The best 4-star hotels in Lisbon

Upon entering 4 João das Regras you will find an unusual lobby, with brass walls and marble columns welcoming you to the Boutique Hotel. Inside are 53 rooms in a contemporary style, low on frills but high on comfort, most of them facing the João das Regras street – named after a nobleman whose actual surname was João de Aregas; in the great game of telephone of history, the original Aregas became a rather more colourful “Regras”, the Portuguese word for “rules”. The street lies next to the Figueira Square, in the centre of which is a statue of Portuguese king João I, whose cognomen was Of Happy Memory, and whose ascent to the throne was partly due to that “rules” fellow.

Heritage Avenida da Liberdade happens to be a living example of a successful transition, a place where past, present and future live along in harmony. That is partly a result of hiring the same architect that designed the famous Buddha Bar in Paris or the Pacha in Marrakesh: Miguel Câncio Martins created a stylish hotel from a Pombaline-style 18th century building. The original outline remains unchanged, with its cast-iron balconies, stonework and tile walls. But the makeover made it fresh-faced, urbane and cosmopolitan, mixing the young and the old – an alchemy that earned it international recognition as one of Portugal's most successful restoration projects.