InterContinental Lisbon

The room is okay. InterContinentals have a particular style and don't tend to stray from it in most of their city hotels. We stayed in the most basic room, albeit with an upgraded view, and there was actually decent space for a standard room. The quality of the furniture wasn't bad.

This is your standard single-vanity InterContinental bathroom. Nothing inspirational, but functional nonetheless. Everything worked and the water pressure was great. Unlike the InterContinental in Porto, there were no showerheads aimed at the body. The materials used were standard but good quality.

I thought the sleep here was a bit better than at the InterContinental Porto. Similar bedding and linen, but the temperature and humidity control were better. There was limited noise at night from the hallway, and from outside since we were on a very high floor.

There are no automated controls for the lights and shades, which puts this behind newer, more recently built hotels with smart-room controls. The Wi-Fi is available and steady at least, and there are standard USB and outlet placements throughout the room.

There is a lounge (although it's not very good) and a well-equipped fitness center. Other than that, there really isn't anything else — no pool, no spa, and no programming or activities.

On the lounge: it's located at the back of the main lobby, behind glass doors. When we went it was staffed by one dedicated attendant, but as far as guests go it was basically empty — a bad sign. We arrived just in time for afternoon tea and were promptly seated and served. After trying the first pastry from the platter, we quickly realized why there were no other lounge members: the pastries were stale, tasteless or off-putting. We also had breakfast at the lounge, which was sparse, though whatever they did have tasted decent.

I really don't see enough effort here. This is as standard as an InterContinental gets. The only touch of flair is on the doors at the back of the lobby leading to the bar. The outside of the building is off-putting as well, and shows the age of the property before you put a single foot inside. I was pretty disappointed just pulling up and seeing the unkempt state of the walls and windows — to be fair, the building next door was home to the Four Seasons and looked equally dilapidated.

Inside, the lobby is uninspired and standard. The hallways lacked ambiance or a sense of place, and the rooms themselves were cookie-cutter too. Being inside the hotel, you'd have no idea you were in Lisbon.

The hotel isn't dirty, but there are signs of aging everywhere. The walls are tired, the carpet is worn, the windows aren't clear, and most of the furniture looks like it has been there for decades. This hotel needs a refresh as soon as possible.

The location might have been one of my least favorite aspects of this hotel. On the map it looks like it's in the city center, but when you're actually traveling around, it's at least 15 to 20 minutes from even the closest point of interest. Maybe it's a great location for business travelers, assuming there are corporate buildings nearby, but for a tourist I would skip this property on location alone.

We were helped with our luggage and the bellboy was very friendly on entry. Our luggage was sent up and arrived shortly after we got to the room. Other than that, check-in was standard: we received a floor upgrade and were denied any further upgrade even after asking.

The staff were all friendly and professional. I was especially satisfied with the service in the lounge, where the team was extremely pleasant and helpful. I know I complained about the lounge itself, but that had nothing to do with the one or two staff members operating it. There was no language barrier either.

The extra half point here comes from the bellboy and the lounge staff, both of whom were memorably friendly. Other than that, we didn't notice any specific personalization in service or anticipation of our needs. Most of the staff were friendly but weren't trained to go above and beyond.

We didn't notice any glaring flaws in operations during our stay, though we only stayed one night. We were given lounge access right away without issue, our room was ready when we arrived, and the elevators worked well (probably because there weren't many people there). We didn't request late checkout, and the hotel was surprisingly well staffed.

I'll leave this as an average score, since most InterContinentals do a pretty good job with housekeeping and typically don't offer turndown service in my experience.

Breakfast for IHG Diamond members is served in the lounge, and it was bare bones and very low effort. They offered the typical items — fruit, yogurt, cereal, pastries, some cold cuts and cheese — but had few self-serve warm dishes. The à la carte items were average at best and the selection wasn't great. I left disappointed in the breakfast and the lounge overall.

Not many people, but it was well staffed for the number they had. The hotel is fairly out of the way from the tourist spots, so there's minimal foot traffic outside. This was the least crowded lounge I have ever been to — which makes sense given the quality of the lounge itself.

Good, solid departure experience. The staff helped us with our luggage from the lobby into our taxi and were friendly on our way out. Billing was accurate and checkout didn't take long.