Choosing to stay at the Sofitel in Lisbon was one of my better hotel decisions as of late. It’s a beautiful property in an excellent location, the staff is phenomenal, and the room was as quiet as a library. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.
A full review of my 1 night stay at the Sofitel Lisbon
It’s not often that I’ll write a gushingly positive hotel review (I’m a bit of curmudgeon, I know), but I don’t have many bad things to say about this particular Sofitel.
The location
The location, as far as I could tell, was pretty much perfect and right in the center of everything. This being my first time in Lisbon, location was probably more important to me than anything else. The Sofitel Liberdade shines magnificently in that regard.
Checking in
Despite not having a room ready for me when I arrived at 9am (I didn’t expect them to), I was very much impressed with the professionalism and kindness the entire front desk staff. They were all extremely cheery and happy, and very eager to make sure that I felt welcome and that I had everything I needed for a perfect stay.
They were quick to offer to store my backpack and suggested a list of things that I (a first time visitor to the city) might enjoy doing for an afternoon. I very much appreciated that, and ended up having a very nice morning and early afternoon on the streets of Lisbon as I waited for my room to become available.
I arrived back at the hotel around 2:30 PM with sore feet and a slightly tweaked back, which made the anticipation of checking in seem all that much stronger. The room could’ve been a complete dump for all I cared – all I wanted was air-conditioning and a nice comfy chair to sit in for little while.
Getting to my room
The room
As you can see from the pics, this was actually a pretty nice room with a strong Portuguese flavor to it. I can say that I honestly wasn’t expecting a room with so much local flair to it (this being a chain hotel and all), and I found it to be very comfortable and the perfect home base for my first ever visit to this city.
An added bonus was the fact that it was really quiet, despite being on one of the busiest streets in town. Thankfully I had a room on the opposite side of the building which overlooked a quiet alleyway didn’t see much action. Suffice to say, I slept like a baby that night.
The bathroom
Final thoughts
The verdict? The Lisbon Sofitel is an excellent choice for first-time visitors to the city due to its proximity to a majority of the local sights. It’s also located on one of the main streets running through the city, which I enjoyed walking aimlessly up and down several times just soaking in the local culture.
Bars, cafés, and restaurants are plentiful in this area and all within walking distance – and if you stay here, I’d advise you to bring a good pair of walking shoes. There’s just so much good stuff to see in every direction of this place and you’re probably going to want to see it all.
My only criticism of the room is that it seemed dark and dreary. I’m not a big fan of dark hotel rooms, but that’s kind of what this one felt like.
Nothing will ever top the Westminster Park Plaza Hotel in London for feeling dark and dreary, but this one comes a bit too close for comfort IMHO. At least I had a window to the outside world in this room and I could actually see the sky. Just slightly.
