My Story Hotel Tejo — Hotel in Lisbon

I don’t typically write negative reviews, but unfortunately, our experience at this hotel was incredibly disappointing—particularly given we were traveling with our baby. We specifically chose this hotel because it advertised air conditioning. As seasoned travelers in Europe, we understand many hotels don’t offer AC, but we deliberately booked this property because it did.

The room itself was lovely, but as we settled in for the night, we discovered the AC wasn’t working. We called the front desk and were told it should be working, but they said there was nothing they could do and abruptly hung up. We called back, and after some back and forth (and another hang-up), they attempted to fix it remotely, without success. Nearly an hour later, someone was finally sent up to check after we repeatedly asked. She couldn’t resolve the issue either. We asked for maintenance, and were told someone would need to be called and it could take 20 minutes to an hour—we agreed.

An hour passed with no update. When we called again, we asked if we could move rooms. We were told there were two available: one smaller, and one on a different floor that would require carrying all of our things. With our baby in pajamas and everything unpacked, we began preparing to switch rooms. Maintenance eventually arrived, confirmed the AC couldn’t be fixed, and said someone would come the next day.

At this point, it was nearly 11 p.m. We asked to switch rooms—but now, suddenly, neither of the two previously offered options were available. Instead, we were offered breakfast. I asked for a fan, and after waiting 30 more minutes, with our baby finally asleep, I called to say never mind.

At checkout, we asked to speak with a manager. He said he would investigate and have a response when we returned for our luggage. When we came back, he was “on break” and had texted his response to the front desk staff, who read it to us aloud. He claimed we declined all help, including a fan, a room change, and breakfast—which was completely untrue. We had repeatedly asked for everything they said we refused.

We finally spoke with a female manager who promised to follow up via email within a few days. It’s now been three weeks, and we’ve heard nothing.

We gave this hotel every opportunity to make things right, but the customer service failed at every level. I strongly suggest looking elsewhere—especially if you’re traveling with a child or expecting even basic responsiveness. As a completely separate note, my mom had paid for a cake to be delivered to our room through the hotel and it never came. She was lied to and told it was delivered. This is just another example of the poor service and gaslighting...

My Story Hotel Tejo is beautiful. The location is great. The staff are friendly and try to be helpful. Unfortunately, that is the good news. There is a lot more bad news.

The rooms are uncomfortable and poorly set up. The mattresses are hard as rocks. Our room had one small closet but no dresser or drawers to unpack our clothes. The hotel does not provide Kleenex or wash clothes. While they do provide body wash and shampoo, they don’t give you any soap.

There is also no maintenance staff on site and, when a problem did occur, they acted helpless. We had a plumbing problem that flooded our room at about 7:00 PM. We told the front desk and they said they would take care of it. At 10:30 PM nothing had been done. When we asked about what they were doing we were told that maintenance was informed at that they would handle it in the morning because they did not work at night. When we asked what we were supposed to do about sleeping they didn’t seem to care and told us there were no other rooms in the hotel. When we told them they would have to pay for a room in a different hotel to resolve the problem, a room suddenly became available.

There is no concierge available for tourists who want information. The staff tries to be of assistance, but they often don’t know the answer and the information they do provide is frequently incorrect. We were regularly told that walking distances were much longer or much shorter than they actually were and were often directed to incorrect tram stops for our destination. In one specific case, we were told the walk from the Thieves Market to the Pantheon was about 30 minutes and had a lot of hills. The two locations were actually right next to each other.

At check out we had additional problems at the front desk. Without, informing us, they charged both rooms to a single card that had been used to reserve the rooms instead of charging the two rooms to the separate credit cards presented at check in. We intentionally did not use the first card at check in, or want it used, because of high international conversion fees and because we wanted to pay for each room separately. The people at the front desk has no idea how to refund a credit card and it took them more than half the day to figure it out.

We loved Lisbon and will be back. We won’t...

Great Location, cockroaches at the breakfast buffet!

My three-day stay at My Story Hotel Tejo, from June 27th to 30th in Lisbon, had its ups and downs. While the hotel's location is excellent and the room along with the air conditioning were sufficient, there were unfortunately significant drawbacks concerning the breakfast and service that severely dampened the overall experience. The room itself was spacious, offering plenty of room, which was very pleasant after long days exploring the city. The efficient air conditioning particularly stood out, ensuring a comfortable night's sleep in the summer heat. The adjoining bathroom was small but functional and sufficient for a short stay. However, the biggest point of criticism concerns the breakfast. The quality was unsatisfactory, with the coffee being almost undrinkable. What was an absolute deal-breaker and significantly negatively impacted the stay was the sighting of a live cockroach on the floor in the breakfast area, moving towards the kitchen on our second to last day. The staff's reaction was extremely disappointing; they merely stated they would pass on the information, without taking any immediate action. This led us to skip breakfast at the hotel on our last day. Furthermore, the lack of communication with the management exacerbated the situation. We were directed to an email address to lodge our complaint but received no response. This is unacceptable for a hotel and indicates a lack of commitment to guest satisfaction. In summary, while My Story Hotel Tejo scores points for its central location and comfortable rooms, the deficiencies in the breakfast area, particularly the indifferent response to hygiene issues, and the lack of customer service urgently need improvement. Prospective guests should consider these points when making their...