A 17th century palace in Belém is home to the future CS Palace Lisboa Hotel. It dates back to 1519 and was originally built as the home of the first captain of the Torre de Belém – Belém Tower – which had its construction concluded in 1520.
Although it was built in the 16th century, the palace underwent big transformations through the 17th and 18th centuries, leaving practically no traces of the original structure.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the palace was sold to private individuals and was owned by many families up to 1941, when it became the Professional Fishing School, active until the 70’s.
CS Group Chairman, Carlos Saraiva, also a trained civil engineer, undertook this project 11 years ago and so has viewed this mission not only through the eyes of an hotelier but especially through a technical perspective.
Carlos Saraiva’s challenge has been to transform a beautiful but derelict Lisbon landmark into a luxury hotel unit, maintaining as much as possible the original features of this historical building. “It has not been a straightforward project but it has certainly been an exciting one”, said Carlos Saraiva.
In 2006, the restoration work uncovered a Roman fish salting factory, dating back to I-III centuries A.D., which will be preserved and made part of the hotel. But an even more relevant discovery was made in that year: A Byzantine coin from the Eastern Roman Empire (VI century A.D.).
This has great significance because up to that point there had been no findings of coins from that period and from that particular empire in Portugal.
We cannot wait to see the end result of this restoration and will be proud to share with the hotel’s future guests the excitement of staying in this new unit, which is no less than a privileged window to bygone times.