Lisbon’s Hotel Britania Art Deco, part of the Lisbon Heritage Hotels collection, has unveiled a unique space dedicated to the visionaries behind one of the city’s most remarkable modernist landmarks.
Room 61, now affectionately called the “Architects’ Room”, celebrates not only Cassiano Branco – the renowned Portuguese architect who first designed the hotel in 1942 – but also the many creative minds and guests who have passed through its doors since its inauguration in 1944.
Originally opened as the Hotel do Império (The [Portuguese] Empire’s Hotel), the building was a strikingly innovative project for its time. Conceived with a pioneering ‘aparthotel’ concept and layout, it offered 30 ‘independent and compact’ apartments, complete with sitting rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms, while the ground floor featured a large hall with reception, shops, telephones and even a garden. This modernist concept, combining functionality with elegance, was ahead of its era, and remains a hallmark of Cassiano Branco’s work.
Another leading figure, architect Viana de Lima, also left his mark here, shaping the terraces that once housed restaurants and bars. Decades later, in 2005, Promontório Arquitectos were invited to intervene. Their project respected the spirit of the original design, reintroducing the materials that defined the building – marble, wood and cork – whilst enhancing its ‘modern’ essence.
Today, the Hotel Britania Art Deco is the only hotel of its kind in Lisbon to have survived intact. Its interiors, where the clean lines of Art Deco meet subtle national motifs, remain a testament to understated elegance. With just 35 spacious rooms and generous common areas, the atmosphere is as intimate as it is sophisticated.
Obviously, recognition has followed – in 2010, The Guardian named the Britania one of Europe’s four best Art Deco hotels, while in 2019 The Telegraph listed it among ‘the world’s most amazing Art Deco hotels’.
The newly unveiled “Architects’ Room” deepens this legacy, with a small library of works on Cassiano Branco, Viana de Lima, and other influential names, inviting guests to reflect on the cultural and architectural history preserved within these walls.
Like its sister properties in the Lisbon Heritage Hotels collection – As Janelas Verdes, Heritage Avenida Liberdade Hotel, Hotel Lisboa Plaza and Solar do Castelo – the Britania is a blend of tradition, history and comfort. Together, these boutique hotels form a precious collection at the heart of Lisbon, where the city’s past is carefully safeguarded while continuing to welcome new stories every day.
(+351) 213 218 200
(chamada para a rede fixa nacional / call to the national landline)
reservations@heritage.pt | lisbonheritagehotels.com
Sponsored content
