Avenida Palace

Stayed 5 nights, steps from Rossio and Restradores squares, both with buses, Metro, trains at Rossio, next to a Starbucks, close to a small grocery store, 5min to a McDonalds. We booked direct on the hotel website. The hotel: excellent breakfast (&staff), excellent housekeeping. Rooms very quiet, stocked with a water daily, minifridge, coffeemaker. Plenty of outlets, plenty of light. Very good WiFi. Nightly piano music. 7-8pm, the afternoon tea had been suspended for the summer. Had a dinner at their ‘bar’, extensive menu, very reasonably priced. The location: we bought a Navagente card from the hotel Concierge for one day of unlimited travel, but then switched to using Visa CC contactless on all buses. The Restradores Metro elevator was out of service, so we didn’t use the Metro. The sidewalks are tiled very unevenly, so watch your step. Local restaurants were quite touristy (menu with large pics of food). The El Paso Mexican restaurant was probably our best meal. The local buses were very unreliable, partly due to local events, and we had to use Uber three times to get around. What we did and saw; - St Jorge Castle - Harbor cruise (not great, just a big circle to Belém and back) - Tile Museum (should have brought ear buds and downloaded the audio guide first) - Cascais, their Wonderful city museum, lunch at Manujo de Linha restaurant. - Banksy Museum (Great!), Modern Art Museum (a little too edgy for us, but very nice cafe for lunch) - Festis Lisboa Parade, watched from hotel window!

This hotel has aesthetics similar to the Versailles, and it literally looked like a palace so I had to look it up — it apparently is a historical structure which was a hub for royalty and diplomats at some point. Needless to say, the interior was magnificent. The breakfast spread was amazing. On my last day there were different kinds of chocolate cake at the buffet table for “International Cake Day”. All the staff were friendly and helpful, and the hotel is in a very convenient location. I mostly walked and used scooters from the hotel (scooters are parked steps away from the hotel). It’s right next to a train station, and if you absolutely need a taxi, there’s a line of them just steps away. The entrance to the hotel is a bit hidden— it is facing the Starbucks next door.

We absolutely loved our stay at Hotel Avenida Palace! The staff were so nice and helpful. We were treated with many special surprises which really kicked off our honeymoon! The breakfast was superior and the decor was timeless. Absolutely would love to come back.