Lawrence's Hotel is in Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the Lisbon District of Portugal. Opened by an Englishman in 1764, it is reputedly the oldest, still-functioning, hotel on the Iberian Peninsula, although it has not been open continuously. [1] [2]
Named Lawrence's Hotel after the original owner, the hotel has been sold several times and has undergone several name changes. In 1850 it was called the English Inn. It was purchased after 1880 by an Englishman named Durand, who renamed it after himself. At the end of the 19th Century it was bought by an Irishman, Michael Gallway, who used part of the premises to establish a pastry shop. In 1949 it became the Estalagem dos Cavaleiros (Knights’ Inn). It closed in 1961 and was not re-opened until the early 1990s having been purchased by a Dutch couple in 1989 who restored the building and returned the hotel to its original name. [1] [2] It changed ownership again in 2016. [3]
Over the years the hotel has played host to some important guests. In 1809 Lord Byron wrote part of his famous work Childe Harold's Pilgrimage while staying there, describing Sintra as a “paradise”. The Portuguese novelist José Maria de Eça de Queirós stayed there on several occasions and made reference to the Lawrence in his novels Os Maias and The Mystery of the Sintra Road . Other Portuguese writers to stay there have included Alexandre Herculano, Ramalho Ortigão, Camilo Castelo Branco, and Álvaro Bulhão Pato. [1] [2] The English writer William Beckford was also a guest as, later, were Bill Clinton and Margaret Thatcher. [4]
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refrigerator, and other kitchen facilities, upholstered chairs, a television, and en-suite bathrooms. Small, lower-priced hotels may offer only the most basic guest services and facilities. Larger, higher-priced hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, a business center with computers, printers, and other office equipment, childcare, conference and event facilities, tennis or basketball courts, gymnasium, restaurants, day spa, and social function services. Hotel rooms are usually numbered to allow guests to identify their room. Some boutique, high-end hotels have custom decorated rooms. Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In Japan, capsule hotels provide a tiny room suitable only for sleeping and shared bathroom facilities.
Sintra is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 385,654, in an area of 319.23 square kilometres (123.26 sq mi). Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populated municipalities of Portugal. A major tourist destination famed for its picturesqueness, the municipality has several historic palaces, castles, scenic beaches, parks and gardens.
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Cultural landscape of Sintra | ||
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