- 🏦 Six Senses Lisbon · Two 17th-century palaces combined, Palácio Lavra and Palácio das Pedrosas · 114 rooms · 1,000 sqm spa · opening late 2026
- 🏠 Lisbon as well · Andaz Lisbon opened in March, 170 rooms in the Baixa · The Standard Lisbon expected in the former naval hospital in Alfama, 170 rooms and 24 apartments
- 🍳 Porto · Experimental Porto in the autumn within the 1951 Infante Sagres, the city’s first five-star hotel · 85 rooms, designed by Dorothée Meilichzon
- 📅 The trend · Restoring existing buildings rather than building new ones · and opening in the autumn, when the heat subsides and the grape harvest begins
- 📌 Our take · Portuguese luxury is shifting its centre of gravity from July-August to September-November
For twenty years, Portuguese luxury hospitality operated on a two-month summer rhythm. The autumn 2026 season tells a different story: the country’s most anticipated openings are timed for the autumn, and almost all of them involve restoring historic buildings rather than constructing new ones. Six Senses Lisbon, expected in late 2026 across two 17th-century palaces, is the prime example. Alongside it, Andaz, The Standard and Experimental are shaping a Portugal that no longer wants to be just a summer destination.
| Six Senses Lisbon | Palácio Lavra and Palácio das Pedrosas, 17th century · 114 rooms · 1,000 sqm spa · original frescoes and woodwork · opening late 2026 |
|---|---|
| Andaz Lisbon | Baixa, views of the Tagus River and Praça do Comércio · 170 rooms and suites · first Andaz property in Portugal · opened in March 2026 |
| The Standard Lisbon | Former naval hospital, Alfama district · 170 rooms and 24 long-stay apartments · rooftop overlooking the river · expected in 2026 |
| Experimental Porto | Hotel Infante Sagres (1951), Porto’s first five-star hotel, taken over with Extendam · 85 rooms · interiors by Dorothée Meilichzon · La Compagnie wine bar and Experimental Cocktail Club · Autumn 2026 |
| Kimpton Quinta da Marinha | Cascais, Portuguese Riviera · previously covered in our columns |
Contents
Lisbon revives its palaces rather than building new ones
Six Senses Lisbon brings together two neighbouring 17th-century buildings, Palácio Lavra and Palácio das Pedrosas. One hundred and fourteen rooms, exposed stone walls, original wood panelling and ceilings, and a 1,000 sqm spa dedicated to yoga, wellness and treatments inspired by local heritage. This is the brand’s second Portuguese property, and its first urban one.
Andaz, Hyatt’s lifestyle brand, opened in Portugal in March in the Baixa, featuring 170 rooms and suites overlooking the Tagus and Praça do Comércio, complete with traditional azulejos and calçada paving. In Alfama, The Standard is taking over the former naval hospital to offer 170 rooms, 24 long-stay apartments and a river-view rooftop. Three international brands, three existing buildings: none of them chose to build new.
Porto awakens its first five-star hotel
In Porto, the Paris-based group Experimental, alongside investor Extendam, is taking over the Infante Sagres, the city’s first five-star hotel, opened in 1951 on Praça D. Filipa de Lencastre. Dorothée Meilichzon, the interior designer behind all the group’s properties, is redesigning its 85 rooms and introducing two in-house venues: the La Compagnie wine bar and an Experimental Cocktail Club. Opening in autumn 2026, this marks the group’s debut in Portugal.
The choice is telling: rather than a brand-new building, an address that locals have known for three generations, located five minutes from São Bento station. Character-driven hospitality here is built upon the city’s collective memory.
Why autumn is becoming the season for Portuguese luxury
The timing of these openings is no coincidence. Portuguese summers have become too hot and too crowded for top-tier clientele, those seeking tranquillity, the Douro wine harvest, October light and tables where reservations are easily secured. Opening in September or November means capturing this clientele from day one and smoothing out an activity cycle that used to plunge after All Saints’ Day.
We are also seeing this trend along the coast: the Kimpton Quinta da Marinha in Cascais is banking on a year-round operation rather than a seasonal model. Portugal is ceasing to be merely a beach destination to become a destination in its own right, and luxury hospitality is leading the shift.
Our perspective
Restoration is a choice Portugal makes not only out of a love for heritage. In saturated historic city centres, it is often the only way to secure 100 to 170 well-located rooms. It comes with costs, delays and surprises·as Six Senses knows all too well·but it produces something new builds never can: an address that already has a history on its opening day.
The gamble on the shoulder season will be judged over a full year. If it succeeds, Lisbon and Porto will have achieved what few southern capitals have managed: convincing high-spending clientele to visit when everyone else has left.
→ All our coverage of Six Senses Lisbon (5 articles)
