Casas da Baixa — Hotel in Lisbon

Large rooms, very clean, the actual building communal areas like the stairs and entrance hall are immaculate. Very clean. The apartment we have is 1b at the back of the building. The property does not profess to have AC. But it does say in its ad thar it has an AC unit, which is actually a 1 metre high 20cm wide tower fan. It has a small water tank at the bottom, which the warm air filters through. The only way to achieve actual cold air (AC) is to fill it with ice every few hours. So that's what I'm currently doing. Pouring water into cups, placing them in the freezer and then decanting the huge lumps of ice into the small water tank at the bottom of the unit. I know I'm the first person to bother because the existing water inside the tank was yellow and stagnant. If we open the back windows for air flow, it's too hot outside, because there are AC vents from other buildings that are pumping out hot air. Plus, there is a building site and so it's incredibly loud. It is currently September, so the temperature inside the apartment with the pseudo AC unit is almost bearable. How anybody could cope inside this apartment in June, July or August is a mystery to me. There is no way it's liveable. Frustratingly, the room does have AC infrastructure with large AC vents on the top of each wall in each room, and there is an AC panel on the wall. But it doesn't work. Either the company that owns this property doesn't want to pay the money to maintain it, or pay the electricity bills for them being used. The outcome is an apartment that is unbearable. The upside is that the location is superb. It's arguably the best place to be in central Lisbon. With regards comfort, the bed is ok'ish, pretty hard mattress but I like that. Pillows are thin and lumpy, so pretty cheap. Shower is big and powerful, there is a small ironing board and excellent iron, a large washing machine and a large dishwasher. The TV is a modern SMART TV that connects to my phone easily with the Samsung SmartThings app. All in all the apartment is great but I would never stay again because of the AC issue.

There is also currently some extremely loud construction work taking place (as of September 2023) that is so loud you can even here it with the double glazed doors closed. It's way too loud.

You'd be insane to book here between May and September I think, just for the lack of sufficient AC provision.

UPDATE: yesterday we came back to the apartment and there was a random cleaner in there. We were not advised at any point that a stranger would enter our apartment, we had valuables and cash lying around on the side table and coffee table, and there is not even a safe to store stuff in. We complained and the management didn't give two hoots. They said they thought they'd send in a cleaner off the cuff as we are staying for 12 days, and said sorry for not telling us. Reality is, it's a serious breach of privacy and security and it's a massive issue for me. This management company simply doesn't care about anything except...

We were supposed to check-in on the 17th of August at 17:00 and although we had received the codes for entering the apartment, we entered and we saw a dirty apartment from the previous clients! We called the call center and no one was answering. Then, we called numerous times the emergency number and a member of the staff answered. Not knowing what to reply and having no idea of how to handle the fact that the apartment was not cleaned and ready for us from the previous clients, she said she will call us back as soon as possible. After 15 minutes waiting for her to call back, we called again and texted her with no reply. Then, after numerous attempts of calling her, she answered and said that her manager was providing us with 2 options: either move to a ONE bedroom apartment on the same building or move to a different neighborhood to another apartment that they were renting but with no air-conditioning (IN AUGUST!). We explained that these options were unacceptable, since we were 4 people thus the ONE-bedroom apartment was not an option, and the option of paying another taxi to go to an apartment with NO air-conditioning was not even an option for us. However, the customer service reply was that they could not help us and that these were our options. So, we decided to stay in the 1 bedroom apartment and sleep on a TERIBBLE "SOFA" COUCH while paying a tremendous amount of money for sleeping on a couch! Worth mentioning that the bed sheets on the "sofa"couch were dirty even though they were supposed to be "cleaned and prepared" for their new customers. In addition, they did not even think that it was worth mentioning that there was no elevator to go to the 4A apartment and one of us could not easily walk on the steps due to a disability!! Staying in Casas da Baixa was the worst experience we ever had, and we had travelled a lot! I would never suggest this "apartment" option to ANYONE who is coming to Lisbon. They had provided their clients with the worst experience ever! And to not think that we are exaggerating, please find photos from the apartment we were supposed to receive and from the dirty sheets we had slept on the couch of the "plan B" apartment they provided! Just stay away from this host they are awful!!!Their manager never replied to our complain emails and what they only thought they appropriate to do was to offer a 15% compensation for 1 the night (come on be professionals!)....

I picked Casa de Baixa to stay during our trip to Lisbon from many others based on its location and pictures. When we reached there from the airport, it seemed to be a really narrow lane, and I was a little disappointed. I was also nervous because of the code one needed to punch in to get access. All my doubts were put to rest subsequently. The room was extremely spacious and comfortable, modern, and updated. Especially for Europe where having sizeable rooms is rare, this one is really large. It is in fact a stone’s throw from several Lisbon attractions and restaurants (very reasonably priced), so it is a perfect location.|Over the weekend nights when its party time, it does get quite raucous, and I had trouble sleeping despite a long day until I got used to the noise. If you keep a rental car, it could be challenging finding parking space in the vicinity. Taxis even use the sidewalks to drive as the roads are so narrow...