Lisbon São Bento Hotel

There was no hot water at all during my stay, from Wednesday through Sunday, so I had to take a cold shower every day. When I reported it, they offered me an inferior room to shower in, then expected me to return to mine. That was completely impractical and unreasonable. There may have been a problem or shutdown with the heating system, but I find it hard to believe there was no backup or other solution. This seriously affected my stay. Hot water is a basic hotel requirement, and management should give this much more attention.

The hotel is handy for the subway, streetcar and buses, and the staff were friendly. The rooms were clean, but small, especially the bathroom, which has a sliding glass door that doesn’t close very well. The street outside is narrow but noisy, so you shouldn’t be too sensitive to traffic sounds. Although the furnishings looked fairly new, they were already quite worn: stains on the walls, a musty curtain, scratched furniture, mildew marks in the bathroom and peeling faux leather on the bed. The curtain rail was bent too, so the curtain couldn’t fully darken the room. Breakfast was as cramped as the room, and supplies weren’t topped up promptly. Bread, spoons, cups and coffee machine milk powder kept running out. For the price, the service doesn’t measure up, and I can’t recommend this hotel.

I had a good time here. The bed was comfortable, the staff were nice and the hotel was very clean and well located. Breakfast was standard but tasty, and you could stop by during the day for another coffee or juice. There was also a coffee maker and cinnamon in the room. Nothing to complain about.

Nice hotel, but I didn’t like being right by the road.