Residencia White Love

We’d reserved four nights but left after the first. The location is quite far from the places of interest, and reception was almost nonexistent. To reach anyone there, you have to phone. The building is old and badly maintained, with no elevator, so be ready to carry luggage up four floors. Our tiny bathroom had no proper door handle or lock, and the shower handle was on the floor because its wall hook was broken. The mattress was hard and you could feel the coils. There was no AC in the hot summer and only two outlets in the whole room. The old door key took some fiddling to work. Not good, don’t waste your money!

The room was spacious, with a very comfortable bed, and I liked the high stucco ceilings. The location is great, on a pleasant square with a fountain and cafes, restaurants, and shops all around. It’s lively, but this part of Lisbon still isn’t too touristy. Still, the old building needs renovation and has security problems. Cobwebs hung from the ceilings, and an old T-shirt had been left on the back of the bathroom door, probably by a previous guest. Staff weren’t especially friendly. I felt like I’d interrupted something important, even though I’d told them my arrival time in advance. The historic room doors were warped, their locks didn’t line up, and there was always a gap. The hallway light outside the room didn’t work, though a motion sensor light came on in the next corridor around the corner. Worse, the winding second-floor corridor ended at a locked door separating the pension from the rest of the house. The pension takes up part of the second floor and all of the third, and that door had to stay locked. With the room locks in such poor shape, that would make it easy for burglars. I also wonder what would happen in a fire. From the partly unlit corridor, you’d have to reach the pension’s door in the stairwell, and it would probably be locked. Would you be able to open it?

Fatima greeted us warmly and was super helpful. The room itself isn’t much, but the bed was comfortable and there was a private bathroom. It’s well located near a gym, bakery, and restaurants, and the common area was kept clean. The shower was a little small and the drain didn’t work very well. Good value for the price!

The location and price were fair, though it was noisy. The place wasn't clean, and there were flies by the entrance. I felt uncomfortable, but I hadn't expected much. We also had to ask for the bedsheets to be changed, which was unpleasant.