My room and the Torel Palace Hotel, sadly, were not at all what was advertised on its and other travel websites -- it was much worse -- so much so, that late in the evening, I had to make a difficult decision to look for another accommodation in Lisbon and book a different hotel at the very last minute. That was a costly decision but it was worth it, and here is why:
When I arrived at Torel Palace Hotel at approximately 9:30 p.m., the gate leading to the entrance was partially closed, which made it impossible for the driver to enter the courtyard. I had to wait for seven minutes to get the gate to open fully.
No bellman was available upon my arrival. A young hotel staff person approached the car and advised that "the bellman was unavailable because he was having dinner."
When my wife and I checked in and saw the room, we were shocked. It was very small, maybe under 200 sq. feet. The bathroom was the size of a small closet. This was shocking because the room, which I had reserved and for which I was charged 50% of the entire stay in advance, was advertised as a 300+ sq.ft. "premier suite." I always believed that a "suite" meant a rather large room. Just in case, I checked the Cambridge Dictionary on line and confirmed that "a suite" is "a set of connected rooms, especially in a hotel."
When I asked the Front Desk person why she was not providing me with the suite that I had reserved, she replied that she most certainly was, and that the room was, in fact, a "premier suite," and the advertised room size included the balcony and the bathroom. She also said that "at the Torel Palace, we call all our rooms 'suites'," which is like saying, "In my restaurant, we call all our ham and cheese sandwiches "lobster rolls."
Furthermore, the air conditioner that was attached to the wall was making a disturbing noise. Additionally, I had reserved a "premier suite with a view," but part of the "view" from the room was a construction site. The room was not clean; the floors were dusty; the walls had large black markings, and the tiny table on the balcony was dirty.
I would not be recommending this place to anyone. read more