portuguese cuisine industry. At Lumni, guests were able to taste the dishes that Miguel and his team cocreated. The fusion of modern and traditional,local and international, often surprises the taste buds beyond imagination.Just as velvet seats and marble elements shape the elegant tone of the Lumni restaurant, the historical figures wearing ”green sunglasses” make the guests laugh. The collision of different elements is the soul here.