Flores 105 Guesthouse

The staff were friendly, the decor was beautiful, and the common areas looked like they belonged in a magazine. It was a nice touch to have breakfast laid out each morning. The location was perfect for sightseeing. Our disappointment was the room. We booked one advertised with a “private balcony and sea view,” but the balcony was actually shared and had no privacy. It was tiny, and the sea was only visible if you looked to the right. The room itself was very small, and the bathroom was tiny and dark, with such dim lights they were almost pointless. There wasn’t a working socket beside the mirror, which made doing my hair and makeup difficult. I ended up standing on the bed, hunched over, to do my hair. We also didn’t feel we had much privacy. We could always hear people just outside our door, watching TV or lying on the couches. One girl sitting in the rocking chair at night, staring into space, was pretty creepy. I’d recommend staying for a night or two, but we paid quite an extortionate price and I think we could’ve got more elsewhere.

Good: breakfast, big lounge, balcony. This was a nightmare. I couldn’t believe I had to stay here for two nights. Don’t come here. For 40€, sure, you can pay for the location, the air conditioner, and the nice living room. But with the cracked window, terrible room smell, no room for bags, not even a small desk, and heavy luggage to carry up to the third floor, it was a bad deal. We couldn’t even open the window in our room. The drilling started at 8 a.m., waking us up, then went on all day. It sounded like nobody should stay at the hotel during daytime. If they weren’t crazy about making money, how could they take customers while the building was being remodeled? Whenever I turned my head to the right while lying down, I smelled a damp basement coming from the wall. It gave me a headache. I wouldn’t pay more than €40 a night for such a small room. The photos in Google reviews seem to be all wrong, maybe they’re old, or from the hotels where you may check in. When I checked out, staff asked, “Was everything okay?” I couldn’t say anything. Ten seconds later, I managed, “Yeah.....” I’ll never come back here in my life!

We were close enough to walk to lots of attractions, shops, bars and restaurants, and I’d happily come back. The place was spotless, with a pretty lounge offering free tea and coffee. Our room was spacious and nicely decorated, and the owners made us feel welcome and were really helpful. Breakfast was nice too. There were three shared bathrooms.

The building has a lovely old Portuguese feel, and the apartment was cozy and relaxing. Our room was clean, well arranged and a good size, with a very comfortable bed. The floor was nicely decorated, and there were complimentary cakes, fruit and water available around the clock. Breakfast was a real highlight, with fresh cakes and fruit, scrambled eggs, vegetables and toast in a beautifully decorated, relaxing room. Bairro Alto, Cais do Sodré and City Hall are all nearby. I did have concerns about how staff handled an incident during check-in. A taxi driver came in and physically attacked the guest ahead of me, while the security guard and receptionist didn't really step in. That left a bad first impression. Breakfast is in another hotel, rather than the building with the rooms, and I think that should be made clear in the description. The apartment can also be noisy. During my stay, a guest got up at 5am for a Skype call, and at 3am I was woken by a big argument in the street. There isn't a receptionist in the apartment overnight, so you have to call the other hotel about problems. I think staff should remind guests to keep the noise down at all times.