InterContinental Lisbon

We were celebrating our 47th Wedding Anniversary and 50 years as a couple. This hotel is a class on its own,the welcome we received from Lara on reception at check in and her help during our stay was exceptional. From the minute we arrived we were made to feel very special. Twice we received Champagne and delicious chocolate strawberries to our room as well as a complimentary day at The Club courtesy of Tiago duty manager. João,the club manager also gave us another discounted day with a traditional High Tea. All the staff are so pleasant and demonstrate guest first principles Breakfast is superb and high quality where a chef will cook eggs on request from omelettes to anything really. The atmosphere in breakfast room very good ably supervised by Wanda F@ B Assistant Director - first class and a lovely person. Rooms and Housekeeping are a well oiled engine and everything is immaculately done. So clean. Centrally located this has to be the best in Lisbon. Thank You to all the team who made this occasion so special. We will return soon. Lynda and Derek Keith

I chose a classic room for 3 nights. The experience was magic. The hotel by itself, the great service from all the staff in the hotel. Check in was great with a man who spoke very well French. All the front desk team does a great job for any question we have. Very helpful. They remembered I wanted to meet someone and they asked me day after if I met him. The service is at the best. For me it is the best hotel of Lisbon. And when only the night receptionist is at the office, no one but those who have the room key can enter freely. The breakfast is really awesome. You can order any hot drink you want and they bring it to you. The buffet is amazing, large choice of products: salted, sweet. Special mention to Maureen who is so friendly with every customer in the hotel. She makes you start a great day. Thank you so much for this experience

Choosing a 5-star hotel means seeking the highest quality service. From our arrival until dinner, we received impeccable service from dedicated staff, like P. Santos in the restaurant. Every staff member is there to answer your every question and ensure you receive the best possible service and attention. Congratulations! You deserve this review from my 29 years as a diplomat who has traveled the world.

The rooms are clean, comfortable, and quiet. There's an adequate number of electrical outlets and USB ports. In terms of location, potential guests should be aware that while it is in front of a park and on a quiet street, there's not much of a choice of restaurants on that side of the park, so eating out will usually need a walk of at least 15 minutes, involving climbing (the park is sunken, so one has to go down and then back up again). The hotel restaurant is nice, but pricey. Also, while it is a fairly easy 700 m walk TO the nearest metro stop (Marquês de Pombal), since it's downhill, the walk FROM the metro station is a bit of a schlep. I certainly wouldn't try it with luggage. You will probably use a ride-share service or taxi most of the time. My most important admonition, though, is to check your bill when you check out. We had two major errors. First of all, we were told we'd get 15 Euros per day as restaurant credit as Platinum Ambassador members, but they "forgot" about this. Also, a couple of days before we checked in, we were asked to pay a 100 Euro supplement if we wanted to check-in early. We gladly did so, since we came in by cruise ship, so needed to check-in around 10 AM. However, when we checked out we were charged a second time. We were told this was temporary, but this was not reversed, and I had to contact my credit company to get the double-billing taken car of. Much as I like the InterContinental brand, I probably won't stay here on my next trip to Lisbon, since I don't want to reward dishonesty.

In my recent trip to Lisbon, I stayed in the Intercontinental Lisbon Hotel. Located in the mid-levels, this property was originally under the ownership of Le Meridien from 1980s until it was sold to the IHG group in 2014. The property has undergone major refurbishment in the same year, and as you can see from this clip, it still exudes a bit of Le Meridien’s vibe, which is always slightly compact and dark. This is slightly different from the vibe that I experienced when I stayed in other Intercontinental hotels like the one at Dublin or Singapore, but I do need to give credit to the Intercontinental hotel for at least trying to inject its own identity. That said, once you’ve seen the rooms of this hotel, it is actually very Intercontinental, which always exudes a certain kind of opulence typical among its hotels. By that I mean in a very subtle and elegant way. While no chandeliers or high ceilings would be expected in their properties (except maybe the one at Singapore), it has always created a sense of cosiness and elegance that is perfect for business travellers, as nothing beats a cosy sofa or a comfy king size bed after a red eye flight. For the bathroom, it is also very typical Intercontinental. It’s clean and well kept, except the fact that some of the tiles have a few cracks on them, which reminded me that Portugal was actually a seismically active country. Like its siblings, Byredo’s products were used as bathroom amenities, which is of course a top notch brand . The only catch was that it has no bathtub, so for those who prefer to have bubble bath, it would not possible. For food, let’s start with breakfast. Again at €25, nothing shocking, just decent with a reasonable amount of choices. You can also order a la carte ones at no extra costs. One thing that I like the most is that during my whole stay, it was never too crowded, and staff has always been very attentive. However, I have to say if you have stayed in Intercontinental Dublin or London’s O2, you might be disappointed. Well that’s because the two properties had set a really high bar. Fortunately its restaurants have redeemed itself. First, let’s visit the bar at ground floor. I have to say it’s not any typical bar that sometimnes intimidated people like me who do not drink, as the staff is really warm and friendly. You also won’t hear loud music or people talking loudly like the ones at W hotels. Not only have they got non alcoholic drinks like this mint and coriander lemonade, they also have snacks like this beautifully made club sandwiches and French fries. What better way to rejuvenate after a delayed flight than having such refreshing snacks? The Akla restaurant is another highlight of this hotel. First, let’s see this soup of the day, which has cabbage, bacon and grilled octopus. It is creamy and well cooked, as it has absorbed all the best taste of the ingredients like the fragrance of bacon, the grassiness of cabbage and ocean taste of octopus. For starters, I have this Mozambique Wild Shrimp Croquette. While in general it’s tasty, I do think the ones that I had in Barcelona are actually much better in the taste department, as they are usually beautiful in texture and creamy inside. This one is slightly dry and more like the bird’s eye fish fingers that we had when we were young. Fortunately this grilled Codfish is very good, as you can see from this clip that it is beautifully grilled and very juicy. On my second day, I have tried their in room dining. This salad with Ricotta Cheese is very refreshing and fulfilling at the same time, and the ingredients are all top notch. While for the day when I checked out, I had this beautifully made spinach ricotta soup, which was super creamy and filled with the luscious texture of dairy and spinach. While for the main dish, this Tagliatelle with Mozambique wild shrimp and reggiano has a sprinkle of citrus taste thanks to the refreshing ingredients of coriander and asparagus. And to end this lunch on a high note, what better way than to have this creamy and beautifully made creme brûlée? Last but not least, let me take you to the gym of this hotel. While there is no swimming pool in this hotel, the gym is well equipped with facilities such as dumbbell, strength training machines and treadmill. All in all, my stay at the Intercontinental Lisbon was a really impressive experience. It has lived up to the standard of a typical Intercontinental hotel. Staff as always are professional and dignified. And that’s actually what I like the most about intercontinental hotels, especially after you have stayed in other five star hotels that claimed to focus more on personal touch but can’t even ensure consistency in service (knock knock MO I am talking about you). Another thing that I like the most about this hotel is the fact that it’s flying under the radar, including its price, as what’s not to love about when on average it’s only charging me €300 per night, which for a not-so-cheap city like Lisbon, is actually a bargain.