MY STAY
Suite & bed
The Ritz Lisbon gave me room to breathe. My suite felt spacious, the bed was comfortable, and flowers around the building softened its formal side. I did have to learn the light controls, and the finishes were not equally fresh in every part of the hotel, so the actual room mattered.
Gym & breakfast
The gym became a surprising favorite; it was somewhere I wanted to go more than once. Breakfast was less dependable. An avocado arrived so unripe that sending it back made more sense than pretending it was fine. Dinner left a choice between an expensive set tasting meal and a Japanese restaurant by the pool; neither replaced going out for a simpler Portuguese meal in Lisbon.
Privacy & room position
Position deserves attention inside the hotel as well as outside it. People sitting on a sofa opposite my suite door made the corridor feel less private than the room itself. The address is not in the old city's narrow lanes either, so sightseeing days still called for a little transport planning.
Would I return?
The spacious suite and serious gym would bring me back, with Portuguese dinners planned outside when the hotel menu felt narrow. Once I mixed time inside with restaurants around Lisbon, the grand scale worked in my favor.