Archive for the Lisbon category
Monday, Nov 13th, 2006
Categories: Lisbon
After breakfast, our first appointment was Lisbon Poets Hostel. Situated in Barrio Alto (Lisbon’s old town, and full of life) it was a great surprise for us. Being in an old building, difficult to recognise at first sight, when you get inside you find a proper Backpackers Hostel full of character and charm. Decoration based on poems by Portuguese authors, a brilliant lounge room with bean bags and books, a kitchen, nice clean bathrooms, and wonderful shared and private rooms make this a unique and special hostel. It is perfect for the single traveller, as it is very easy to meet lots of new people or just chill out. We were speaking long enough with Lilian (co-owner of the place with Ricardo) to realise they love what they’re doing. I’ll be back to this one, as it was probably my favourite of them all.
After that, we moved to visit Hotel VIP, the first one in a big chain of Hotels that started in Lisbon 13 years ago, and now have 3 and 4 stars hotels all over Portugal and even Mozambique. This one, “Hotel VIP”, is the original, and is 3 stars that will turn into a 4 in a few months. It is a big hotel, and we were showed the rooms (obviously all private) and a nice breakfast area. Then we moved to Hotel VIP Diplomatico, a 4 star, with a huge hall, restaurant, bar, and nicely decorated rooms. Our last stop of the day was Hotel VIP Zurique, where we met Bruno and Mohammed, and we spent a good time with them, speaking about Hostelbookers and VIP Hotels, life in Lisbon, London, Spain… We even had time to enjoy a nice meal with them at the Hotel before leaving.
We returned to Lisbon Downtown, to mix with the Portuguese people, to eat some of the best food I’ve had in the last months, and to walk around its streets wearing short sleeves, as there was Spring weather in November. We’ll have to come back, because this city is full of surprises, and we definitely haven’t seen them all yet…
Monday, Nov 13th, 2006
Categories: Lisbon
We woke to another beautiful sunny day in the capital. After having a big breakfast of coffee and toast with olive oil at the coffee shop under the hotel, we visit with Residencial Apolo. This is a very central hotel with all the necessities, and a very convenient place for families.
Nena, the hostel director welcomed us to Residencial Joao XXI, a fantastic and affordable accommodation just in the centre of the city. She showed us some of the best rooms and after that; we took a break to talk about life and business with our hostess. Nena is a very young and qualified lady with a very clear vision of the industry who made us fell very comfortable all the time. Thanks Nena!.
Without leaving the very center of Lisbon we continued on our visits to Residencial Princesa, a very clean and quiet hotel and Residencial Saldanha. Carlos, the owner of both of these is one of the accommodation pioneers in the city, having advertised his property on the net for more than 10 years.
Finally it was LUNCH TIME! We had rice with fish in a fantastic restaurant in the “LaBaixa” area. Portugal is one of the best places in Europe to eat well. For not more than 15 euros per person you can have a big main course of meat or fish, a drink, and dessert and coffee. Good value for sure!
After lunch we had the chance to met Valeria a talented Argentinean painter who knows how to represent Lisbon’s sensuality on all her paintings. And of course we bought some of her art before it becomes unaffordable.
Finishing the day, we visited the newest property Oasis Backpackers Mansion Lisboa, of the Spanish group of hostels Oasis, an amazing hostel on the highest areas of the city with one of the best views. It is a clean hostel, great value for money and lots of fun for guests. This is one of the most successful Hostel companies in Europe and it is easy to understand why when you see it, as they are very good at what they do.
As this second day of visits is finishing, we are becoming more convinced that Portugal is one of the greatest places to visit in Europe. The mix of quality, prices and the friendliness of people is bound to make your visit to Lisbon an unforgettable experience
Monday, Nov 13th, 2006
Categories: Lisbon
On Monday we woke up at 7.30am at Residencia Nazareth, who kindly gave us accommodation for the length of our stay, and made us feel right at home. We had a great breakfast there (coffee, bread and butter, cheese, ham, croissants…) and then we moved to our first appointment:
Dom Sancho I is a Residencial like most of them in Lisbon (a Residencial is kind of like a hotel but based on one floor of a building only). Dom Sancho has a good reception area and good rooms; all of them private. Its location is great as well, located on Avenida Da Liberdade, one of the main roads in Lisbon. We spoke for a while with Paulo, the manager, about Hostelbookers.com, and we left as soon as the Hotel got busy with check ins. Our first impression of a Residencial in Lisbon was really good.
At the other side of the road we went to Danubio Residencial, our next appointment. They have two floors in an antique building close to the centre. All their rooms are private, and they’ve got a lovely patio, that looks like it would be really enjoyable in the summer. When we visited, they were refurbishing and when they are finished it is going to improve it a lot. All in all it is a good cheap option in a good location.
After “Danubio”, we went to Hotel Internacional, also undergoing some renovations and implementing some really interesting changes in the pipeline. Before they were a normal Hotel, but they’re turning into a Design Hotel, with thematic floors (Urban, Zen, Pop Art…). The rooms are decorated to the highest standard, and a modern restaurant will surely be a reason for booking there. Alex talked to us about his exciting project, and we can say that it looks wonderful, and a good alternative to the classic Hotel. This hostel also has a good location in Rossio, the main square of Lisbon.
The last appointments of the day were Pensao Monumental and Pensao Modelo, which belong to the same group as our hosts, Residencia Nazareth. We had a look at both “Pensaos”, with plenty of cheap rooms in great locations (especially “Modelo”). They’re a good choice for a private room with a price of a bed in a dorm. We spoke with all the staff about Hostelbookers, their group of properties, and life in Lisbon. Mahomed (the owner of these properties) and Aboobakar (his son) recently came to London and visited us in our office.
That was it for our first day of visiting. The balance is that Lisbon is one of the most charming cities in Europe, and it’s got a good range of accommodation. A must go!
Monday, Nov 13th, 2006
Categories: Lisbon
We arrived a day earlier than our appointments, on the Sunday, so we could have some free time to visiting the city, and fell in love with its old town style. Even though it is the capital of Portugal, it feels as though it is much smaller, and seems to have a character and vibe which is different to many other European cities. Lisbon has it all; delicious food and coffee, cheap prices, nice weather and there’s always a good welcome.
