Choosing to stay at the Sofitel in Lisbon was one of my better hotel decisions as of late. It’s a beautiful property in an excellent location, the staff is phenomenal, and the room was as quiet as a library. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.
A full review of my 1 night stay at the Sofitel Lisbon
It’s not often that I’ll write a gushingly positive hotel review (I’m a bit of curmudgeon, I know), but I don’t have many bad things to say about this particular Sofitel.
The location
The location, as far as I could tell, was pretty much perfect and right in the center of everything. This being my first time in Lisbon, location was probably more important to me than anything else. The Sofitel Liberdade shines magnificently in that regard.
Location map of the Sofitel Liberdade here in Lisbon. Right in the middle of everything!
The Sofitel is easy to miss if you’re not looking closely. The taxi driver dropped me off here and I was sure that he made a mistake.
The complete lack of a huge exterior sign threw me off for a second – but this was indeed the entrance to the Sofitel here in Lisbon. Props to that dude on the left for striking the perfect pose for this pic.
Checking in
Despite not having a room ready for me when I arrived at 9am (I didn’t expect them to), I was very much impressed with the professionalism and kindness the entire front desk staff. They were all extremely cheery and happy, and very eager to make sure that I felt welcome and that I had everything I needed for a perfect stay.
Interesting. Not what I was expecting at all (the decor looks Chinese), but it’s still quite nice.
The check in desk. By the way, the woman on the right was the one that checked me in and made me feel like a rockstar for those brief few minutes. She deserves a raise!
They were quick to offer to store my backpack and suggested a list of things that I (a first time visitor to the city) might enjoy doing for an afternoon. I very much appreciated that, and ended up having a very nice morning and early afternoon on the streets of Lisbon as I waited for my room to become available.
I arrived back at the hotel around 2:30 PM with sore feet and a slightly tweaked back, which made the anticipation of checking in seem all that much stronger. The room could’ve been a complete dump for all I cared – all I wanted was air-conditioning and a nice comfy chair to sit in for little while.
Getting to my room
Walking through the maze of hallways on the fourth floor in search of room number 435.
Jackpot.
The room
My first look as I was walking into the room. I give them bonus points for matching the room colors with those of the lobby downstairs.
I was certainly digging this. It definitely has an old world Spanish / Portuguese feel to it, and it looked nothing like the room I had last the Beverly Hills Sofitel (in LA).
A lot more bad than I actually needed, but I wasn’t complaining. That looks nice!
I knew right away that I would be sleeping very well that night. Spoiler alert: I did.
Further proof that all uncomfortable chairs are upholstered in red. For those of you who don’t get that reference, the last hotel room I stayed in (at the Frankfurt Airport Hilton) had a very uncomfortable red chair…
The desk was placed right in front of the window, which I thought was actually kind of nice.
Looking back towards the entrance. And there’s another uncomfortable chair upholstered in red!
I’m not totally sure what that painting is (laundry hanging out to dry?), but I kind of like it.
Looking towards the front corner.
One of the blandest bedside tables I’ve seen in a while, but I don’t make hotel choices based on this kind of stuff. It could’ve been a cinder block for all I cared.
As you can see, it’s a small room but still quite stylish.
It’s a little bit dark in here, but with the window blinds open it wasn’t so bad.
As you can see from the pics, this was actually a pretty nice room with a strong Portuguese flavor to it. I can say that I honestly wasn’t expecting a room with so much local flair to it (this being a chain hotel and all), and I found it to be very comfortable and the perfect home base for my first ever visit to this city.
An added bonus was the fact that it was really quiet, despite being on one of the busiest streets in town. Thankfully I had a room on the opposite side of the building which overlooked a quiet alleyway didn’t see much action. Suffice to say, I slept like a baby that night.
The view wasn’t all that interesting, but at least it helped to make the room quiet.
By the way, room service was excellent here at the Sofitel in Lisbon. This was my dinner.
The bathroom
Interestingly enough, the bathroom didn’t seem to match the overall style of the room. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, as I quite liked it. Definitely more on the “modern” side of the design spectrum.
There’s something about the decor that made me want to grow a mustache and spend hours in here grooming it to perfection.
God it was good to be in Europe again. Why the heck haven’t bidets caught on in the US?
I still don’t understand the half door on the shower thing. How is it possible to take a shower without soaking the entire bathroom when there’s no door??
One last shot at this awesome bathroom. I think I like this one more than the one that was in my room at the InterContinental / New York last year.
Final thoughts
The verdict? The Lisbon Sofitel is an excellent choice for first-time visitors to the city due to its proximity to a majority of the local sights. It’s also located on one of the main streets running through the city, which I enjoyed walking aimlessly up and down several times just soaking in the local culture.
Bars, cafés, and restaurants are plentiful in this area and all within walking distance – and if you stay here, I’d advise you to bring a good pair of walking shoes. There’s just so much good stuff to see in every direction of this place and you’re probably going to want to see it all.
My only criticism of the room is that it seemed dark and dreary. I’m not a big fan of dark hotel rooms, but that’s kind of what this one felt like.
Nothing will ever top the Westminster Park Plaza Hotel in London for feeling dark and dreary, but this one comes a bit too close for comfort IMHO. At least I had a window to the outside world in this room and I could actually see the sky. Just slightly.
