The Lift Boutique Hotel by RIDAN Hotels

Great hotel in Baxia, right next to the Lisbon lift. Lots of great restaurants and cafes near by. Walking distance to almost everything. The room was clean and rather modern. Great AC in the room for the hot summers in Lisbon. The reception was excellent, the staff are always there and very welcoming. Really good first impression with sticked. The bed are quite hard which we liked but is worth mentioning. I can recommend a cafe called “The Folks” near by for breakfast. Would absolutely stay here again next time we visit Lisbon.

Note: I didn't book this hotel myself, but through a travel agency. This is a small and basic hotel in the historic center of Lisbon. From what I could see, it's not bad, but it could be better. I don't know what all those "local guides" 5-star reviews are about. Things are definitely not perfect here. The rooms are pretty cramped and have a somewhat odd design - there's no bathroom but rather, the room is split in two bedroom/bathroom areas, separated by a glass wall and a curtain. It's ok if you're alone, probably tight if you're two and you have more than one luggage to unpack. The furniture and finishes are clearly dated and could use a complete revamp. The curtains of my window seemed to have sustained some kind of water damage in the past. The walls baseboards are cracked, the walls are dented at places, and the carpet looks really old and stained. Fortunately, no bed bugs. The cleaning seems rather serious but I did see some ants coming out of an electricity plug, especially when other rooms are getting cleaned up. They didn't bother me, but it is a sign insect control could be better at this hotel. Perhaps some bugs are unavoidable in Lisbon Old Town in the summer... There was a working minifridge and safe in my room. The AC worked well too, even if it's a bit annoying it takes a long time to turn on. Also note that the front windows give on Rua Aurea, one of the busiest streets of Baixa district day and night. Fortunately the windows are pretty soundproof but you still hear some noise, so if you're a light sleeper this is not for you. The bathroom is ok but the shower will get on your nerves, since the knob is very finicky and finding the right temperature can be hard since turning it slightly can make it go from freezing cold to burning hot. And this is an Italian-style shower, so your hand has to go under the water to turn it. Not cool when the water is accidentally very hot. Some pictures on their google images are clearly not from the same hotel, so do NOT be fooled. I don't know what's "boutique" about this hotel, since they don't provide even basic services like giving you travel brochures or good restaurant recommendations around. My travel agency told me they had a restaurant, but they don't. The reception area is quite small unlike the one on the pictures, and outside of breakfast, the kitchen is closed and they won't serve you anything after 10.30 am. I think calling it a boutique hotel is really far-fetched and a complete misnomer. The breakfast is pretty good and has a good variety of options. However they only open at 7.30 am, which can be a bit late in a tourist heavy city like Lisbon, where you sometimes need to wake up and go early to avoid the crowd at historical places or in public transit. Don't hesitate to show up a bit earlier as you can start even if not everything is ready yet. They have a system where you can request for an early breakfast ahead of time, by filling a card with the items you want. But even though we did, that morning the front desk employee had no idea what we were talking about and didn't get the memo, which was an epic fail. Overall the kitchen staff looks pretty uninterested and mostly chat behind the counter turning their backs to the room, which can make it hard to attract their attention. People on front desk duty are usually nice though. Everything is made of wood in this hotel, so the stairs and floors creak a lot. It didn't bother me that much but don't be surprised. The elevator is very old, small and slow. It can only fit one person with luggages or two without, if you're thin. And if it's not already at ground level, it's faster to just use the stairs. Good workout but not the most comfortable experience. Obviously not accessibility-friendly, if you have any kind of disability, I wouldn't recommend this place. In the end I think it is supposed to be a budget friendly hotel, in a great location. But low prices always come with tradeoffs. If you are really on a tight budget this might be an option. But I would advise to go somewhere nicer.

Positives: - friendly staff on reception; Julia was very helpful. Moved us to another room after a bad night stay, room was better but could still hear the noise. - Perfect central location, walking distance to many attractions in Lisbon. - WiFi connectivity is brilliant. Good for you to look at other hotels to choose an alternative to this one. Negatives: - booked through hotels.com, said it was soundproof the rooms, they aren’t at all. It sounds like you are sitting on the corridor; you can hear the next-door sneeze. We had a bad experience with the room next door coming back loud and we could hear TV through the wall at 3:30am. - says on the website courtyard room, it’s a balcony onto the next building window; view is nonexistent; might as well not have a balcony and utilise the extra space in room. - no mini fridge, says on website. - There are no cupboards, just a strange clothes rail that doesn’t even use a hanger well. no storage apart from that. - Smells like sewage throughout the hotel. The disgusting smells hits you as soon as you walk through reception. - lift small, wouldn’t recommend if you have limited mobility. Overall, don’t be fooled with the pictures online. Not as aspected.