Palácio Ludovice Wine Experience Hotel — Hotel in Lisbon

We booked for 6 nights in this hotel (1-7 Dec 2022). The hotel is in a good location and does have a lot of character which was what attracted us to it. We booked for the deluxe room but was initially given a smaller room. Thankfully the hotel is not full at this time and we were given some options to switch to one that we like eventually. Rachael at the front desk incredibly friendly and accommodating. Other front desk staffs are also always friendly ( yes we are still here at the hotel).

Unfortunately, the extend of the pros on this hotel stops right here. From a service level perspective, I do not think this is a 5 star hotel just yet but definitely see potential. Probably because the hotel is new as I understand and a lot to learn in this area. Here are some of the encounter I would share that you could judge for yourselves.

Toiletries (toothbrush, q tips, etc) are available upon request at the front desk. I get that it is a sustainable initiatives but this option should be left to the discretion of the guest rather than lifting the provision altogether for a deluxe hotel. Housekeeping left a lot of room for improvements. Sugar and creamer in the room were not replenished. I suppose guest would have to make a “Request” again at the front desk for such things to be replenished. Again, this is not the norm for 5 stars hotel. Room service charges were unclear and the bill comes at 27% higher than published rates. My partner was not feeling well and wanted a burger and I pasta, I checked the room service menu but could not see them available but are available in the restaurant menu. I went down to the restaurant to place an order ready to do a take out but was told they don’t allow take out but will gladly send to my room. While I appreciated that and did not mind to pay the additional charge, the Pesto pasta that came from Federico (presumably a reputable name) was rather blend and I had to get dressed and take myself down to the restaurant to ask for salt and pepper.

I hope the management will look into these lapses and fixes them because I noticed much nicer options at the price point (circa €450 per night) within the city at better locations if you...

A terrible experience. The room was not the room that we reserved, it had such a low ceiling that anyone would crack their head if they got out of bed on one side. Twice we were trapped in the elevator. We had a reservation to return a week later, but told the front desk that we wished to cancel because we did not enjoy our stay. They told us that they were sorry that they would not see us again, but subsequently charged us for the canceled stay, claiming that, since we had not canceled through their website, our cancellation in person at their desk was not sufficient. This experience tells you everything you need to know about how you will be treated if there is an issue at this hotel.

RESPONDING TO MANAGER: You can see from the manager's response how he responds to guest problems. Accuse me of lying about the elevator? Let's be clear...I know how the elevator works, I used it successfully with the room key a number of times, and your desk clerk even told me that the maid also got stuck in the elevator that day -- your maid, I'm sure, also knows how to use the elevator. As for whether we accomplished our cancellation, my wife did direct the desire to cancel to your clerk, who even looked it up and said "the 14th-16th?". And then said clearly "we're sorry we won't see you next week..." That sounds to me like you got the cancellation message clearly. And if you weren't clear after my wife said that we wanted to cancel, you all could have said "so to confirm, you want to cancel?" or "would you like me to cancel for you" or "please cancel online to confirm." You all did none of those things, and now want to defend charging us nearly $1500 for a room we cancelled...

We spent a few nights at this gem of a riverfront hotel. The staff including Hugo, who helped us bring our bags from the parking lot several blocks away in the pouring rain, with a smile on his face and love for his job. Francisca, the concierge who helped us book tickets so we could avoid lines and get the best prices. And of course, Fabio the mixologist extraordinaire who kepts us laughing and thirst free at the downstairs bar. It poured buckets while we were in Porto, but the staff of this hotel were so great to get us into our room before check in (we were soaking wet getting there) and taking amazing care of us the entire visit. Breakfast was fabulous and RIB restaurant was excellent as well. The only reason I gave 4 stars for the rooms - the carpet needed refreshing, but the bed, bath and balcony were spotless and comfy! Listen, the location cannot be beat, however, if you are driving, you will have to park several blocks away ($50 euro/day) and contact the front desk for help with bags. It's not an easy walk with any amount of baggage. We were so thankful for Hugo helping us up the steep cobble stones with our large suitcase. Don't let that deter you - everything is steep in Porto, but it would have been nice to be able to valet or at least drop bags directly. Being a unesco site doesn't allow for this, although taxis and tour cars were allowed to drive right to it, so maybe rethink a rental car out of convenience. We will def be back on our next...