Right in the center of the Portuguese capital, in a side street of Avenida da Liberdade, Lisbon's boulevard, lies "Hotel Hotel". Lisbon has countless hotels, and the popularity of the Portuguese capital has increased more and more in recent years. In some places, people are already talking about over-tourism. Among the plethora of accommodations on offer, the 4-star hotel with the catchy name is something special and stands out from the monotony of the hotel industry.
Alexandre Martins, the brains behind "Hotel Hotel," described the concept in an interview: Bring people together and give them a stage on which they can shine. With "Hotel Hotel" he succeeds grandiosely and in many ways. Already the facade of the hotel with its three-dimensional, shiny, green tiles - called azulejos - offers the artist Maria Ana Vasco Costa a stage for her great work and shows the guests already from the outside that this is a special place.
Behind the reception hangs a hand-drawn life-size image of an elephant. Artist Teresa Esgaio has drawn the image in such detail that it could be mistaken for a photograph. The image has a poetic and tragic background with an ultimately happy outcome. At the height of the Portuguese discoveries, King Manuel I had a collection of exotic animals that included elephants. He had heard that the rhinos newly arrived from India were the elephants' archenemies, and so he had the two animals face off in a public fight in Lisbon on June 3, 1515. The fight did not take place. At the sight of the rhinoceros, the elephant fled.
Stepping out of the elevator on the third floor, one gazes upon "O Avô" - the Grandfather, a portrait of a man made from unused tiles by the Lisbon design and artist collective Studio Pedrita. A small black and white photo, found by chance on the street, with the words "my grandfather" scrawled on the back, thus became amazing art.
Another special place is the pool area in the back of the hotel. It looks like another house whose steel roof structure has not been covered, but instead has been transformed with plants into a light and green roof that lets in sun and provides shade. The entire area was designed and implemented by landscape architect Michael Hellgren, who specializes in vertical garden design. More than 150 different species of plants make the hotel's outdoor area, which also flows seamlessly into the restaurant area, a lush, green and tranquil place in the middle of a bustling city. Perfect for sipping a cocktail in the evening or dining at the hotel's ANIMAL restaurant.
Ultimately, though, it's the hotel's staff, in their eye-catching green, black, blue, Brazilian-inspired sweaters and T-shirts, whose friendliness and helpfulness ensure that the hotel's guests are elevated to a stage where they can enjoy their stay at "Hotel Hotel."
