This is a tired old hotel living on its past when deposed or abdicated monarchs stalked its rooms in faded finery. Don't expect efficiency, good design, good food, and fun here now. Heavy soft furnishings dominate, and staff dressed for the 1930s. It's time the hotel brought itself up to date with a massive rethink and redesign. Though bathroom was spacious and well decorated.

Not a touch of faded elegance at this hotel - it is completely renovated, with excellent service and all the latest features. The opool is fantastic as is the spa.

Highly recomended!

We stayed at the Palacio for a week towards the end of October - outside the regular season and so during a relatively quiet period for the hotel.

The Palacio is a classic - and a classy hotel. Very stylish and with a wonderful sense of itself, beautifully updated to modern standards from its 1930's origins. If you're looking for a special and distinctive place to stay in the Lisbon area, you will appreciate the Palacio.

The Palacio is in the center of Estoril, a very short walk from the beach, alongside the peaceful park in front of the Casino. Very well situated for the railway from Cascais to Lisbon and also for the local buses which serve the hinterland - and Sintra in particular. So, it's a great base for exploring the whole area, whether travelling by car or using public transport.

We stayed in a "Classic" room, which is the basic version - it was a good size, with a very well appointed bathroom. Excellent flat screen TV with a good range of channels to choose from. There is air conditioning, which we did not need to use - and the hotel location is quiet enough to have the windows open at night without being disturbed by noise from outside.

Breakfast is simply wonderful - not to be missed. The fruit juices are all fresh squeezed - the orange is good, but the apple is just perfect. There is a wide range of cold meats, cheeses, smoked salmon, accompanied by an excellent range of bread. Cakes, pastries and croissants have a huge range of jams and marmalades alongside. You can order cooked eggs in a wide variety of styes - we can recommend the Eggs Benedict and the Omelettes. There is also a buffet of hot food with bacon, mushrooms, sausages, fried potatoes. The breakfast staff were very attentive and kept us well supplied with tea and coffee - and there is also a Nespresso machine if you like fancier versions of coffee.

The front of the hotel has a magnificant swimming pool, which we're sure is great in the summertime, but was a bit on the cool side for our tastes at the end of October. Never fear - the hotel has the "Banyan Tree Spa" right next door - and connected by an underground walkway. The Spa has a large indoor heated swimming pool, plus Saunas, Steam Rooms and a range of Spa treatments. Use of the pool and saunas is included in the room rate, but Spa treatments are extra.

We ate at the Four Seasons Grill one night - and this is a classy restaurant, with some dishes cooked next to your table. Very good quality, but also pricey - you are going to spend €50+ per head for dinner. For less formal dining, you can use the terrace or the bar.

We got a special deal rate which included the room and breakfast - very good value indeed

The Palacio is well situated - we certainly recommend the walk along the promenade to Cascais, a couple of miles to the west. There is a small set of local restaurants in Estoril - Di Casa is a good modestly priced Italian restaurant, but one that we liked most is "Pastelaria Garrett", which is almost opposite the hotel. This IS a pastelaria and serves wonderful pastries and cakes - but it IS also a restaurant and we had a couple of really excellent meals there - the one drawback is that they close around 20:30, so you have to eat early. It is full of locals almost the whole day - which says a lot about the quality of what they serve.

There are some interesting restaurants along the promenade if you want to sample the local cuisine - which is generally fish, fish and more fish - and very good fish it is too. Cascais has a wider range of restaurants - and is also worth exploring.

We recommend a visit to Sintra - a lovely place about 30 minutes north by bus. There are several palaces and castles - the Palacio National de Sintra is in the middle of the old town and should not be missed. If you are feeling energetic, climb up to the Moorish Castle, set high on the mountain directly above the town - the walk is easily graded and nowhere near as formidable as it appears from below. You will be rewarded with fantastic views over the whole region from the top of the castle walls.

Visiting Lisbon from Estoril could not be simpler - hop on a train from the station only 5 minutes walk from the hotel and you're in central Lisbon in about 30 minutes. You can take a ferry across the river to visit the huge Christo Rei statue built on the south bank of the Tagus. The area of Belem a couple of miles west of the centre can also be reached by the train and has plenty to see.

This hotel is flawless in every way, the building, the furnishings, the service, the pool and the Banyon Tree Spa. We have stayed in many similar hotels all throughout Europe and this is one of the nicest. The staff is friendly and helpful. The breakfast is very good quality, with lots of fresh juices and fruit, plus the usual hot choices. The room and bathroom are comfortable and functional, with good internet, lighting and a comfortable bed. The outdoor pool is stunning but the indoor pool in the spa is AMAZING, with many different therapy jets to stimulate different parts of the body, plus great steam and sauna. The hotel is next to the casino and a pleasant 20 minute walk along the shore path to Cascais dining.