Lisbon, 20 April 2016: Inspira Santa Marta Hotel (+351 210 440 900; www.inspirahotels.com) is helping guests to experience city, coast and countryside on a trip to Lisbon this spring and summer. The boutique hotel, which offers rooms from €113 (£90) per night*, is making it easy for guests to mix pounding Lisbon's pavements with trips to the seaside and green spaces.

City+Beach

There's no need for Inspira guests to pack a beach towel if they fancy a trip to the seaside during their
city break – they can borrow one from reception at no extra charge. A return trip to the sands at Cascais takes 40 minutes by train from Lisbon's Cais do Sodré station and costs about €4 (£3). Alternatively, guests can take advantage of a new partnership between Inspira and Surf Bus, departing from the hotel door to beaches including Carcavelos, Costa de Caparica and Guincho. Return fares range from as little as €15 per person if a group of 8-15 books the service, to €60 per trip for groups of 1-3; tickets can be obtained through reception.

City+Vineyards

Inspira Santa Marta is renowned for its extensive cellar of Portuguese wines, and it will now be sharing a free glass from its collection with guests who visit the Casa Ermelinda Freitas wine estate in Setubal for a tasting. The tour costs €10 per person for the chance to try five wines, served with local produce. The vineyard is a 50-minute rail journey from Lisbon's Entrecampos-Poente station to Fernando Pó, from where it's only a four-minute walk. Guests wishing to claim their free glass of wine should take their entrance ticket along when they dine at Inspira's Open restaurant, which offers a selection of Casa Ermelinda Freitas wines as part of its list.

City+Hike

Inspira has teamed up with local company Bork You to offer guests guided hikes in the protected Arrabidá Natural Park. Costing from €40 per person and departing from the hotel door, each tour is tailor-made according to guests' wishes – they might explore the Cabo Espichel, a cape famous for its dinosaur fossil trackways, or visit Portugal's highest sea cliff, the Serra do Risco. If visitors want to stride out on their own, they can ask at reception for alternative suggestions about where to go walking and also borrow maps. 

Contact: www.inspirahotels.com, +351 210 440 900. Follow: Twitter @inspira_hotels; facebook.com/InspiraHotels, pinterest.com/inspirahotel, YouTube, and Google+.

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Notes to editors

* Prices per night, subject to availability.

Inspira Santa Marta Hotel is set in a quiet quarter close to the centre of Lisbon, just off the Avenida da Liberdade. Beyond its sympathetically restored 18th-century façade, a radical reinterpretation of four buildings has resulted in a cool, contemporary interior with a soaring atrium at its heart. The vast open-plan space, home to the hotel's reception, restaurant, bar, and lounge areas, is set against the backdrop of a sweeping staircase, which leads to the spa. 

The hotel is inspired by the Chinese philosophy of feng shui, which informs the design of the common areas, bedrooms and suites; guests can request a room that reflects their birth sign. The styling also beautifully accords with the five elements – water, earth, wood, fire and metal – through the tasteful choice of colours, patterns and materials for the modish décor, fabrics and furniture.

The cleverly designed 89 bedrooms and suites enable guests to move seamlessly through their day. The rooms centre on supremely comfortable beds, with eye-catching integrated shower rooms in the bedrooms and more luxurious open-plan spa bathrooms in some suites. Generous storage areas, smart task- and mood-lighting options, ergonomic desks, and comfy armchairs to relax in all come as standard, as do flat-screen TVs, plug-and-play technology, free WiFi, online newspapers, complimentary toiletries, bathrobes and Fairtrade tea and coffee.

In the hotel's light and airy 80-seat restaurant, Open Brasserie, chef João Silva's team creates Portuguese cuisine with a Mediterranean twist. Fresh, seasonal ingredients – organic and sustainably sourced where possible – are transformed into dishes such as codfish loin from the Portuguese coast served with asparagus, fried egg, potato sticks and sun-dried tomato. Open Brasserie is also the only restaurant in Lisbon certified gluten-free and menus include both vegetarian and vegan options. The Urban Bar provides a convivial space, with an open fire in winter, for sipping the country's fine ports and wines as well as other drinks. There's an adjacent games room, too, where guests can shoot some pool.

Rare among its four-star competitors in the city, Inspira Santa Marta also has a sleek spa, The ReTreat, managed by Ritualspa. Also designed according to feng shui philosophy, this peaceful place has a wellness area with six individual and double rooms for treatments and beauty therapies, plus a tea room for post-treatment relaxation. Features include Vichy water and colour therapies and Elemis is the product of choice. Guests also have access to a well-equipped gym.

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