Year: 2021

When it comes to hotels in major cities, we often find our experiences to be hit or miss as it is hard to balance prime location, price, and amenities.

A great room, with a stellar location, often comes at a high price. A cheaper room with a stellar location may be lacking in amenities. Or you have a great room with a stellar price point, but have to make a sacrifice on location to meet a budget.

At the The Marriott Fontecruz Lisboa, we felt like we got all three right in the heart of Lisbon. We really couldn't have asked for much more at this one!

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Whenever we talked to other travelers who have visited Portugal, one of the first questions they would ask always was “Are you going to Sintra?”

It was almost comical how fast this question would come up.

The answer was, “of course we are going to Sintra”, and we went there on our second full day in Portugal. After visiting, we can see why this spot was such a highlight as it was a truly amazing day trip from Lisbon. 

In this one, we don't want to convince you to go to Sintra. Odds are good you already have it on your agenda (although we're going to talk about it a bit). Instead, we want to talk about the different Sintra day trip options you have and why taking the train may be the best option.

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Portugal is a culinary wonderland, so we knew we had to try and hit at least a few Michelin-starred restaurants on our recent trip.

Our first stop was in Lisbon at Belcanto – a two-star Michelin restaurant that is also one of The World's 50 Best Restaurants. Given these accolades, we had high expectations going into the meal, but Belcanto managed to even exceed those. From the impeccable service, intriguing wine pairings, and perfect mix of traditional and inventive flavors, we were simply in heaven.

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When we impulsively decided to visit the Algarve in southern Portugal, we decided we would do it in style at Marriott's Pine Cliffs Hotel.

Part of this is because when you're at one of the most beautiful seasides in Europe, you probably want to stay somewhere with a view. The other part is that finding accommodations with a view in the Algarve is rather difficult!

The simple explanation for why this is an issue is because the beaches in the Algarve are backed by some of the most dramatic cliffs you'll ever see. Due to this unique geography, hotels typically do not build directly on the beaches, but rather on top of the cliffs themselves and many are several blocks away near the main roads at that.

Finding properties at the edge of one of these cliffs with a prized view is easier said than done, and generally means you're going to be paying a premium to stay at a resort and even more if you want a room with a view.

It was the best decision we made in the Algarve.

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