Having never visited Lisbon before, we were after a luxurious hotel in a good location with great food, an outdoor pool and a destination restaurant nearby. Turns out, Tivoli Avenida Liberdade was about to tick all our boxes, and more.
Luring us in, the seductive scent of fresh flowers had us in its grasp as soon as the gigantic glass door was opened for us by a very smart doorman. Ushered up to reception for a friendly check in, I marvelled at the mezzanine open plan style of the impressive lobby – as a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, it was easy to see straight away how it’s achieved that status.
While some of the deluxe rooms have views out onto the avenida, our family room had courtyard views, along with a lovely relaxing sofa area to lounge on, desk (which came in handy when planning what the day’s tourist activities would entail!), and plenty of wardrobe space for the mountains of surplus outfits I’d packed ‘just in case’. I loved the bathroom – a bright, light room with white marble bath, walk in shower, huge mirror and luxury products.
Celebrating 90 years of hospitality and service this year, Tivoli Avenida Liberade’s location is unrivalled. On one of the grandest streets in the city, you’ll find every designer shop you could ask for, right on the doorstep. And now, the hotel is also home to one of Lisbon’s coolest restaurants – SEEN from highly regarded chef Olivier da Costa. This 9th floor hotspot is a celebrity haunt, offering the art of mixology at the sleek high bar with concoctions from head bartender Lucas Jaques. The food is a combo of Portugese and Brazilian while there’s also an Oyster Bar, Sushi Bar, and the main attraction in summer – The Sky Bar. Here, you can enjoy outstanding views of Lisbon’s Seven Hills while enjoying a designer cocktail or one of their finest wines.
The menu offers a massive selection, so while supping on Old Fashioneds made by SEEN’s mixologists, we took a seat and started perusing. The fish, beef and sea food are all locally sourced at SEEN, and we were keen to try the Wagyu Gyosa. Six mini pasty style parcels were soon brought to the table filled with leek, mushroom and a surprising green curry filling which made for an interesting and tasty combo. Recommended by our waitress, we also went for the sharer style SEEN Taco which we loved. Fish ceviche was as fresh as could be, accompanied with a spritely helping of guacamaole, Japanese mayo and a hit of sweet and salty goodness courtesy of the tobiko roe.
For main courses, I enjoyed a beautiful slab of buttery black cod served with snow pea, shallots and celery puree. My partner decided on the classic burger which was towered high, complete with perfectly cooked chips and dips.
Lucky enough to be staying at the hotel, our room was just a short lift ride away, but even if you’re not staying at the Tivoli, SEEN has to be a must-visit when you’re visiting Lisbon.
With a lot of hotels located in town, you don’t always get the option of an outdoor pool, but The Tivoli Avenida Liberdade has a decent sized circular swimming pool and lounge area with bar which opens when the weather gets warmer. As we visited in February, it was still a little chilly for full on swimming but we did have a quick dip to cool off at the end of an action-packed day exploring the city. Refreshing is definitely one word I’d use to describe it!
After a night cap at the hotel’s Lobby Bar (with a special menu running right now which includes cocktails they’ve made at The Tivoli through the decades) followed by a dreamy night’s sleep, we enjoyed a delicious and hearty breakfast in the hotel’s downstairs restaurant – Cervejaria Liberdade. There is such an excellent choice that I’d come back to this hotel for the breakfast buffet alone! Hot food can be ordered separately, but really, there’s so much on offer that we didn’t need to.
The Tivoli Avenida Liberdade experience really is one to savour. Not many hotels can claim to have a destination rooftop restaurant on one of the city’s coolest streets, while also offering true luxury throughout. A definite top-of-your-list-when-visiting-Portugal, you’re guaranteed to be seriously impressed.
