Pestana Palace Lisboa

As a regular guest at the Palace I was once more overwhelmed with the warm welcome and the outstanding service. This time we travelled in a group of five including our elderly mother. The help and respect we experienced is humbling especially the members of staff helping with the taxis. But the absolut angel of this house is Maria Ribeiro who is a host any hotel would go green with envy. Maria anticipates the needs of her guests and does everything from her heart, not because she has to. We are already planning our next trip to Lisbon.

We only spent a night because friends warned the property was tired, but in hindsight we would have stayed longer. The original palace / mansion is beautiful, with stunning details throughout and a good bar. Breakfast was excellent. The service was impeccable. The grounds are beautiful. The rooms are in modern annexes looking out either over the garden, or the city. A garden view is great and makes for a very quiet room. There were several loud groups which took away from the otherwise peaceful atmosphere of the hotel.

My spouse and I are jaded travelers who love really good hotels and keep a running list of those few we found to be truly exceptional in every sense of the word. We invited our niece and her husband and baby to join us for a week in Lisbon, but our attempt at securing a suitable VRBO in the old town was a disaster. With one day’s notice we secured 2 rooms for 5 nights at the Pestana Palace for the same cost as the remaining nights at the VRBO. The palace itself is gorgeous and a true palace, luxurious enough for Madonna to stay there for 6 months recently. There are two wings with more ordinary guest rooms; our rooms were in wing 1, and a bit dated but we were so happy with the pool, restaurants, garden and other facilities that it absolutely SAVED our vacation. Then, without our complaining or asking, the general manager upgraded us the next day to Wing 2 in 2 beautiful suites with large terraces for 4 remaining nights, where the 17-month old could play. This incredibly considerate act of kindness put us over the moon and made it without question, for all of us, the best hotel experience we’ve ever had. The Pestana Palace, a member of “the Leading Hotels of the World (LHW.com),” is now our favorite hotel in all the world, and that is saying a lot. Thanks to the wonderful, professional staff who made us feel like family. I’m not afraid to admit that I shed a tear or two when we left.

We were so disappointed with our stay. My husband had been there for a conference and thought it was beautiful, so we booked a room for our last night in Portugal. The buildings are beautiful, as are the grounds. There is some wear and tear showing, however. Our garden view room was pretty, but not amazing. The bathroom was so dark it was hard to put makeup on. The toilet didn't flush completely and the shower door was dangerous and an accident was waiting to happen. We were unable to eat in the main restaurant because an outside group had booked it. We were met there by a very unfriendly man, who didn't offer any solutions for us or offer to help. When we brought our concerns to the desk, the person there was more helpful and got a reservation for us at the Lake House restaurant. The food there was very good, but we were disappointed that we couldn't eat in the main restaurant. Our air conditioning wasn't cooling our room so we were awake all night, sweltering in the heat. We called the desk at 3:30 am and they sent someone to look at it. He was unable to get it working and offered a fan. After a night of little sleep, we at least had a very good breakfast. For the price of our room and being told by staff that we were the king and queen for our stay, we were really let down.

If you want to be treated like Royalty without actually having blue blood, then come to the Pestana Palace Lisboa, a hotel that lives up to its name, reputation, and more. You are greeted at the entrance by Halio in a regal and fun manor right out of a movie. Isabella at the front desk treated us like family. I was escorted to my room by Paula who gave me a tour and revealed a secret along the way. The room was elegant and comfortable with towels and a robe as soft as a baby’s bottom. Breakfast was delicious with a great selection to choose from. The bartender, Nunu, is a wonderful mixologist as well as source of information. The hotel’s at least 15 meter indoor pool is magnificent and perfect to swim laps in with water that is just the right temperature that has no chlorine scent. There is also a very nice outside pool with a fountain in the middle. Probably best of all is the service. So if you want a vacation while pampered in just the right way, then Pestana Palace Lisboa is the place for you. The only challenge is leaving this wonderful hotel🙏😊