ibis Coimbra Centro

The staff were very friendly and always available, and checking in was easy even though I can’t say more than Hola! It’s well located and easy to find. The bar was nice enough, and breakfast was really good. For a 2star hotel, the room was better than I expected, comfortable and clean. The TV is in Portuguese, but there were quite a few channels, including Discovery and movies, with English audio and Portuguese subtitles, so I had something to watch in the room. The underground car park is a bit of a challenge. It’s great to have parking, and there was plenty of space once I got inside, but the entrance is a very steep, tight bend. You can see from all the paint on the walls that plenty of people struggle with it, especially if, like me, it’s your first time driving on the opposite side.

Breakfast was included and absolutely fantastic, the best I had during my two-week stay in Portugal. The rooms are practical and have everything you need, including an extremely comfortable bed. The hotel has a modern, simple style, and the central location puts you steps from the main attractions, right across from the Mondego River and its parks and bridges. It really shows that keeping things simple and practical works best.

We booked for two people, but the hotel gave us one double bed, with no option to split it into two singles as you can in most hotels. After the Ibis review: the response from Ibis doesn’t reflect what’s actually happening. We’re still staying here, and nothing has changed. We’re friends, not a couple, and asked for two separate duvets. Instead, we were given only a blanket and told the hotel doesn’t have any duvet covers at all. That’s absurd. Fresh duvet covers are a basic standard for hygiene and comfort in any hotel. We also asked for an extra small towel during our longer stay. Even that was treated like a problem.

The staff were nice and attentive, and the rooms and common areas were clean. Good decoration too. I’ll come back.