Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Hotel Palácio


"During the Second World War, due to Portugal’s neutrality several royal families went into exile in Estoril, which became known as the 'Coast of Kings'. The Hotel Palácio (built 1930) was the chosen home of numerous members of European royalty and was also the haunt of British and German spies, who could often be found in its bar. Later, these stories of intrigue and espionage inspired famous novelists and filmmakers and the Hotel served as the set for the James Bond movie 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'." (palacioestorilhotel.com)

22 comments:

brattcat said...

no decay here, i think.

Kate said...

Wonderful to see the hotel and hear its history.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

I wouldn't mind being exiled there!

黄清华 Wong Ching Wah said...

Hotel fit for the kings !

Cezar and Léia said...

Um lugar belissimo, cheio de elegancia e charme e logicamente muitas estórias!
Léia

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

If there were ever a place where the saying 'if those walls could talk' this would be it!! What a wonderful thing it would be to stay there for a night or two. I'd feel as if I were part of a novel or movie. And if I went to the bar, I would definitely ask for my martini shaken not stirred ;>)

Leif Hagen said...

What a grandiose palace! I want to stay there too so I'd feel like a king!
King regards from the Rotary International convention in New Orleans
(The Rotary Intl convention will be in Lisbon in 2013!)

Jack said...

Interesting background. The building looks great.

Sharon said...

It looks very elegant. I can picture James Bond emerging from the front door to jump into one of his racy autos.

Sylvia K said...

What a lovely hotel and I loved reading about its history! Great post for the day as always, JM!

Sylvia

Lois said...

I really like all those balconies!

Carolina Louback said...

Lembro-me do filme de James Bond, mas não sabia que tinha sido filmado em Portugal. Bela arquitetura.

Gosto muito dos filmes de 007.

DIGITAL WORLD PAGES ARCHIVE said...

I liked this photo...

Rachel said...

How neat about the history of this place. I especially like the part about the British and German spies hanging out in the same bar. Beautiful, crisp photo. I like the angle!

PeterParis said...

Nice to see some old palaces like this one still around. Even if you hardly can afford their suites, at least you may be able to find the way to the bar! :-)

Sérgio Pontes said...

Um lugar cheio de história

Randy said...

Looks like a really nice place.

Lowell said...

What a gorgeous building. I love WWII spy stories and I remember reading a lot about Portugal and it being a center of mystery and intrigue! And this was the center of most of it!

I think my fascination with WWII comes from the fact I was just a little too young to be called up but knew many who did serve and some who didn't come back.

Pinecone Stew said...

BEAUTIFUL photograph !

Have a super week.

Joan Elizabeth said...

I have to ask ... do you have any Royal Hotels?

VP said...

A beautiful and elegant place, with a great history!

Jim said...

It's great.