Grande Hotel Lisboa

Once we got past the terrible spa booking process, the service was amazing. The staff were professional, polite and genuinely warm. The lovely people and astonishing atmosphere lived up to expectations and made it feel like good value, even though the initial booking experience ruined my morning. The Manager and reception staff deserve a special mention for making up for the poor system. The hotel manager should look into this: there's no way to prebook a spa place, and no updates on daily availability. It would help to say what time to arrive to have a guaranteed place on the spot.

The location is nice, the interior is fancy and the rooms are good. But the service was outrageous. We called the hotline twice, and nobody at reception could speak English, which I believe is unacceptable for the EU. I wanted to take my family to the spa, but booking a place was impossible. You can't book online or know whether it will be full by the time you get there. Instead, you have to show up an hour early and wait in the hall, only to be told a few minutes before your chosen time, “We are full.” Please fix this system.

The breakfast service could use some improvement. The hotel itself is good, and the spa is large and cool, though it can get a little noisy at certain times of day.

The pools are fun, the spa is amazing, and there's lots to explore across its three floors, including the roof. The views are great all around, and there's parking at the hotel or nearby on the same street. Our room was clean and had AC, an interesting see-through shower, and a built-in sound system that made it easy to connect a phone and play music. Cocktails at the pool bar were decently priced. The selection wasn't huge, but there was enough for a hot, sunny afternoon. It's a gem of a place, and I wish we'd stayed longer.