Introduction

In Lisbon I’m staying at the Sofitel Liberdade, which is quite an old hotel that has been at this location for quite some time. This is my third stay at the hotel.

Location

The hotel’s location on Avenida Liberdade is unbeatable. It’s in close proximity to the glitzy shops and the centre of the old town, or what was left of the old town after the big earthquake. Rather conveniently, the Sofitel is right next to the south exit of Avenida metro station on the blue line. From here it’s three stops to Sao Sebastiao where you can connect to the red line to the airport.

The hotel lobby is all shiny, with beautifully polished marble floors. Next to the lobby is a bar that seems to be rather busy most of the day. The only thing that strikes me as being a bit strange is that there are only two reception counters that aren’t even situated next to each other. It’s been too long since my last visit, so I honestly can’t remember, but I suspect the current location of reception may only be temporary.

Check-In

It’s just coming up to 21h by the time I reach the hotel from the airport. My flight from Madrid was ninety minutes late. The young man at check-in is friendly enough, but a bit overly courteous and polite. For example, he tells me I’ve been upgraded to a Deluxe Room with a view over the avenida. I say thank you for the upgrade, to which he answers by thanking me for saying thank you and for being a diamond member.

I’m honestly not quite sure what he’s doing, but he’s typing like crazy before he eventually hands me my room card.

The Staff & Service

The service at the hotel is problematic. On the first morning I come down for breakfast and ask for a coffee with milk. When it doesn’t arrive after twenty minutes, I ask again and it takes another 15 minutes for it to finally arrive. When the restaurant manager comes to check if everything is okay, I just mention that it would have been nice to have the coffee with breakfast instead of after. What I find the strangest thing about our interaction is that instead of apologizing, he asks me to tell him which employee I spoke to. Later on, as I leave the restaurant, he even follows me out, insisting I tell him which waiter I’d ordered with. It’s quite unpleasant. Also, apart from the fact that I’m not the world’s most observant person first thing in the morning, I wouldn’t have told him anyway.

Deluxe Room

The rooms at the Sofitel Liberdade are rather small. To the point that I have to close the cupboard doors while unpacking to move past them into the room. The same thing goes for the French doors to the bathroom, which are somehow always in the way unless they are closed.

The bed is large. It’s also rather lumpy and very uncomfortable. There’s a hump in the middle of the mattress that has me constantly feeling as though I’m about to fall off the side of the bed.

The view from the room is okay, although I can’t see much. Being on the seventh floor, I’m above the trees, so it’s difficult to see anything through the foliage. Also, the window is quite small and cannot be opened.

The bathroom is quite compact as well and has a walk-in shower only, and no bath. The pressure and temperature control are okay, but there’s considerable spillage by the time I’m done. The cosmetics are by Diptyque, which is always nice. They smell lovely!

Amenities

The amenities are not bad. On top of the minibar there’s a hot water kettle and an Illy coffee machine. However, there is no milk or cream available.

On the day I arrive at the hotel, there’s a welcome card and a small plate with Portuguese pastries waiting for me as a welcome gift. There’s also a voucher for a 20 per cent discount throughout my stay which, however, excludes breakfast.

The hotel also provides a turn down service. However, I’m not sure if all rooms get that. In addition, complimentary bottles of still water are replenished daily. The tap water is heavily chlorinated and admittedly not very nice to drink.

Dining

There is just the one restaurant, Matiz, on the ground floor. I only have breakfast there on the first day. The breakfast is a buffet and additional hot egg dishes dishes can be ordered from the menu. However, the buffet selection is rather limited and also doesn’t look very nice. The bread is pre-cut, and judging by how stale it is, they must have prepared it the evening before. There are also small ramekins of smoked salmon, which doesn’t look very appetizing either. The fish has gone dry and is starting to curl at the edges. Luckily, there’s a Starbucks just a few blocks away, and that’s where I go for breakfast for the rest of my stay in Lisbon.

Conclusion

The Sofitel Liberdade is not a well managed property. Quite the contrary. The staff are not properly trained and the guy at the restaurant overseeing the breakfast service was just plain weird in his persistence to find out who done it. Very likely it would not have been to tell them to do better, but simply to delegate the blame and responsibility away from himself, which is, again, poor management in my view.

Other than that, the rooms are starting to look a bit tired. They’re also too small, to the point of being cramped. I rather enjoyed my stay in Lisbon. And I wouldn’t mind coming back during the low season, when there are fewer tourists. But I very much doubt I would be staying at the Sofitel Liberdade again.