we arrived in lisbon in the morning and went first to check in the fontana park hotel and it proved to be a fabulous hotel!

located downtown, close to the marques de pombal place, the wonderfully modern 139-room establishment was nominated for the portugal travel awards 2012 | publituris in the best 4-star hotel category. they deserved the nomination: they have great services, contemporary interior design, in-house restaurants and bars: everything at unbeatable rates.

the design is by portuguese architect francisco aires mateus who reclaimed an early 20th-century former small factory for iron structures, and turned it into a beautifully functional hotel. the interior design is by minimalist portuguese designer nini andrade silva and the result is clean, almost monochrome interiors with plenty of concrete accents.

the design hotel has two restaurants: saldanha-mar serves modern portuguese seafood fare, while the bonsai is all about japanese gastronomy (fun fact – they have a bonsai tree that’s about 100 years old!). there’s also a lounge bar, a garden, etc. click here, for more up to date info.