Sintra Marmoris Palace
Famous as the former summer playground for Portugal’s royal dynasties, the hilltop palace town of Sintra is as popular today as its 19th century heyday. It wasn’t always thus: the creation of the 1st Republic in 1910 saw the abolition of the monarchy and a mass exodus of the upper classes – the absolutionist Estado Novo regime which followed was an additional nail in Sintra’s coffin, and many of its grandest buildings were abandoned or fell into disrepair.
Surrounded by 14,000 m2 of palatial gardens, the original Marmoris manor house was commissioned by the Alves family in 1890 as a luxurious private residence. Surviving the country’s political upheavals relatively unscathed, the building was extensively renovated in 2017 – restoring and preserving many of its original 19th century architectural highlights – before opening its doors to the public as the five-star Sintra Mamoris Palace hotel.
There are just nine rooms, divided across two buildings – each room is decorated individually, with antique furniture, plush furnishing, and ostentatious lambrequins harking back to the period sophistication of the original building. The ornate décor continues into the guest lounge, which in turn leads you through to the swimming pool with its telescopic retractable roof. The beautiful gardens beyond are calm and peaceful: a shaded haven from the midday sun, with their coveted view of the medieval Castelo dos Mouros and the summit of the Serra de Sintra.
