By Ann Abel

The best small hotels are nearly always passion projects and labors of love. Lisbon got its latest proof of this in October, with the arrival of Hotel das Amoreiras, a 19-room oasis beside one of the city’s most beautiful small parks.

Pedro Oliveira, who founded the new hotel along with his wife, Alicia Valero, has had a lifelong love affair with hotels. “Our family had a rich cultural life,” he recalls of the years they spent as emigrants in London. “We would go to exhibitions and monuments, and also for tea in hotels—just to see the [grand] hotels … continue reading

Ann Abel is a travel writer and editor and was a senior editor at ForbesLife. She writes for Forbes, Departures, Conde Nast Traveller, Robb Report, Afar, National Geographic Traveler, Islands, Hemispheres, Brides, Modern Bride, Well + Good NYC, and other print and online publications.”In the name of lifestyle journalism, ” she says, ” I’ve gotten a tattoo in Bora Bora, been bitten by a massage therapist, and flown small aircraft above three continents.” She lives in Lisbon.