Rooms

The 22 rooms (only 2 are suites in the conventional sense) differ in shape and furnishings but all display original features - parquet floors, high ceilings, shuttered windows - and share the same shabby-vintage style. You might find a marble-topped washstand as a dressing table, a coat-rail as a wardrobe, a TV propped on an old radiogram or a pile of battered books as a bedside table. Velvet-covered chairs and silk throws add softness while decorative objéts range from framed etchings to gaudy retro china.

Bathrooms are glamorous affairs with black-and-white tiled floors, deep old-fashioned basins beneath Baroque mirrors, big walk-in showers and, in the smaller rooms, cleverly mirrored side walls to give the illusion of space.

Features include:

• Hairdryer
• Safe box
• WiFi

Eating

Of the 2 restaurants, the rooftop Insólito is the more interesting. Once you’re over the rickety lift, the chandelier-draped bar and gob-smacking views will blow you away (you have, of course, booked ahead to reserve an outside table). The menu offers Portuguese dishes jazzed up with considerable style. For starters we had roasted celeriac with a hazelnut milk and parsley sauce, as well as the black tiger prawns on beurre noisette sourdough. For our main, we opted for the tuna tartare with smoked shiitake mushrooms in a miso and basil broth. All courses were inventive and incredibly delicious. Also recommended to us was local citrus-cured sea bream with a fennel and orange sauce. Lisboans love their puddings so we felt it would be insulting not to try the traditional Gelado de Arroz doce, a sweet rice pudding ice cream, served with spiced carrots.

Get up early for breakfast so you can linger over those views while working your way through a handsome spread of fruits, breads, meats and cheeses and homemade carrot cake.

The other restaurant, Decadente, has a hipster vibe and a great little beer garden. It dishes up straightforward Portuguese fare with a modern, zesty twist and is popular with locals (always a good sign): we sampled the confit hake, smoked lamb and chargrilled swiss chard with preserved lemon, and finished off with a refreshing cucumber and black pepper meringue. There's also a breakfast buffet served here.

Features include:

• Bar
• Restaurant
• Restaurants nearby

Activities

• Check reception's ‘What’s on?’ programme, which might include a free guided city tour, sociable bar crawl or a sketching class
  
• You're an easy walk from Chiado, a prime shopping area and a notorious hipster training ground. The hotel is also close to the famous Rossio train station, with its beautiful blue and white tiling
  
• On Tuesdays or Saturdays, head to the Feria de Lada craft and flea market (9am to 3pm) in the city’s oldest district, Alfama. Then wander the district’s atmospheric alleys and visit the ruined Castelo do São Jorge
  
• The city's best museum is the Gulbenkian, a true treasure hoard, with everything from Mesopotamian funerary vases to Persian carpets and a jaw-dropping collection of Lalique glass
  
• Convento do Carmo is a ruined convent, destroyed in the 1755 earthquake. Now open to the sky, the exposed arches and freestanding walls are a romantic archaeological site worth visiting, scattered with statues, tombstones, and pillars. The museum inside houses a fine collection of prehistoric remains, medieval tombs, early coins and rare pottery
  
• The other ‘big one’ is 16th-century Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, whose sprawling limestone cloisters and church are fantastically carved. It's a World Heritage Site
  
• Lisbon is big on ‘concept stores’ - a trendy term for desirable lifestyle/clothing/accessory things! There's a clutch around the corner in Praça do Principe Real; mostly Portuguese designers, too
  
• Spend a day zipping up and down the funiculars to check out the views from different miradouros (viewpoints)

Kids

Older teenagers (16+) are welcome and will love The Independente's hip vibe and eclectic decor.

Best for:

Teens (over 12)

Family friendly accommodation:

Deluxe Doubles and Suites can each fit 1 extra bed. If you're travelling with 2 children you'll need 2 rooms.

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

The Independente Suites is on the western side of the city near the top of Rua São Pedro Alcântara, one of the principal roads that leads up from the river and separates downtown Chiado from the upper Barrio Alto district. It’s on bus and tram routes, near the Gloria Elevator.

By Air:
Fly into Lisbon airport (8km away). There’s an airport shuttle and metro service but the easiest transfer is by taxi; 20 to 25 minutes.

Detailed directions will be sent when you book through i-escape.