When I visited Lisbon for the first time in November 2016, many locals suggested visiting Cascais, a swank, oceanfront community about a half hour from Lisbon. When I returned in May, I took the train along the coast and, within minutes, I was strolling the labyrinth of alluring, cobblestone alleys, which lead to the seafront, where I lunched overlooking fishing boats in the harbor. Days later, I hired a chauffeured car for a daytrip outside the city. We toured Sintra — the magical hillside forest studded with palaces and castles and lunched on the terrace of Tivoli Palacio Seteais. Then we drove 20 minutes toward Cascais, where we visited the impressive Farol Hotel.

The restored, 19^th-century oceanfront villa was the prominent Count of Cabral Costa family retreat, before it transformed into a luxury boutique hotel. The entry gallery leads back toward the Atlantic Ocean, where doors open to the landscaped, seawater pool deck above a rocky cliff, the ocean and an adjacent blue, white and red lighthouse, called farol in Portuguese. The interior design is dramatic with touches of whimsy. The dark painted walls in the living room and bar sharply contrast with white-trimmed moldings, and a striking white arch frames the vista through an expansive glass window. In the lounge, recognizable celebrity faces including Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant are screened onto chair backs. An animal print-painted piano and bold, brightly colored artwork add to the ambience. This past November, I took advantage of TAP Air Portugal’s stopover program from Italy via Lisbon and spent three nights at Farol Hotel.

The 33-room, non-smoking hotel was bustling with a few families, solo women, couples on a romantic retreat and executives at a board meeting. My room, a corner suite with two walls of floor-to-ceiling views, was designed by Ana Salazar, one of eight Portuguese fashion designers who contributed to the décor in individual rooms. The picturesque panorama encompassed a cactus-bordered ravine below, the rocky cliffs, an expansive ocean and the winding, well-traveled bicycle path leading up the coast to Guincho — a spectacular surfing haven.

Nuande Pekel, the hotel’s sushi master, prepared my first night’s dinner. The meal started with edamame and two appetizers — a lime-marinated sea bass ceviche and a tuna tartar. An over-the-top combination platter followed with an abundance of exquisite elements, including mixed sushi and sashimi, a tiger roll and braised niguiris and gunkas.

One afternoon, I checked out the hotel’s brand-new, four-bedroom, seafront suite — complete with kitchen and massage room — located on the top floor of a nearby luxe residential building, serviced by the hotel. That night I dined at The Mix, the primary restaurant, where Chef Ricardo Deus served a tasting menu with a carpaccio of sea bass and monkfish rice topped with local baby clams, an enormous shrimp and lavender honey-tinged roasted duck breast. The desserts were artistically presented and the post-dessert featured chocolate-capped raspberries on skewers.

From check-in to check-out, the service was extraordinary and I felt like a pampered house guest. For leisure or business travelers who prefer a home base outside city center, who adore being seaside or who yearn for an exclusive getaway, Farol Hotel is trip-worthy.

Farol Hotel

Av. Rei Humberto II de Italia 7, 2750-800
Cascais, Portugal
tel 351 21 482 3490