The best spa hotels in Lisbon

Lisbon is an all-round show pony when it comes to cracking views (all those hill-climbs have to count for something), but the InterContinental takes the cake for having one of the best. Pair the sweeping city vista with the hotel’s prime position near the swanky Avenida da Liberdade and you’ve got yourself a winner. Last year the hotel underwent a renovation, so everything here looks exceptionally swish. Choose from a classic room, executive or suite – complete with marble bathrooms – and doze off in a cloud-like bed surrounded by cosy furnishings at the end of the day. There's a restaurant in-house called Akla, as well as the bar Uptown, and nearby is the Marquês de Pombal metro.

The unassuming exterior of the Corinthia is a mere smokescreen masking an opulent interior. This fancy five-star hotel’s seemingly low-key status makes it a magnet for the powers of the world, with guests such as Hillary Clinton passing through its doors. Set over 24 storeys, Corinthia welcomes guests with a marble lobby flanked by the creations of both Portuguese and foreign artists. The 518 rooms have calming, earthy colours and provide AC, cable TV, wifi and luxury toiletries. Elsewhere around the hotel you'll find a gym, a pool, spa, two restaurants serving traditional Portuguese cuisine, a bar and gardens with waterfalls.

A stay at Pestana Palace Lisboa is a stay at one of the most luxurious hotels in the world. Seriously. Even Madonna stays here when she's in town. Dating back to the 1800s, this colonial mansion once belonged to the Marquis of Valle Flôr, and has been designated a national monument. You don't need to stay here to be able to visit, but if you can afford it, you'll get to experience one of its outrageously elegant 200-odd rooms and suites, the old ballrooms, Valle Flôr restaurant and its traditional Portuguese fare, and the sprawling gardens.

We're not really sure why, but Belém remains one of Lisbon's most underserved areas in terms of hotels. Especially considering all the major attractions in the area: Belém Tower, Jerónimos Monastery and the Pastéis de Belém pastry shop, to name but a few. This lack of hotels has, however, allowed Altis to grow a modern, luxury hotel right beside the Tagus. This five-star stay offers stunning design inside and out, a Michelin-starred restaurant, rooms with balconies, a pool, spa, Turkish baths and hydrotherapy treatments.

Architect Pardal Monteiro did a stellar job on the Four Seasons Hotel Ritz. The vast concrete exterior looks like a monument in itself, especially the bits carved with murals, but the interior will take your breath away. Get ready for marble-floored halls, huge candelabras, golden furniture, table-wide flower arrangements and art collections, both modern and historic, about whose history you can learn more through the hotel's app. The spa is the finest in the city, with an eighteen-metre indoor pool, mani-pedis with vegan products and over 700 square metres for sports and fitness, including a gym, sauna, Turkish bath, pilates studio and an 400-metre running track on the roof of the hotel.