journal
02 / 05 / 2015
Article originally published in ATTITUDE #55 - November/December 2013
At the heart of fado
—
The first boutique hotel located in the Alfama neighbourhood of Lisbon, is the recently inaugurated Memmo Alfama found on Travessa das Merceeiras, right behind Lisbon’s Sé cathedral.
Occupying a structure that was once a complex of workers’ homes, two building had to be joined to form just one, which presented some complexity in the project overseen by the architect Samuel Torres Carvalho. Some of the original elements of the construction were preserved, namely the façade, but within we find a contemporary architecture project dominated by tones of white and grey. The large regular windows in the building, letting light into the guest rooms, reception rooms and stairways frame majestic views over the Alfama district and the river Tejo, introducing unexpected rays of daylight. The terrace offers a panoramic view that can be enjoyed next to the small red swimming pool, a colour choice that enabled this element to blend in with surrounding terracotta roofs.
At the heart of fado
—
The first boutique hotel located in the Alfama neighbourhood of Lisbon, is the recently inaugurated Memmo Alfama found on Travessa das Merceeiras, right behind Lisbon’s Sé cathedral.
Occupying a structure that was once a complex of workers’ homes, two building had to be joined to form just one, which presented some complexity in the project overseen by the architect Samuel Torres Carvalho. Some of the original elements of the construction were preserved, namely the façade, but within we find a contemporary architecture project dominated by tones of white and grey. The large regular windows in the building, letting light into the guest rooms, reception rooms and stairways frame majestic views over the Alfama district and the river Tejo, introducing unexpected rays of daylight. The terrace offers a panoramic view that can be enjoyed next to the small red swimming pool, a colour choice that enabled this element to blend in with surrounding terracotta roofs.
Memmo Alfama aims to go beyond the traditional concept of a hotel by encouraging its guests to feel truly at home. To achieve this there is no check-in time and in the dining room there is a fridge where guests can serve themselves whenever they like, just like they were at home. The guests can also take advantage of the daily tours through the Alfama district organised by the hotel, as a way of intimately discovering one of Lisbon’s most traditional neighbourhoods.
