Highlight of a stay at Lisbon’s Lumen Hotel is undoubtedly its dynamic outdoor color and light show presented every evening reflecting aspects of Portugal’s checkered history.
Promptly at 10pm, guests take their seats either in the interior courtyard or at tables along the first-floor terrace and enjoy dazzling entertainment projected onto the walls around them using video mapping technology.
Opened four years ago, this 4-star, 147-room hotel lies outside Lisbon’s hectic centre in the Santa Cruz neighborhood north of Lisbon’s central Baixa district, a lively suburb but within a 10-minute taxi or bus ride of many of the city’s most important sites.
Once a series of derelict buildings, architect Frederico Valsassina has created an attractive contemporary building with a chessboard design inside that emphasizes light and dark, as the hotel’s name suggests. Rooms are finished in one of three tones of color inspired by dawn, sunset and dusk. Golden Dawn, yellows representing vibrant tones of dawn; Copper Nightfall, oranges and reds reminiscent of sunsets; and Pure Light, reflecting the interplay of light and shadow just before nightfall.
My companion and I stayed in suite 608, spacious, wood-floor, with large floor-to-ceiling windows and a sliding door separating bedroom, living-room and a second bathroom. With minimalist decor, furnishings included a large sofa, two wall TVs, a long work bench, a mini-fridge, coffee and tea facilities and a round table with three chairs.
Our main bathroom, separated from the bedroom by glass panels, featured a double sink and toiletries from Benamor, a cosmetics company founded in Lisbon in 1925. Slippers and robes were provided. Outside the living room was a long, railed balcony facing onto the street, with chairs.
Two added benefits for us was that the executive lounge was on the same floor and there was also easy access to a roof-top pool and cocktail bar a few steps away. I enjoyed a few swimming laps and an hour’s relaxation on lounge chairs with panoramic views over the city before heading off to the nearby Calouste Gulbenkian Museum to see its unique collection of intricate art nouveau jewelry by René Lalique, as well as works by Rembrandt, Monet, Rubens, Manet, Renoir, Degas and Turner.
‘Photosynthesis’ courtyard is also a quiet place to relax, decorated as it is with ivy covered walls, ferns and glass-topped ‘water mirror’ ponds.
We dined alfresco at the hotel’s 130-seat Clorofila restaurant, its relaxed ambience enhanced by decorative flickering gas-flame lights in glass cubicles.
Highlights on the menu included traditional Portuguese sausage cakes served with mango chutney, balsamic and pistachio crumble; cod and mackerel timbale with a sweet potato mousse and roasted peppers; sauteed padron peppers, with crushed garlic, balsamic sorbet and salt flakes; shredded duck confit, mushroom creamy rice with glazed apple and seafood casserole served with rice and mint foam.
Throughout the week, the chef prepares a special buffet lunch. Breakfast is also served here.
For a leisurely drink in an informal ambience, try the hotel’s lobby lounge bar, Six Degrees, an atmosphere flooded with natural light.
The hotel also has a fitness centre, evening entertainment and a 24-hour front desk, as well as business meeting rooms, with combined capacity of over 350 people.
Throughout our stay we were served by a young and efficient multi-national staff, including 21-year-old receptionist, Beatrz Evora, who is also a talented illustrator.
For a hotel removed from the hustle and bustle of downtown Lisbon yet within easy reach of the city’s main attractions, Lumen may be an excellent choice.
