Vila Galé Collection Palácio dos Arcos

Built in the late fifteenth century and rebuilt three centuries later, history says that it was from the balconies of Palácio dos Arcos [literally, Palace of the Arches] that King Manuel I watched the caravels leaving on their way to India.

Used to welcoming royalty – who stayed in this palace to attend the famous regattas on the Tagus River – Vila Galé Collection Palácio dos Arcos is the first five-star unit of the Vila Galé group in Portugal.

This boutique hotel in Lisbon opened in 2013, as a result of rehabilitating historical heritage, and is dedicated to the theme of poetry, combining the tradition of a centenary palace with the comfort of a modern hotel. As you move around the hotel, you meet Florbela Espanca, Fernando Pessoa, Vinícius de Moraes or Eugénio de Andrade. The poems written by them and by other authors enliven the common areas and decorate the rooms’ walls.
Featuring 88 rooms, the balconies that open to the sea invite you to relax and enjoy the view. They also invite you for moments of reading, to get in the spirit of this boutique hotel.

But there are other areas that you can’t miss.

To fight stress, the Satsanga Collection spa offers an indoor pool, sauna, Hydromassage pool, Turkish bath and a gym, as well as rooms for massages and aesthetic treatments.

For the refined palates, the gourmet restaurant ‘Inevitável’ focuses on typical Portuguese cuisine, reinvented by the Vila Galé executive chef Francisco Ferreira, always with the Tagus river as your company. Make sure you also visit the library, the wine club or the chapel, with its baroque altar.

Offering free wi-fi in all areas, Vila Galé Collection Palácio dos Arcos also has a meeting room in the Palace’s old wine cellar.

To enjoy the open air and sea mist, stroll around the gardens, with their centenary trees, which are the backdrop of the outdoor pool.

Located by the coastline road, in the heart of Paço de Arcos – it is said that it was the palace that gave its name to the town – this charming hotel is 15 minutes away from the historic centers of Lisbon and Cascais. With a two minute walk, you will find the train station of the line connecting those two cities. Be sure to make that train journey, as it is unique for moving along the coastline.