Luster Hotel — Hotel in Lisbon

Very well located, near the metro, very new, clean and modern. Unfortunately I didn't have the feeling that the whole experience was worth the money I paid. Let's start from the design: everything looks much larger and cooler in the photos, starting from the entrance on the main road. The breakfast room is too small, and it gets quickly overcrowded. In my room, the bathroom sink was not deep enough, and the tap was too high, with the result that I got my shirt wet every time I washed my hands. The shower's sliding door covers also the toilet room when it's open: so when you leave it open after your shower it leaks in toilet room! The lightened buttons for "do not disturb /make room" were so bright that disturbed my sleep, I had to cover them with black cardboard and tape every night. In my room there was not enough space to put or hang my stuff. All the surfaces were tiny and already occupied. There was no choice of pillows, only the extra fluffy ones that become completely flat after a while. I couldn't sleep well also because of the uncomfortable temperature (with aircon on, there was too much air circulation even at the minimum level, with aircon off it was still not comfortable, too warm)

The cleaning service was bad. One day they came at 4pm and I was resting... so I had no cleaning. The day after I found the cleaning very superficial, the coffee items were not replaced, the shower soap not refilled, the empty hair conditioner not replaced, the bed was not done nicely, no extra toilet paper roll. Everything was done quickly, with no care.

The breakfast was disappointing, unbalanced. Lack of fruit, too many pastries and often recycled from the day before. One day I got an old rubbery croissant, another day an old slice of cake, dry at the edges... No freshly pressed juices. Complete lack of healthier /vegan options.

The staff is cute but they look like complete beginners, in the way they answer questions, and in the way they relate themselves to the guests.

Many little things made my stay uncomfortable. This hotel wants to be a small design boutique hotel, but there's still so much work to do. At the moment it's absolutely not worth the money...

⭐ 3/5 – An okay stay, but with some frustrating issues

We had an overall okay stay at Luster, but a few issues really affected our experience.

Negatives:

Bathroom cleanliness: The shower area was not properly cleaned throughout our stay. While a bit of wear and tear is normal in any hotel, what bothered me most was that the dirt seemed easily removable. When a towel brushed the sides of the shower, it came away with black residue, and pieces of black buildup would even fall off the wall as we showered. This made it clear that a quick wipe-down could have prevented the issue. The shower also had a persistent moldy smell.

Drainage problems: The shower drained extremely slowly, creating a pool of standing water (including the aforementioned residue). I reported this to reception on the first day and was told someone would look into it, but the issue remained unchanged for our entire stay. Either no one came, or the issue couldn’t be fixed — in which case, I would’ve appreciated an update. I couldn’t wash my hair during the week because the water level would rise too high to be hygienic or comfortable.

Trying to appear more upscale than it is: Luster positions itself as a boutique/fancy hotel, but at times it feels like a cheaper version of that experience. For example, the turn-down service is a nice idea, but the chocolates left on the pillow were of very poor quality — better to skip that entirely than do it halfway.

Cocktail bar inconsistency: The bar is a pleasant space, but the cocktail quality depends heavily on who’s behind the counter — sometimes excellent, sometimes disappointing.

Positives:

Aside from the points above, we found the hotel generally comfortable and enjoyable.

The refreshment table in the lobby is a thoughtful touch.

The breakfast buffet is decent with a good variety.

Overall: There’s potential here, and some nice details, but the bathroom and drainage issues really undermined our stay. With more consistent maintenance and attention to detail, Luster could deliver on the experience it’s aiming for — but it’s not...

This hotel is a perfect example of city hotels. It is located near Duque da Saldenha monument, which is a great district with metro station (it is called Saldahna) and lots of shops around. It is also not far from airport, like 15 minutes by taxi or so. The staff of the hotel are all really nice, cute and professional people. There are always valet person in the lobby, which will help with luggage and orient you with the hotel. And also this person calls the elevator for you even before you enter the lobby, which is so cool, that I felt like most important person in the world. During the breakfast personnel works very fast and operatively, they can get you your drinks or waffles in like 5 minutes. And by the way, every staff member speaks English perfectly. Also breakfast is really good and tasty with fresh fruits, juices and bakery. You can also find Pastel-de-nata here. We got 2-floor room on the last 9th stage with street view. I recommend to get a street view room, because as I said, the area around the hotel is really nice with beautiful boulevard and high buildings in portugal style. On the first floor of the room is the big TV and a couch, there is also one extra bath room. On the second floor there is a huge bed, which was very comfortable. Both bathrooms has "tropical shower" type of shower, which is awesome and also there are very technological toilets with bidet and seat warming. The cleaning is good, but you need to remember, that after certain time, like after 16 or so there will be no cleaning by default, only in the morning. There are also 2 pools inside this hotel. We have not tried indoor one, but tried outdoor. This is a really cool cozy space with small pool and bar. Although it is located on 3rd floor and there are lots of high building there is still sunny here and you can get your tan done. This pool is also very well isolated from outer world by nice hedge wall with colourful plants...