Lisbon, Portugal

Brown's Avenue Hotel

Price per night from$192.86

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR178.26), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Chic avenida diva

Setting

Leafy Liberdade locale

Glamour, history, modernity. Brown’s Avenue Hotel neatly encapsulates its central Lisbon locale. It’s mere steps from one of Europe’s glitziest boulevards, a broad leafy street lined with designer boutiques and grandiose mansions. The discovery of Roman ruins during the hotel’s construction added an unexpected historical twist, and a strikingly contemporary façade and swish modern interiors place it firmly in the 21st century. But this is much more than just a chic, five-star base from which to explore the Portuguese capital. You’ll want to linger in the cosy library, drink in hand and nose in a book, or head up to the shimmering, cactus-lined pool and marvel over views of Lisbon’s famously undulating cityscape.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A welcome drink on arrival, and a bottle of wine, glass of port and custard tart (pastel de nata) in your room. GoldSmiths get late check-out till 2pm (subject to availability, to be confirmed on the day)

Facilities

Photos Brown's Avenue Hotel facilities

Need to know

Rooms

44, including 12 suites.

Check–Out

Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

Prices

Double rooms from £161.91 (€189), including tax at 6 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional local city tax of €2.00 per person per night on check-in.

More details

Rates do not include breakfast.

Also

All the hotel’s public areas are wheelchair accessible, plus one of the rooms has been adapted for guests with mobility issues.

At the hotel

Swimming pool, free WiFi, concierge, honesty bars, library, meeting rooms. In rooms: Marshall Bluetooth speaker, Roberts radio, TV, fully stocked Smeg minibar, Nespresso coffee machine with free pods, Smeg kettle, slippers, Benamôr toiletries, air-conditioning.

Our favourite rooms

We can’t resist a soak with a view, so loved the in-room claw-foot tubs in the Contemporary Junior Suites, which are positioned next to the window. Whether you open the curtains is up to you.

Poolside

An elegant travertine-clad roof terrace is lined with stripy-cushioned loungers and vintage-style parasols. A veritable forest of cacti adds to the desert-oasis feel, plus you can help yourself to the poolside honesty bar while gazing over the Lisbon skyline.

Spa

There’s no spa, but guests get discounted rates at the Holmes Place Palácio Sotto Mayor health club nearby.

Packing tips

You’ll be kicking yourself if you forget to pack summer swimwear, the rooftop pool is a beauty.

Also

There’s a small museum on site to house all the Roman artefacts they found while building the hotel.

Children

It's glam over pram here – sorry kids, this is adults-only.

Sustainability efforts

From solar-heated hot water to a plastic-straw ban, the hotel has a commendable raft of eco-friendly policies. They also donate surplus food to help those in need.

Food and Drink

Photos Brown's Avenue Hotel food and drink

Top Table

You can nab a table in the restaurant’s adjoining courtyard for alfresco dining most months of the year.

Dress Code

If you want to match the hotel’s five-star chic, grab something glam from one of the various top-end boutiques on nearby Avenida da Liberdade.

Hotel restaurant

With its lofty ceilings, tropical flora and cream-coloured travertine walls, the Avenue Restaurant & Bar provides a wonderfully bright and airy setting for all-day dining. The day starts with a continental breakfast buffet and cooked-to-order options. Lunch and dinner menus are centred around Mediterranean gastronomy with an emphasis on Portuguese flavours and ingredients. In between meal times they also serve bar-style snacks and lighter bites.

Hotel bar

The hotel’s trust in their guests extends to two honesty bars, one next to the rooftop pool and the other part of the library with its tasselled pouffes and collection of books that are more than just decoration. If you’d leave the mixing and pouring to the experts head to the cocktail bar in the restaurant where bar staff are happy to oblige.

Last orders

10.30pm.

Room service

You can order up food and drink from a pared-down menu around the clock (for an extra charge).

Location

Photos Brown's Avenue Hotel location
Address
Brown's Avenue Hotel
Rua Rodrigues Sampaio 48
Lisbon
1150-281
Portugal

Brown’s Avenue Hotel is set a block away from Avenida da Liberdade, central Lisbon’s grandest boulevard, and in the centre of its Santo António district.

Planes

Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport is around a 20-minute drive from Brown’s, though double that during rush hour. You can arrange a transfer in advance through the hotel, though rates vary.

Trains

You’re a five-minute stroll from the Avenida station (on the Metro’s blue line) which links directly to Santa Apolónia, Lisbon’s main train station for international connections.

Automobiles

Despite some challenging hills, most visitors to Lisbon don’t feel the need for their own wheels as the city is best explored by foot or tram. If you do arrive by car, however, the hotel offers a valet service and nearby parking for €40 a day.

Worth getting out of bed for

With one of the swankiest shopping streets in Europe practically on your doorstep, a wander along the Avenida da Liberdade to browse its numerous glitzy boutiques is a good place to start stretching your legs (and wallet). Point northwards and you’ll soon find yourself at the splendidly scenic Parque Eduardo VII with its spectacular views and iconic topiary. If you’re hungry for more cityscape panoramas, jump on the tram along the graffiti-lined street of Calçada da Glória and up to the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara where the whole of Lisbon stretches out around you. To delve into the city’s past, head to nearby Alfama, with its collection of mediaeval landmarks that includes the mighty São Jorge Castle and the 11th-century cathedral. To experience a more hip-and-happening face of the city, the LX Factory is a rejuvenated industrial zone bursting with design workshops, trendy eateries and fashion outlets.

Local restaurants

Set in the centre of swanky Santo Antonio, the hotel is an easy stroll from some of the city’s top dining spots. The Fam Kitchen is a nearby eatery with its roots in the Cape Verde archipelago. They offer a colourful combo of island flavours with Portuguese produce in an inviting and understated setting. For somewhere with a little more pizzazz, head to the curiously named JNcQUOI Avenida. This rather magnificent restaurant draws its culinary inspiration from Portugal's naval navigation of the Far East and the resulting fusion of flavours. Alternatively, try to ignore the name and head to Sexy Meat for designer-cool interiors and a surprisingly varied menu that does cater for plant-based diets (though most come for the carne).

Local cafés

Navigating all those steps does at least provide the perfect excuse for frequent café stops for galãos and pastéis de nata (milky coffee and velvety custard tarts). One fab little place nearby is Stanislav Café where, as well as the famous tartlets and gourmet coffee, serve the prettiest pancake stacks you’ll find in town. For the city’s sleekest café experience, few come close to nearby Delta Coffee House. In-house roasting and lab-like brewing ensure you experience the very best of the bean. 

Local bars

If you’re looking for some serious after-dark action you should jump in a cab to Bairro Alto, though there’s still some decent nightlife to be found locally. Among the best spots close by is Hot Club of Portugal, an intimate subterranean venue and one of Europe’s oldest jazz clubs hosting live acts that includes the occasional big name. For a low-lit, prohibition-era atmosphere head for drinks at Red Frog Speakeasy. This multi-award-winning bar takes its cocktails seriously, as well as its rarefied atmosphere, so be sure to set your phone to silent.

Reviews

Photos Brown's Avenue Hotel reviews

Anonymous review

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this boutique urban hotel in the Portuguese capital and unpacked their colourful canned sardines and Barcelos rooster figurine, a full account of their sunny city break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Brown's Avenue Hotel in Lisbon…

You can expect the odd snag when building a five-star hotel in the centre of Lisbon, but the surprise discovery of Roman ruins meant Brown’s Avenue Hotel was six long years in the making. But it was worth the wait – and they’ve even made a feature of the find with an on-site museum of ancient artefacts. Its 44 rooms are split between two buildings, the old and the new, with decor subtly reflecting which side of the hotel they inhabit. A touch of Twenties glamour also shimmers among the public spaces, much of which are clad in travertine stone as a tribute to the unearthed archaeological site. A snug and stylish library holds some rare tomes which you can peruse with drinks from a help-yourself bar. And (laurel) crowning it all is a superb rooftop pool, lined in shimmering emerald tiles and surrounded with cacti. It’s a perfectly elevated, sun-drenched spot to plan your exploration of the city or rest tired limbs after a morning navigating Lisbon’s notoriously steep streets.  

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Price per night from $192.86