Novotel Lisboa 4 stars

We are currently staying in the hotel on our last night. The staff weren’t friendly at all to us when asking for places to go or see. Also when asked for room essentials like towels , coffee and milk. We were woken on the two mornings with loud drilling noise for the bedroom next door. Called down reception and was told a manager would be in touch. The drilling didn’t stop after either. Just ridiculous. Really ruined our stay this whole experience in the hotel.

2 nights stay, before travelling to the Algarve

Very good

The hotel is good, spacious and with convenient transport location. Good breakfasts. But all the advantages of staying are crossed out by the fact that the hotel has absolutely terrible wifi, with a speed like 20 years ago. It is impossible even to read a book from a computer normally, because the page is flipped for a minute. Wouldn't recommend for a business trip. No calls, no work can be done on this Wi-Fi. Another unpleasant moment is that the carpet in the room is dirty. It is impossible to walk without shoes. In Ibis, on the contrary, the Internet is fast and the rooms are cleaner, although it is half the price and also from your corporation.

While attractive enough, there is nothing to really recommend this hotel for tourists. We were only here because it is a hotel suitable for large tour groups. There is very little in the neighborhood to walk to so a demerit in that regard. The one exception is that the hotel seems to make a special effort to serve families. For example, in the lobby just off the registration desk and across from the elevators is an area where kids can play video games. There is also a coloring desk in the breakfast area. So, this hotel may well work out fine for families with children. The bathroom had the most contemporary sink that I can remember seeing in a hotel room (see photo) but the style comes at the expense of needed counter space. In general, the room lacks basic functionality. There are zero USB plugs in the room to charge devices and only one side of the bed had one electrical outlet. This seems to be a major deficiency for Novotels in Spain and Portugal—nowadays, it is inexcusable to not provide ample outlets or charging capacity near nightstands. Probably the biggest fault we found of the hotel was that the air conditioning system was inadequate. The numbers were rubbed off on the control unit so one could not tell how to try to adjust the temperature cooler or warmer. It turned out, that didn’t matter since the temperature of the individual rooms were not adjustable and the central control kept all of the rooms way too warm. We spent two uncomfortably warm nights here, when the weather outside was actually quite temperate. In our view, this is an unacceptable aspect of a hotel room. The one high point for the hotel was the bountiful and tasty breakfast offering. The breakfast buffet included a variety of hot and cold selections. One of the offerings was a "pancake machine" that was very popular with kids. Also, don't miss the pastel da nata—the absolutely delicious Portuguese speciality pastry that we ate way too many of. (It somewhat resembles an egg custard that is associated with Chinese dim sum, but the pastry part is flaky like a croissant and the filling is more cream than egg custard.) Breakfast was also served in a very roomy and attractive area, including an outdoor patio area.