While Lisbon has a very long and dynamic history and attractions, with all the sailors and explorers, some of the most comfortable and affordable hotels are pretty new. For example, Lisboa Carmo Hotel was opened in 2012. It’s a 4-star hotel offering friendly Portuguese service.
The hotel has a restaurant and a bar. The breakfast buffet is served in the restaurant. The food is quite delicious, but you will have to visit other restaurants in the city to try the real cuisine. The bar mainly served drinks and beverages.
If you are up to a drink , I would recommend you step out of the hotel and head to Alfama, a district with the best Fado bars.
There are only 45 rooms in the hotel, which makes it even more similar to a home. Of course, it’s not like the majority of homes have 45 rooms, but at least the crowd will be smaller than in the bigger hotels.
Here are the room types: Single Room, Double Room, Double Room with a City View, Superior Double Room, and, finally, Family Suite. The last one is meant for an average European family that consists of two parents and two children.
Other rooms are meant for one or two people. But even then, there is not much space to run around.
As you’ve noticed, the city view might drastically change the room type and the price. Interestingly, it’s not something you really need especially if you’re going to spend most of your time sightseeing. If you do want the rooms with the view, then expect River Tagus or Saint George Castle out of the window. If you get the River Tagus room, watch the weather. If it’s gloomy outside, the scene won’t be too exciting. I would personally go for the regular rooms. You won’t get the most breathtaking views anyway, so why pay more.
Bring your laptop along, you’ll have free WiFi all around. The rooms have all the necessary amenities, a flat-screen TV, air conditioner, minibar, and so on. Therefore, interior design becomes the most important factor here. The design is not too extravagant. The style is mainly traditional, very home-like. Your room will become dear to you after a few days of stay. The pastel colors dominate the palette. The decorations are very minimalistic. You won’t find things you can never use. Instead, you can spread your belongings all around the rooms.
Although the location is not too central, you can still get to the best historical sites in no time. For example, Chiado Museum and Lisbon Cathedral are only 10 minutes away on foot. While parking is available, you’ll have to pay €10 per day.
Here’s one last trip, make friends with the staff. You can do that with a cute line spoken in Portuguese. Although they’ll be nice to you in any case, friendly relationships will help you discover about things that only locals know, i.e. the best hidden secrets of Lisbon.
