Last Updated on October 10, 2022 by Eve Dawes
If you’re wondering where to stay in Lisbon Portugal, here’s my top pick in the Alfama district
Best Lisbon hotel lists even when just searching for best hotels in Lisbon Old Town can get overwhelming. It can be hard to narrow down the top picks of where to stay in Alfama. My husband and I have a certain search criteria we’ve honed in on over the decades and then some features that are optimal but not deal breakers like adult only hotels. We chose Memmo Alfama in Lisbon’s Alfama District out of all of the luxury hotels for several reasons including having one of the best rooftop pools in Lisbon. The rest I’ll get to below in this Memmo Alfama hotel Lisbon Portugal review. If you’re looking for the best hotels in Lisbon Portugal definitely consider the location, facilities, rating, cost, sound level and reviews.
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How to choose your Lisbon hotel
There are so many hotels on best hotels in Lisbon Portugal list but we started narrowing them down by:
- Star rating: we wanted either a 4 or 5 star luxury hotel in Lisbon.
- Location: we didn’t hire a car so we wanted to be as close as possible to all of the things we wanted to see. Lisbon Old Town and the Alfama district are perfect for that and Memmo Alfama Design Hotel is steps from Lisbon Cathedral.
- Adults Only or Best For Couples: since we’re not traveling with family, we look for hotels that are rated as the best for couples, adults only or peaceful.
- Size of the Lisbon hotel: we don’t like it so small or too much of a boutique hotel that the amenities are limited or it has no atmosphere.
- The pool: we looked for hotels in Lisbon with the best rooftop pools. Memmo Alfama’s rooftop, infinity pool with its expansive views is hard to beat.
- Star Rating: We narrowed it down to 4 and 5 star Lisbon hotels only.
- Guest rating and reviews: The higher the better. We take into account the booking sites reviews, Trip Advisor reviews (filtered by couples) and recommendations from friends with similar tastes.
Why we chose Memmo Alfama luxury hotel Lisbon Portugal
It checked all of the boxes above and looked the best for photos. If one hotel seems equal to another in all other aspects we look from a content perspective or where will be good for photos for the fashion section of this blog.
It’s hard to beat the infinity rooftop pool at Memmo Alfama Hotel, Lisbon Portugal with its million dollar views over old Lisbon and the Tagus River.
Memmo Alfama review 4 star hotel Lisbon Portugal
If you’re wondering where to stay in Alfama, Lisbon, I definitely recommend checking out Memmo Alfama. It has one of the best rooftop pools in Lisbon and is adults only.
Memmo Alfama hotel location – Old Town Lisbon / Alfama
Memmo Alfama adults only hotel is in Lisbon Old Town Alfama district, hence the name. It’s great walking distance from pretty much everything we wanted to see except for Belem.
Castello São Jorge/St George’s castle is an 8 min walk up the hill, Rossio Square is a 12 min walk away, Lisbon Cathedral is less than 5 minutes and Belém Tower is about a 26 min taxi or Uber ride.
You can take the tram there but it was too hot to wait in the sun for it while we we there in July.
Memmo Alfama puts you 0.4 mi (0.7 km) from Castle of São Jorge and 0.6 mi (1 km) from Rossio Square. This upscale hotel also features a poolside bar, a snack bar/deli, and a terrace. The property is just a short walk to public transportation: Limoeiro Stop is steps away and Miradouro Sta. Luzia Stop is 4 minutes.
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Memmo Alfama hotel Lisbon Portugal decor
Memmo Alfama luxury hotel Lisbon is in a late 19th century building modern but not stark. It’s decor is designed to honor Portuguese tradition and products. It looks a lot more basic and cold in the photos than it did in person. In person it felt super cool, warm and had a high end, Portuguese design feel.
Memmo Alfama Hotel food
The breakfast at Memmo Alfama hotel Lisbon is good but not excellent. It’s pretty basic with a continental breakfast buffet (cheese, meats, breads, fresh fruit, cereal, yogurt, etc) with cooked items like eggs, bacon and sausages available to order. However it is fresh and the views from the pool terrace make it even better.
If you’re looking for the yogurt, water or juice, it’s in the fridge by the entry. You can either dine inside or upstairs on the terrace.
Lunch and dinner is more limited with just light bites available from the pool bar. What it lacks in fine dining and choice, it makes up for with views.
Memmo Alfama hotel rooms
There are only 42 rooms at Memmo Alfama Design Hotel so if you’re thinking about staying book soon. We stayed in the double room with terrace which was a cozy 194 square feet with a terrace. European city rooms aren’t known for their size. We’re from Vegas and used to giant hotel suites.
While it was nice to step out onto the terrace for the views and to get to the pool they offer no privacy. There are no dividers between the rooms terraces or the pool and one day we came out to people from the pool sitting reading their books on our private terrace.
The room and bed was comfortable with plenty of water pressure and hot water in the shower. The bathroom definitely try’s to maximize the small space and is pretty basic. It’s modern and stark but in a good way. However, there are no baths or double sinks in this Lisbon hotel, so if you like to take baths this isn’t the hotel for you.
The mattress was great but the pillows weren’t our favorite. They were a little soft for our personal preference.
The rooms are peaceful though once the live music or DJ has finished which was never late. The black out shutters or curtains also ensure it stays dark and the AC worked well without being too loud.
Best hotel rooftop pools Lisbon Portugal
We did a lot of research and searched for hotels in Lisbon with the best rooftop pools as it’s a hotel feature we really enjoy. Memmo Alfama hotel kept popping up in all of the lists we saw on best rooftop pools in Lisbon and for a good reason.
The pool terrace was our favorite spot to hang out. We’d eat breakfast on the terrace, come back during the hottest part of the afternoon for a cocktail and dip in the pool and finish our evenings here with a night cap.
Memmo Alfama Hotel Lisbon Portugal Pros
- Stunning infinity pool overlooking old Lisbon and the Tagus River
- Very quiet as no through traffic or kids
- Free wifi
- Adults only
- Non smoking
- No pets allowed (no dogs barking)
- Buffet breakfast plus made to order breakfast items
- Black out shutters
- Wine bar and terrace – relaxing afternoon drinks and dip to cool off, evening buzzy atmosphere.
- Live Fado music on the rooftop pool terrace every Tuesday
Memmo Alfama Hotel Lisbon Cons
- For a luxury hotel in Lisbon the rooms are very small
- No pets allowed (not pet friendly if you want to travel with yours)
- No baths, showers only
- No evening restaurant, light bites only
- Any one can see and access your rooms private terraces as it’s a common terrace.
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