(Note: I have updated my review after our most recent visit.)
We spent our 3rd stay at Hello Lisbon's Bairro Alto property in September, 2018. This may be our last time. We were accustomed to their check-in procedure. As there are no humans on-site, you are sent a code to the front door. If it is before check-in time, you can drop off your luggage in a locker. The room we stayed in on the first floor was no different than before - Ikea kitchen, a comfy bed, windows overlooking the craziness of Bairro Alto. But here are our complaints, after staying here twice before...
1. We arrived in Lisbon at 6AM and went to drop off our bags. The code we were given via email for the front door did not work. We used the outside intercom to contact Hello Lisbon and they provided 3 other codes before the last finally worked. ... You don't want to be standing outside with your luggage trying to get in. That's completely unacceptable.
2. When we checked-in later, the new kiosk kept saying that it was unable to connect for processing our credit card for the hotel taxes. We then tried a debit card and it kept spinning, too. My wife told me to just punch in the PIN, even though the card reader didn't say to do that, and voila, we were in. -- These new kiosks are a complete waste of money and are not user-friendly. Scanning your passport is a complete PITA. You have to position it EXACTLY in a certain spot, which you will quickly learn after numerous failed attempts.There is also no air-conditioning in this area, so you can expect to lose a couple of pounds whilst getting frustrated with this new process.
3. The shampoo/conditioner/bodywash dispener has been removed from the shower, but the remains of the connectors were still on the tile. This wasn't attractive and I wasn't happy with the quality of the generic typical hotel bottles of those products provided. The previous dispenser was also environmentally-friendly. Disposing of multiple plastic bottles daily is not.
4. Knowing this property, we were prepared to wash some clothes before our departure to the Algarve. Unfortunately, no instructions were provided on how to use the combo washer/dryer. These machines are not the standard in the USA. Although I lived in Europe for 10 years (15 years ago), we had no idea how to use the machine. Instructions would be appreciated.
We stayed at Santos property after our weekend in the Algarve. We encountered similar problems. Although the front door code worked, the code provided for the room door did not (and we had to call, again, whilst sweating in the stairwell). There were no instructions for the washer/dryer. The shower dispenser was gone and no hygiene products were provided.
We used to love Hello Lisbon but it's going downhill. There are numerous other serviced apartment hotels in the area. We will be looking at them for our next visit. That saddens me, because we always wanted to stay at Hello Lisbon. read more