Czar Lisbon Hotel

The staff were friendly and polite, and nothing seemed like a problem for them to sort out. Reception was especially professional, and everyone spoke English well. The hotel was clean, tidy, and well maintained, with nice rooms. It’s around a 20-minute walk to the main city centre, a bit uphill on the way back, though Lisbon has hills and steps everywhere anyway. There’s a local shop nearby, a Burger King across the road, and a chemist close by. The hotel gym is basic but enough for a workout, and there’s another gym just a few doors down. We only had breakfast, but it was good, with plenty of choices, including fresh fruit and cooked food. I was really happy with the stay.

The salmon with black risotto and passion fruit was a real surprise. It came out in maybe 10-15 minutes, and the salmon was cooked perfectly while the squid ink risotto was full of flavour. It was affordable too, and I had a 20% coupon on foo. The restaurant wasn’t busy. Before my stay, the hotel let me leave my big luggage there free for 5 days while I travelled to Madeira. I’d just emailed to ask. When I came back, everything was fine, and receptionist Veronica was super friendly. It’s not downtown, but downtown and the airport are still easy to reach. I’d stay here again.

The area didn’t feel very nice, and walking back at night left us feeling quite vulnerable. Rossio Metro was a bit of a trek for our outings, so we took a taxi for about 8 euros. There were closer metro entrances, but we didn’t feel safe using them. The room had enough space for the three of us older women, though the hairdryer and plug sockets worked only intermittently. We couldn’t open the window for fresh air, and there was metro noise. I’d have preferred a kettle with coffee sachets and tea bags instead of an espresso machine. Breakfast was OK, with muesli, fruit, cold meats, cheeses, mini doughnuts, chocolate cake, and more. Some of the cooked options were unusual, like peppers, apples, and pineapple with cinnamon.

The morning staff took our security seriously and made sure we wouldn’t be bothered while getting into our early Bolt to the airport. The hotel was good, just nothing special. The rooms are very small but functional, the beds are low and stiff, and the air conditioning didn’t cool the room even at night.