Independente Principe Real — Hotel in Lisbon

On arrival we realised the place was a hostel as well as a hotel, which wasn't clear when we booked through Secret Escapes. The reception area was chaotic as it seemed everyone checked in at the same time. There were 2 young women on duty, who were perfectly pleasant but not very efficient. To get to our room we had to go back outside, as the hostel is in the main part of the building. The front door is very heavy and slams if you don't grab it before it closes - this was an issue through the night as pretty much everyone let it slam. As our room was directly above it, we were wakened on a number of occasions. It may be an idea to put a notice on it to let guests know. |We were disappointed with our room. We expected it to be quirky, which was why we booked it, but the furniture could do with being better. Our wardrobe screeched every time we opened the doors. Saying that, the room was very clean and the bed exceptionally comfortable. The shower is outstanding and there was always hot water available. The room was cleaned each day we were there and fresh water left for us. The television didn't work when we turned it on, so my husband went to reception to ask for help with it. They never came. We asked a further twice and no one turned up. |The hotel is in a beautiful location with fantastic views across the city. There is a lovely plaza just across the road and there were various types of musicians there every day and also a café, under an awning if you wanted to sit and have a drink and a pastry. |As in previous reviews, our room was at the front of the hotel and the traffic is non stop 24/7, as you'd expect in a busy city. The windows kept out a lot of the noise but the room was very hot at times so we couldn't have the windows open. There were no instructions on how to work the heater in the room, or to tell us about wi-fi or even recommendations for what to see, where to eat and transport. That would have been helpful. |The wi-fi is woefully inadequate in the side where the hotel is; it may be better in the hostel side. The password is only available in reception.|Breakfast was adequate. There is a buffet which was replenished regularly but if you want a hot breakfast, the choice was pretty much eggs or pancakes. On the first morning we were pretty much ignored; there were 2 young women but they never approached us to tell us how things worked. The rest of the stay was better as there was a lovely lady there who was efficient and made things run smoothly. It made us smile to hear her sing her way through breakfast and engage with the guests. |There is a rooftop restaurant that only caters for private functions and it is above the rooms in the hotel side, with access through the same front door. There was a function on one of our nights and the noise was ridiculous until 2 in the morning. The front doors were wide open and there was a constant stream of people up and down the stairs, past our room. There is a piano in the lobby, which people were playing. I have no objections to that - just not after midnight! We also had the smell of cigarette smoke as the doors were open all night. If you are going to have a function suite, it should be separate from the guest bedrooms. |I hate writing negative reviews, but all the smaller issues just make it impossible to have a really positive experience. |All this being said, we loved Lisbon. It's a vibrant city, with lots to see and do. If you have mobility problems, then the many hills would not suit. However, there is an excellent public transport service, lots of taxis and tuk tuks everywhere. |We would highly recommend the Benfica Stadium Tour, if you are a lover of football. Our ticket included access to the museum after the tour. At 17 Euro's each, it was a bargain. We also went to the Castelo de Sao Jorge. There isn't a huge amount there but the views from it were amazing and it was lovely to walk around the grounds and find out its history. We arrived about 11am and it was getting very busy, so I imagine it gets more so as the season goes on. There are lots of boat trips available and we did one that lasted an hour and a half. It was wonderful to see the coast of Lisbon by boat and a very chilled way to do it. |There are so many different places to eat and drink, you are spoiled for choice and there are many and varied shops to explore. We had a warm welcome wherever we went. |There is so much to see and do, you'd need more than one visit to this...

My recent stay at the “Independente Collective” in Lisboa was completely TERRIBLE. I stayed in this Hostel for around four nights and throughout my stay I felt very unsafe. The place wasn't homely, neither did it cater well to the needs of the people. What made it worse was a terrible experience I had New Year’s night staying in a mixed dorm. A man, crippled on one leg (claimed he was drunk when questioned, which I don't agree with) took advantage of a girl who was very drunk and unconscious in my room, suffering no consequences. Thankfully I was awake to complain about what had happened, but what was the point of complaining when NO ACTION WAS TAKEN. Hearing what was happening below my bunk bed, I was alarmed and scared, and shocked at the audacity this man had to even go near her bed, it made me wonder that if he wasn’t crippled, I could have been the victim of this terrible event. In my frightened state, I was eager to get the hell out of the room as soon as I could, to go down to the reception to give a complaint. The receptionist there said he would check on this man, but couldn't kick him out yet, because they serve a two warnings policy. And so when he went to the room, the man was in a very questionable state near the bed and another warning went out. Speaking with the receptionist again, he said that he had contacted the manager and she said that they would throw him out. I was glad to hear the news, and as you can imagine, I got NO sleep that night or the next because it was pretty traumatic, knowing he was still in the hostel and what was worse was that this girl had no idea what had happened to her because she was unconscious the whole time. The next morning, I asked again if they had kicked him out, they said they didn’t kick him out, that he claimed to have been drunk and couldn’t remember anything (how convenient) and they told me I had no proof of what had happened and that they would talk to the girl. The point is that the damage was already done to the girl, and she had no recollection of what had happened, and since the complaint didn’t come from her and from me (a second person), they couldn’t do anything about it. They gave this girl a random explanation and changed her room after I had requested them to do so. Two days later he was still in the hostel, and I had asked them again, and they said that it was this sick perverts’ birthday, and when I asked if that was a reason to keep him in the hostel, they said yes and that it was also a holiday. With this man still in the hostel, would you feel safe? I felt very unsafe to walk around the hostel or even use the washrooms, wondering who his prey would be next or if he knew that I was the one who complained about him, because as soon as that happened, I refused to go back to the room, and had to bunk with friends in another room which was VERY INCONVENIENT for them and for me. This was a terrible stay. I would not recommend this...

I will start with the bad. Shabby chic might once have described this place.now it's just shabby. Needs an overhaul. Carpets , matresses and general cleanliness.I got good price coz Nov. But would feel ripped off looking at high season prices. WiFi is shocking cannot take the load of 3 restaurants hostel and hotel. . When I could get on it kept dropping had to go back to reception in the next building at least 4 times to complain. They would reset the router which helped for an hour. But had to traipse up and down stairs multiple times coz they reserve"the smallest elevater I have ever seen"for customers of the restaurant after 6. First night no hot water in my room. Had to use the hostels showers instead. The staff Tried to convince me first they heard of it bit I caught thme in a lie when I pressed the issue and they told me they had already contacted the maintenance guy. They did upgrade me to bigger room which wasn't exactly sparkling clean. If you are in room 2.1 for example look at the bottom of the shower door. Look how many old bottles of shampoo are in the shower from at least 5 different customers and look at the used makeup remover pads inside the chrome pot in the bathroom. Breakfast included but it was obvious the don't want you to have it as they have no plates just saucers.so 1 thing at a time. Also ordered my breakfast; eggs which were forgotten about. When they realised they forgot, they apologised and cooked them for me. But not before quizzing me about my room because there was nobody in 2.1 which I had been moved to and they front desk forgot to let them know. The owners got their wish I did not go back for breakfast. I really wanted to like this place because it has a nice atmosphere and nice staff, but I get the impression it's being milked for every penny by the owner. I look for the basics only clean, working WiFi and hot water. The good, location is fantastic one of the best vantage points of the city, go acroos the street and its right there along with nice small park with a few market stalls, really nice area on the edge of the Barrio Alto. View from the restraunt superb. view from rooms at the front are great All in all would not stay here again. Place needs to be renovated to bring it back to its former glory as I said its just shabby, and cleanliness wasnt great, If they spent a bit of money renovating it would have been worth it and then some. I would guess when first opened fantastic but now...