Esqina Cosmopolitan Lodge

"Great location, perfect base that is central and within easy walking distance to Baixa, Chiado and Alfama. The hotel is on a hill but most of Lisbon is hilly anyway so didn’t bother us! There is work to the building next door at the moment , however the noise never started before 08:30am and we were out almost all day so this wasn’t an issue for us - with our balcony door closed there was barely any noise from outside at all. The hotel is very clean and looked after. All the staff that we spoke to are friendly and helpful. Great bar area and outdoor terrace to enjoy drinks. We really enjoyed our stay here and would definitely return!"

"We stayed for five nights and enjoyed how central the hotel was to train station and buses. But that’s where our good experience ended. The hotel itself is rundown and out of date. The key is expected to be returned to the reception every time you come and go and all the doors are monitored by reception. The underground train is loud and vibrates through the building. They are doing extensive work on la rambler which is obviously out of control of the hotel but if I had of known my choices would have been different. The buffet is very limited and we weren’t really impressed by the food. Wouldn’t stay again and probably wouldn’t recommend there are nicer hotels in the area. So if you’re looking for a rest, I would not choose this hotel."

"The hotel is in a great location in Lisbon, close to popular tourist areas. Yes, it’s at the top of a hill but most of Lisbon feels like it’s on the top of a hill - you can’t really avoid that. Popular areas like Alfama, Chiado and Bairro Alto all felt within comfortable walking distance and there was a tram stop just down the hill. Baring in mind the hotel is in a pretty old building, they’ve done a great job of making if it feel fresh, modern and welcoming. There is a bar and restaurant on the ground floor too. There was a lift, which was welcomed after a day wandering the city. Check in was 3pm and check out was 12pm. All the staff were friendly and helpful throughout our stay. The room was small, but you expect that in a city. Despite this it had most things you needed including air conditioning, a small fridge, kettle, hair dryer, a clothes rail and storage along with a suitcase stand. There was free water and tea/coffee facilities. The shower was great, powerful for an old building and better than most I’ve had in older city hotels. The room was cleaned daily and the rest of the hotel felt clean too. There were lovely views from our 3rd floor room. If I had 1 small issue with the room itself, it’s that there was no chair in the room, even just a small stool would have been beneficial for my wife getting ready each day. So why only 4*s? We had a fire alarm “false alarm” while we were there. Not ideal but that wasn’t the problem, the problem was that there was no clear plan in place to handle it - the whole thing was utter chaos. Guests were wandering around tired, confused and generally unsure what they were doing. The member of staff on the night shift was shouting incoherently that it was a false alarm from the electrical cupboard in the lobby, which you’d only hear if you were in ear shot. Eventually the alarm, which only sounded in the main lobby of the building and not the rooms, was turned off, but again there was no reassurance that all was ok. No emergency services arrived at any point. I will be honest, the whole thing was unsafe and could have genuinely put people’s lives in danger. The hotel should have fully evacuated until the emergency services cleared the building and indicated that it was safe to re-enter. That would have been inconvenient but it would certainly have been better than risking people’s lives. Please, please, please ensure you have a proper evacuation procedure going forward."