"Mr Smartie and I recently enjoyed a rather pleasant stay at the Hotel Inn Express - Plaza Saldanha in Lisbon. The hotel is between the Saldanha and S. Sebastião stations on the Metro Red Line, which makes it super easy to tap on and tap off from the airport. Due to an early morning arrival I’d emailed the hotel the week before to see if we could drop off our luggage, which hotel staff said they were happy to do. However a delayed flight worked to our advantage. When we arrived at the hotel, we were told our room was ready, so we were able to check in early.
317 was close to the lifts, and faced the rear of the hotel. The room was spacious and clean, and had an iron, ironing board and hair dryer for those who required them. In addition there were plenty of plugs and USB ports around the room. The two USB ports next to my side of the bed didn’t appear to work, but that didn’t affect me, especially when there were so many other power outlets to use. The room also contained a small sofa - which doubles as another bed – and a small table. The bathroom was first class. And we were provided with fresh towels on a daily basis.
For me, the room lacked a small electronic safe deposit box for us to securely store passports and other personal items. I’m so bored of hotels not taking guests security seriously. IHG there was a space below the suitcase stand that would house a small safe perfectly. Get it sorted! Also instructions on how to use the air conditioning system attached to the rear of the bedroom door would be useful for guests too.
In general the hotel was extremely quiet. But be aware that aeroplanes fly over the centre of Lisboa at very regular intervals. The noise from this could affect guests in any city centre hotel. Our triple-glazed windows helped keep noise to a minimum. Flights generally start around 05.00 in the morning and go through to the late evening. But if you spend your days exploring the city on foot, like we did, you won’t have any problems sleeping.
Breakfast was generally very good, although fresh fruit was limited most mornings. There was plenty of cereals, yoghurt, eggs, bacon, bread, cakes and pastries to satisfy most appetites. The dining and lounge areas adjoin one another and were both well used by all guests. And we certainly enjoyed relaxing in these areas with a glass of red wine before bed.
In summary, as an introduction to Holiday Inn Express, this was a great stay. The hotel location, its proximity to metro lines, friendliness of hotel staff, and the quality of the accommodation, food and drink made our short city break very memorable. Obrigado! We’ll be back."
