Altis Belem Hotel & Spa, a Member of Design Hotels

Altis Belém Hotel & Spa, a Member of Design Hotels, puts you in a very particular corner of Lisbon: a five-star waterfront address in historic Belém, where the river does most of the visual work and the city remains close at hand. This is a hotel for divers who want more than a bed between excursions, with a proper spa, several places to eat and enough space to retreat when the day's sightseeing has filled the logbook.

The atmosphere is polished rather than beach-resort casual. You have indoor and outdoor pools, a rooftop sun deck, river views and a library where you can borrow a book instead of making conversation with anyone. The hotel's website is available in English, as well as Portuguese, German, Spanish and French, so English-speaking guests are clearly part of its intended audience. The practical details are equally useful: air conditioning, soundproofed rooms, free WiFi throughout the hotel and room service when leaving the room feels like an unnecessary expedition.

You are in Lisbon, in the Belém district, beside the Tagus rather than beside an Atlantic beach. The waterfront position gives the hotel its outlook, while Belém's monuments and museums begin within walking distance. Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Garden are about a seven-minute walk away; Belém Tower and the Monument to the Discoveries are each roughly 550 metres away.

The Centro Cultural de Belém is around a ten-minute walk from the hotel, and MAAT is about 1.5 km away. For a longer city outing, Chiado, Rossio and Bairro Alto are roughly 4 miles from the hotel. Monsanto Forest Park is about 5 miles away if you want trees and open space rather than another tiled façade. Largo da Princesa station is around a seven-minute walk away, while the Centro Cultural de Belém station is about ten minutes on foot.

The room choice is mainly about the view and the amount of breathing space you want around the bed. A river-view room keeps the Tagus in the picture, while balcony categories give you somewhere to sit outside rather than merely look through the glass. Garden-view rooms make more sense if you prefer greenery to passing boats. For two people, the larger balcony rooms are the obvious choice when you want room to unpack properly instead of performing luggage Tetris beside the bed.

Inside, the useful details are all present: air conditioning for warm Lisbon days, soundproofing for a more settled night, a television, desk and seating area, and a Nespresso machine for the first coffee before breakfast. Electric curtains are a small but welcome luxury when daylight arrives earlier than your body would prefer. Modern bathrooms come with slippers and a hairdryer, while free WiFi covers the hotel. The beds receive particular praise in the property information, which matters more than another decorative cushion when you have spent the day on your feet or in the water.

Food is one of the reasons to choose this address over a merely convenient city hotel. Feitoria Restaurant & Wine Bar handles the serious meal, with an author's cuisine built around the origin of the ingredients and the work of their producers. It holds a Michelin star and serves dinner from Tuesday to Saturday, between 19:00 and 22:30. That is the sort of table for a planned evening, not a hurried plate grabbed while still thinking about the next morning's start.

For something lighter, Cafetaria Mensagem serves breakfast and lunch on its terrace, with views towards the marina and the Tagus. There is also Bar 38º41', an evening terrace with an international menu, cocktails and snacks, aimed more at a drink and a small plate than a formal dinner. Breakfast is a buffet with vegetarian and gluten-free choices, and breakfast in the room is available. Room service adds a useful fallback when appetite arrives before enthusiasm for changing clothes.

The BSpa by Karin Herzog is the main reason to leave the room without going anywhere. Its facilities include a dynamic indoor pool, sauna, Turkish bath and jacuzzi, with massages and facial treatments available. Guests have access to the Thermo Garden circuit, while the spa also has a relaxation lounge and wellness packages. After a long day, this is a more sensible plan than pretending that another ambitious excursion counts as rest.

There are indoor and outdoor pools, sun loungers, umbrellas and a rooftop sun deck for slower hours. The fitness centre is there if you still have something to prove to yourself, and the garden and terraces offer less strenuous alternatives. A library provides books to borrow, while live music, evening entertainment and televised live sports give the hotel a little life after dark without turning the whole evening into a compulsory performance.

Lisbon's Humberto Delgado Airport is about 5 miles away, with the journey taking around 20 minutes by car in the property's description. Free private parking is available on site, with valet parking, and no reservation is needed. If you arrive by public transport, the nearby stations at Centro Cultural de Belém and Largo da Princesa are the useful reference points.

Check-in starts at 15:00 and check-out runs until 12:00, giving you a little more time on departure morning than many city hotels. The front desk is open around the clock, with concierge service and luggage storage available. Car hire, public transport tickets and laundry services are also available. Children of any age are welcome; cots and extra beds can be requested, subject to the room option. The minimum age for check-in is 18, and pets are not allowed.