Design-led aparthotel brand Locke lands in Lisbon and The Arb’s Estella Shardlow is among the first to check in…
July in Lisbon. The mercury has soared to 32°C and there’s no better place to lie in a heat-induced stupor than Locke de Santa Joana’s poolside. Everyone who’s lounging on the lawn sipping Portuguese wine or palomas looks pretty smug, because not only have they found a watery oasis right in the city centre, they’re also first-in at one of the Portuguese capital’s most hyped hotel launches.
With 15 European outposts including Zurich, Manchester and Berlin already, Locke vies for a digital nomad crowd. It marries stylish studio apartments and co-working space with can’t-do-enough-service and resort amenities, plus cultural programming and food concepts cool enough to tempt locals inside.
This home-away-from-home concept’s clearly resonating, as when I arrived during its soft launch week, the front desk was inundated with arriving guests, several towing hefty suitcases that suggested they were bedding down for a while. Others were tapping away on laptops in a large, airy lounge just off the lobby, its stripy tables, wicker chairs and hand-painted ceramics banishing any sense of corporate blandness (good to see ample plug sockets, too).
But back to the pool. Set within a suntrap courtyard, this is a prime spot from which to survey Locke’s architectural mashup. There’s the original 17th century convent building, where you’ll find some of the quirkier room layouts as well as a soon-to-open fine-dining restaurant and cocktail bar occupying the stunning, vaulted chapel space, and a museum exhibiting artefacts unearthed during the renovation.
Other salvaged items are repurposed in hotel décor – azulejo tiles framed on the walls, stone fonts becoming washroom sinks. Hats off to interior design studios Lázaro Rosa-Violán and Post Company for the artful conversion. Who knew a mid-century chair looked so good in a 1600s stone archway?
A more modern, nine-floor apartment block along the opposite side contains more of Locke de Santa Joana’s 370 apartments and studios, their terracotta-tinged walls offset by industrial fittings. My fifth-floor terrace suite had a comfy bed separated from the living space by a glass partition, a chaise longue and communal outdoor area for downtime and a generously sized shower room with salted caramel-scented Kinsey Apothecary toiletries.
Nearly all the 11 accommodation categories come with marble-topped kitchenettes, their mini dishwasher, electric hob and fridge-freezer offering the option to self-cater; I only got as far as a Vietnamese take-away but welcomed the chance to do laundry and practise yoga on the in-room mat during my trip.
If only the lift directly connected my floor to the pool and dining areas; the property’s idiosyncratic, multi-building layout means some extra wandering around. But to help navigate, Locke’s thoughtfully created a geolocation map that’s accessed via QR code in the reception. Squirrelled away in these corridors, some exciting nightspots are also in the offing, created in collaboration with London’s White Rabbit Projects and Spiritland. Most exciting is Japanese-inspired vinyl listening bar Kissaten (launching September 2024), a moodily lit, soundproofed lounge unlike anything currently found in Lisbon.
Of 10 planned F&B outlets, only hole-in-the-wall Castro’s Café and all-day terrace restaurant Santa Marta were up and running during my stay. Not that I felt limited for options with the latter’s Mediterranean menu – wood-fired sourdough pizza one evening, clam linguine the next, and a lunch of small plates such as burrata, tuna crudo and panzanella. Every dish sang with high-quality ingredients, a generous drizzle of olive oil and scattering of herbs.
Breakfast was also served in Santa Marta and again the colourful, fresh offerings put many a hotel buffet to shame. Berry compote and house granola, followed by ripe avocado, tomatoes, Portuguese cottage cheese and eggs became my go-to. My only niggle would be the absence of barista-made drinks here; a coffee snob myself can’t get on board with a machine-made flat white.
In a city as fun-loving and sunny as Lisbon, it isn’t always easy to be productive (take it from someone who spent five hazy months digital-nomading there last year). But a stay at this former convent helped reformed my ways; a super-central address with a laptop-friendly policy, non-touristy location and home comforts aplenty to support a longer stay, alongside in-house gourmet, musical and mixology hotspots. Did I mention that Kissaten will stock Lisbon’s largest whisky collection? Well, you know what they say about all work, no play.
Opening rates at Locke de Santa Joana start from £169 per night for a Locke Room with a balcony. For more information, please visit www.lockeliving.com.
