Pestana Palace Lisboa

A bit of a mixed experience. The grounds are lovely, as was the pool area, which was one of the main reasons we booked this hotel as wanting a city break and some relaxation. The room was comfortable, comfortable beds, pillows, aircon, good shower. We slept well and the room cleaning was very thorough. But there were stains on the carpet. The location was good with easy and quick access to the centre of Lisbon and the airport. The breakfast buffet was good - lots of fruit and well stocked. The service was mixed - we had to wait for a table every morning, some staff were lovely and helpful but others not so much. We were offered coffee every morning but had to actively ask for everything else. The eggs royale were not good. The prices of drinks are on the high side -€7 for a soft drink plus service charge of 10%. Service in the bar was non existent - I sat reading and waited 30 mins but was not approached. I would stay again but the hotel could go form good to great if more attention were paid to guests.

I had an extra night unexpectantly in Lisbon and my booked hotel did not have capacity, so liked the look of this hotel. When you drive up, it is impressive. When you think of an old school palace, with loads of reception rooms with big ceilings, ornate grandeur etc, this is what this place is like and you get it in spades. We booked a balcony room and had a lovely view of the garden. The balcony had a table and two chairs and the balcony itself was spacious. There is a church in the hotel, so definitely worth checking that out. The disappointment for us was the service - when we first arrived, we wanted some lunch and waited in the bar area for 20 minutes and couldn’t find anybody to give us a menu - we walked out to a local cafe instead. Later that night, it took almost 30 minutes to get a bowl of ice cream. And one cup of tea the following morning in the blue room cost us €8.80. Check-in and checkout had lengthy queues. So the hotel really does appear to be understaffed. It does have parking and if you prebook it was €15 per day. On check-in we asked could we leave the car there for 2 further days and the receptionist was very helpful. The hotel is a good destination if you are coming from the southwest, but don’t want to have to drive in the city. The location is out of the main tourist attractions in Lisbon, but is very easy and cheap to get transport from the hotel. The gym equipment was very old and badly needed changing or at least maintenance. I paid €420 for a Thursday night stay and don’t think it was good value. I paid for glamourous surroundings but they were dated, and expected 5 star service, but it was barely 2 star. So overall, whilst I did enjoy the palatial surroundings, I felt a bit hard done by, and was glad I had somewhere else booked for a Friday night in Lisbon.

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.