Sofitel Lisbon Liberdade — Hotel in Lisbon

I had a brief and pleasant stay at Sofitel Lisbon Liberdade and I can recommend this hotel to loyalists of the Accor loyalty program or free agents who do not concentrate their stays with any one chain. However for people with elite tier membership with more than one chain, Sofitel can sometimes be at a disadvantage so I would be less positive but it is more a consequence of the Accor loyalty program than the hotel itself.

I had a couple of Diamond Suite Night awards to burn before they expired at the end of the month so I considered booking at Sofitel. Upon investigation I was a bit hesitant at first because unfortunately my stay would require a change in suite between day 1 and day 2 because the same suite type was not available on both days. However the Marriott chain hotels I was considering did not have suites available at all for my dates so I decided to stay at Sofitel.

On the first night we stayed in the Prestige Suite; the overall size was not particularly spacious at 44 square meters but it was functional. The hardware was not as new as The Ivens Hotel (Autograph Collection, Marriott) but I cannot say that Sofitel was aging – the suite was to my liking. The bathroom had two entrance doors, one from the living room and one from the bedroom and had a stand-alone shower in addition to a bathtub. The toiletries were Hermes Eau d’Orange Verte as expected.

On the second day we moved to a Junior Suite on the same floor so the change in room was quite smooth. The Junior Suite was almost the same size (42 sqm) as the Prestige Suite and was originally not designed to be a suite because it was more akin to two regular connecting rooms each with their own full bathroom, one with a shower and one with a bathtub. I guess the Junior Suites might be more attractive to families with children due to having two bathrooms whereas the Prestige Suite could be a better match for solo travelers or couples.

Because my stay was Friday-Sunday I was maximizing the Diamond benefits by having free breakfast on both mornings and therefore Sofitel was not at a disadvantage versus the benefits I could have received at other hotel chains. The buffet was of reasonable quality, although the hot food was pretty standard. I ordered eggs benedicts which were only so-so and the presentation could have been better – my dish looked a bit naked. There was free flow sparkling wine available on Saturday morning which was a nice feature but they did not have it on Sunday - I assumed because of religious reasons. The restaurant was on the ground floor near reception with large windows overlooking Liberdade Avenue.

Overall I was happy with the stay and the service was very good, but as the Accor Suite Night awards are not unlimited and must be used wisely, the value proposition if I returned in a smaller room would be a tougher sell especially on the verge of a Hyatt Regency opening soon in Lisbon, Hyatt being the most generous hotel chain with suite upgrades. Also if staying during week days and intending to eat breakfast at the hotel, Sofitel would be less competitive compared to other chains due to the lack of breakfast benefit. That said, the service and the quality of the room were good enough at Sofitel that I would consider returning under the right...

We are Accor Plus Platinum members so often try to book Accor Hotels when ever we can.|Arrival at the Hotel from Lisbon airport was pleasant : we used the Hotel Pick up service. It was mildly concerning that the driver called us to say that the waiting time of 1 hour was up and he would leave or the hotel will need to charge extra! it was 55 mins from the stated arrival time but it appears he arrived at 12 noon for a flight scheduled to arrive at 12.35. Lisbon Immigration is absolutely chaotic : took us over 1 hour to get out. 6 E-gates for around 400 people ! It was a very expensive ride in excess of AU$125 and Bolt Ride Share took us back on our departure for AU$20!||Arriving at the hotel our room was ready and we were grateful for early check in. The Hotel is located in one of the most central areas of Lisbon with beautiful tree lined streets. There was no acknowledgement of our platinum status. We had room 509: facing the beautiful trees of the Avenue. Triple glazed windows kept the noise out mostly . The rooms are well appointed but small. Suitcases were on the floor with almost no space to walk. The Bathroom has been renovated and was clean and functional. An Illy Coffee machine in the room and complimentary drinking water.|The amenity that was delivered to the room was less than impressive having stayed at many Sofitel Hotels in the Asia Pacific including Australia and New Zealand.||We were not offered an upgrade and on inquiry were told that the booking was made under an Accor Classic membership which is hard to explain since my App showed the booking was made using the Accor platinum membership account. The generic letter of greeting from the GM suggested that they did not know our tier status since the letter encouraged us to join Accor !. The Hotel was fully booked. |The location is likely one of the most convenient with walking access to many sights and restaurants.|We had dinner at Matiz Lisboa the Hotel restaurant. Excellent service and a genuine effort to showcase Portuguese cuisine. Thank you.|Breakfast was an amazing affair with a Buffet to satisfy every taste and an A la Carte menu from which you could order as well. Notable was the quality of the produce from the juices , fruit, the patisserie items and the cheeses. The service from Rita who waited on us most of the mornings and Helena was exceptional. Attentive but unobtrusive.THANK YOU. The only weak link might have been the coffee ( latte ) which was machine made and inconsistent.|The overall experience was excellent with exceptional staff. |Thank you Duarte ( Guest Relations Manager) for speaking with me regarding some of our concerns. Extending a little Goodwill may no doubt earn The Sofitel some accolades and sincere gratitude, especially given the cost ( approx Euro 600) of the lowest tier room, rather than relying on its location and Brand Recognition for returning...

We were really excited to stay at Sofitel as this would have been our first experience either the brand. While the hotel lobby is beautiful and the rooms looks nice at initial glance, the hotel is aged.

Check in process simple but they put a large hold on your credit card. I have never seen that before. For 4 nights, they put a 1k hold. We checked in at noon and while our booking made us eligible for early check in, the room was not available. The hotel seemed packed. They did hold on to our bags so we didn't have to drag 'em around.

The rooms The rooms are oddly designed. There are individual AC units in the room, which helps when it gets warm, which it does. There is a small closet and some drawers for your clothes and a bath robe. The bed is large but the hotel uses a pillow top to make the bed comfortable. However, the pillow top is old and deformed. There are large bumps between the two sides of the bed, making it uncomfortable if you are trying to sleep in the middle. The outlets are also horribly designed. There are no outlets with easy access, esp none next to the bed. There are 2 USB on one side of the bed, but neither were functional. The outlet is under the side table. I had to unplug the phone to plug in my phone. Which btw, results in the phone beeping in the middle of the night on the 2nd night b/c of low battery. The worst though is the bathroom. Unfortunately, the toilet is not in a separate room or behind closed doors so that means the bathroom is unusable by another if one is on the toilet. Additionally, there's no ventilation in the bathroom so as soon as you open the bathroom door, the room is filled with the smells of the toilet. The shower is also odd. It's a long shower but you have to stand all the way inside to use the shower. And you have to step outside of the water to get soap. The shower floor is also slippery so you have to be careful when moving around to get soap. The towels also do not dry b/c there's no circulation in the bathroom. We showered at 4 pm and the towel was still damp the following morning. If this wasn't enough, the sink is also oddly designed. The tap is right in the middle of the sink, which makes it impossible to wash your face. Lastly, I am not sure who decided to lock the lotion bottle right next to the toilet. You basically have to stand all the way in the bathroom and next to the toilet for lotion. I am not sure why they wouldn't allow you to take the lotion bottle into the room.

Hotel grounds The lobby bar is great and the bartenders really enjoy working there. The drinks are great, expensive but good. The breakfast is good as well but it's always full. Doesn't matter what time of the day you go, it's busy.

Overall it's an okay hotel. I would rate it 3 stars given the lack of comfort in the room and bathroom. It's remodeled to make it look like a 5 star but the remodeling needs...