Pensão Nova Goa

We had a twin bed, and it was comfortable. The rooms are decent and the staff are friendly. The showers were a letdown: they take ages to warm up, and then the water is either too hot or too cold. Breakfast is included, but it wasn’t great. The location is great, within walking distance of all the major sights in Lisbon.

We saw one bed bug on our second morning. At check-in, there were dark stains on the mattress and bathroom doors, which we took for mold since it’s a common problem here. Nobody on Booking had mentioned bed bugs, so we thought it was safe. I’m surprised other reviews don’t mention them. A low price can turn into a big bill for pest control at home. The street situation was manageable for us. We stayed two nights. Sunday evening, some homeless people were loud: two men nearly fought, and another man yelled at the crowd. He seemed to be a recent drug addict, still physically strong, and we didn’t know what was going through his head. Monday was more or less calm. We could still leave and return to the hotel safely. There was cereal, cheese, ham, bread, a toaster, coffee machine, orange juice, and water at breakfast. The staff are simple people but nice, until it comes to compensation. They refused to reimburse us for pest control supplies and dry cleaning, and Booking couldn’t help. If you’ve already stayed there, ask the property for reimbursement before you leave. We’d expected Pensao Nova Goa to be about what the price suggested, but bed bugs mean I can’t rate it above zero. Don’t go there.

The room smelled damp and stuffy, and everything felt dirty. There was hair and staining on the sheets, and then we found bed bugs. Avoid this place. It doesn’t deserve even one star. Before we checked in, homeless people who seemed to be on drugs were fighting, playing music, dancing, and singing on the hotel steps and outside. They were still there at 3am when we decided to leave. Our Portuguese taxi driver stayed with us until we were safely checked in. We tried to find somewhere else to stay until 3am, but everywhere said it was fully booked. In the end we went back to the airport. We didn’t even want to sit on the room’s desk chair or floor. Booking.com did nothing about our complaint or refund request. The hotel didn’t respond to them or to me after I sent several messages. We lost a night of sleep and paid €88 for the room, €30 for Uber and a cab to and from the accommodation. The stress and expense weren’t worth it, especially with no apology or refund. I’d rather spend another €30-€50 on a different place. While we waited in the lobby for our Uber, some unwelcome drunk guests demanded a room. The receptionist kept saying there was nothing available, and it turned into a big argument about racism, with threats to call the police. We were just glad to get out.

We stayed here for our last night in Lisbon. The room was a decent size and had good AC, and the bathroom had recently been refurbished. Water pressure was strong, but the drain was slow and the floor might not have a drain, so it could flood. Be careful. Breakfast was free and did the job, though the choice was very limited. From what I remember, there was a modern coffee machine, bread for toast, ham, cheese, two kinds of cereal, butter, and peach jam.