Frommer's Portugal 18th Edition - Asociación de Amigos de Portugal ...

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WHAT’S NEW
(Lisbon’s beach strip) is the opening of
a government-rated, 5-star hotel, Farol
Design Hotel (Cascais; & 21/482-34-
90), in a restored 19th-century mansion
along the waterfront. This stylish
boutique hotel has been an instant hit
since its opening to a beach- and funloving
crowd attracted to this resort,
which is far livelier than in Estoril.
More hotel news is generated by the
opening of Village Cascais (Cascais;
& 21/482-60-60), a stunningly modern
first-class hotel in the historic district
of this old fishing port. The hotel
offers beautifully furnished bedrooms
and is one of the best equipped in the
area, with such luxuries as two pools.
See chapter 5 for more data.
SESIMBRA ACCOMMODATIONS
The opening of the completely modern
100-room Sana Park Sesimbra Hotel
(Sesimbra; & 21/228-90-00) is luring
more beach devotees to this little fishing
port south of Lisbon. The governmentrated
four-star hotel serves as a beach
escape from Lisbon for those not wanting
to patronize the more overcrowded
Estoril and Cascais on the immediate
doorstep of Lisbon. The fresh seafood
served in its topnotch restaurant is
another reason to stay here. See chapter
6 for more details.
SETÚBAL ACCOMMODATIONS
In this ancient city south of the Tagus,
a government-rated four-star hotel,
Estalagem Do Sado (Setúbal; & 26/
554-28-00), has opened with 66 handsomely
furnished and impressive bedrooms.
Bedrooms are divided between
an older restored building and a more
modern wing, and there’s an on-site
restaurant with a panoramic view over
the cityscape. See chapter 6 for more
details.
ALGARVE DINING Outside the
Algarvian town of Almancil, in the
scenic Vale do Lobo to its southeast, a
series of restaurants has opened to
earn Michelin stars, unique outside of
Lisbon. Today this Valley of the Wolf
offers the best dining in the south of
Portugal in a rather amazing concentration
of top restaurants. Casa Velha
(Quinta do Lago; & 28/939-49-83)
lures with some of the most refined
and finely tuned French cuisine along
the coast. It enjoys a lakeside setting in
a restored century-old farmhouse. In
Vale Formoso, 3.2km (2 miles) from
Almancil, Henrique Leis (Vale Formosa;
& 28/939-34-38) is one of the
region’s most outstanding restaurants,
attracting serious foodies to its worldclass
French and international cuisine.
Chef Henrique Leis is a master of the
kitchen, insisting on market-fresh
ingredients that he concocts into sublime
offerings. Finally, there is São
Gabriel (Quinto do Lago; & 28/939-
45-21), an elegant citadel of fine Swiss
and Continental cuisine in a setting
southeast of the center of Almancil.
The cuisine here is so well crafted and
daringly original that it attracts discerning
palates up and down the
coast. See chapter 8 for more details.
ESTREMOZ ACCOMMODA-
TIONS In the Alentejo city of
Estremoz, long known for its deluxe
pousada, a challenger has risen.
Although it has been open for some
time, Estalgem Páteo dos Solares
(Estremoz; & 26/833-84-00) is just
now becoming known among savvy
travelers to this region. Evoking old
Portugal, it is a restored 41-room
manor house that has been completely
brought up-to-date with such added
luxuries as hydromassages. See chapter
9 for more details.
VISEU DINING The provincial
city of Viseu, capital of the region of
Portugal known as Beira Alta, has
gained a new leading restaurant,
Muralha da Sé (Viseu; & 23/243-
77-77), serving a most rewarding and
authentic Portuguese cuisine in the
heart of the historic district. Its grilled
lamb dishes and grilled baby beef are
the finest meat platters served in the