Hotel in Lisbon

We are looking for a hotel in Lisbon pre-cruise that is close to the cruise terminal . Any suggestions?

We have twice stayed at the Avenida Palace. The rooms are decent, the buffet breakfast is terrific, the location is both convenient for sightseeing and a short taxi ride to the cruise port (at least where Seabourn docked, don't know about the big ships) and the people who work there are quite helpful.

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Thank you very much for the suggestion. We are on Crystal so it should be the same area as Seabourn.

We will be reserving there.

You can see where you dock by going to http://www.portodelisboa.pt, although generally the port doesn't post docking information more than a month or two in advance. Most ships, however, seem to dock at Santa Apolonia, which is fairly close to Alfama. If you look at a map of Lisbon, the docking areas are a bit spread out along the water at the southeast part of the city. Docking assignments in Lisbon don't seem to be geared towards the size of the ship. I'm on one with 700 pax, and we're still docking at Sta Apolonia. I would guess that most ships doing turnarounds (ending a cruise and beginning a new one) get assigned to Apolonia, partly because it is well served by public transportation, and can probably handle more cabs.

We are staying at an interesting place, although it may be a little bit too basic, or possibly a bit too modern, for many people. It is called the Lisbonaire (http://www.lisbonaire.com), and each individual apartment was designed and decorated by a local artist, so they're all different. It's between the Rossio area and the Avenida/Principe Real area - close to the Avenida Palace hotel. That area is not near the dock but is a great, central area for getting around to do a little sightseeing, plus there are plenty of restaurants around there. A cab to that area from the airport is reported to be in the 12 to 14 euro range with luggage, and less from that area to the port. They rent for a day or more and everyone seems to love it.

If you want to be closer to the port, your choices will be more limited, but you could look in the Alfama area. Also, I looked at the Lux Boutique Hotel (not exactly Alfama, but in the Baixa area, which is closer to the port) before choosing the Lisbonaire. I think that area is a little more geared towards nightclubs, though, so you may prefer to be up near Rossio. Also, frequently mentioned is the Britania, same area as Avenida Palace. All of these are in center city Lisbon, so you won't be far away from either the port or lots of sightseeing opportunities.

Enjoy Lisbon. I'll be there in 10 days and I can't wait. It looks like a wonderful city! Check out Bike My Side if you have a 3 hour window of time for touring.

It depends how long you will be staying on in Lisbon. If you want to do some sightseeing post-cruise, you might want to be nearer to your points of interest.

Like others have already said, not all ships dock in the same place. It is hard to predict which hotel is close.

Lisbon actually has a great hotel market.

On my last few stays I have discovered a couple of modern hotels that I personally really like, both due to their service levels and style and their location.

Both are fantastic for Alcantara port, but quite good for Apalonia port as taxis are so inexpensive in Lisbon. (As long as you make sure they turn the meter on)

The hotel Mercy is up in Bario Alto and is walking distance to many great restaurants and cafes and sights.

The Hotel Altis Belem is a very unique offering and really connected to the river and all the sights of Belem. Everything else is an easy taxi ride away or even a local train to Cascais or Estoril. I will definitely choose this hotel if I am ever arriving or sailing from Alcantara again.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g189158-d1469403-Reviews-Altis_Belem-Lisbon_Estremadura.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g189158-d3298291-Reviews-Mercy_Hotel-Lisbon_Estremadura.html

You can see where you dock by going to http://www.portodelisboa.pt, although generally the port doesn't post docking information more than a month or two in advance. Most ships, however, seem to dock at Santa Apolonia, which is fairly close to Alfama. If you look at a map of Lisbon, the docking areas are a bit spread out along the water at the southeast part of the city. Docking assignments in Lisbon don't seem to be geared towards the size of the ship. I'm on one with 700 pax, and we're still docking at Sta Apolonia. I would guess that most ships doing turnarounds (ending a cruise and beginning a new one) get assigned to Apolonia, partly because it is well served by public transportation, and can probably handle more cabs.

 

Roothy123

We are staying at an interesting place, although it may be a little bit too basic, or possibly a bit too modern, for many people. It is called the Lisbonaire (http://www.lisbonaire.com), and each individual apartment was designed and decorated by a local artist, so they're all different. It's between the Rossio area and the Avenida/Principe Real area - close to the Avenida Palace hotel. That area is not near the dock but is a great, central area for getting around to do a little sightseeing, plus there are plenty of restaurants around there. A cab to that area from the airport is reported to be in the 12 to 14 euro range with luggage, and less from that area to the port. They rent for a day or more and everyone seems to love it.

 

If you want to be closer to the port, your choices will be more limited, but you could look in the Alfama area. Also, I looked at the Lux Boutique Hotel (not exactly Alfama, but in the Baixa area, which is closer to the port) before choosing the Lisbonaire. I think that area is a little more geared towards nightclubs, though, so you may prefer to be up near Rossio. Also, frequently mentioned is the Britania, same area as Avenida Palace. All of these are in center city Lisbon, so you won't be far away from either the port or lots of sightseeing opportunities.

 

Enjoy Lisbon. I'll be there in 10 days and I can't wait. It looks like a wonderful city! Check out Bike My Side if you have a 3 hour window of time for touring.

Would love to hear back from you re: how you enjoy the Lisbonaire. It looks very interesting. We will be in Lisbon pre-cruise for four days next June. Already doing my research and having fun!!!

Would love to hear back from you re: how you enjoy the Lisbonaire. It looks very interesting. We will be in Lisbon pre-cruise for four days next June. Already doing my research and having fun!!!

Hello fellow DC area resident! Post on here again in 2 to 3 weeks and I'll post back how I liked the Lisbonaire, and maybe add my two cents to the Tripadvisor reviews. I will at the Lisbonaire Thursday night; can't wait. One thing I did learn about them is that while you can request a particular apartment (based on the pictures on their web site) occasionally they will give you a different one. I emailed them about 2 weeks ago, asking if I would be actually getting the very modern, colorful studio apartment I had requested, and was a bit disappointed to have them email back that I wasn't. When I read the detailed info on their web site, it did mention that this might happen on occasion. They said they were going to put me in a larger (one bedroom) apartment instead (same price), and the one they mentioned did look pretty (cameo type wall decorations, green walls) so it wasn't so bad. I also figured I could go to sleep in the bedroom while my husband watched TV in the other room, which is one plus for having an actual apartment instead of a hotel-type room! Just out of curiosity I looked at all the other 1 bedroom apts and there was one that I liked a lot, so in my reply I mentioned that if that one was free, I'd love it instead of the one they proposed. They wrote back immediately that they could give me that one. So it ended up OK, and I'm expecting to love the place. I also found a restaurant near the Lisbonaire that sounds good (Quermesse) plus the Lisbonaire recommends Decadente, which is near the Sao Pedro viewpoint at the end (top) of the Gloria elevador (funicular), which is close to the hotel.

Anyway, hopefully, I will post comments on my stay when I get back, or possibly before. I have tons and tons of info I compiled on Lisbon. If you want it (it's a Word document) just email me at howardruthalliejoey@gmail.com. It's mostly, however, based on doing things on your own, rather than by taxi tours, HOHO bus, or ship excursion. I'm a really independent traveler....

roothy123

Thanks so much. I will email you and look forward to hearing everything. I plan to book a Windstar cruise from Lisbon to London. It sails in June 2015. Got the airfare using miles locked down first. Used miles for business over and first-class back. Great way to begin and end this fabulous trip. We will arrive in Lisbon on the 4th and sail on the 8th. We will also add a few days in London. London is so much easier to plan. I am only just now learning about Lisbon. Always excited about travel..... doesn't matter who is doing it. We are the friends that you can share your slideshow with. LOL. I hope you have a marvelous time.

Oh.. we are actually in Annapolis.

We are looking for a hotel in Lisbon pre-cruise that is close to the cruise terminal . Any suggestions?

Duas Nacoes, small, good location, clean and very, very cheap.

roothy123

Thanks so much. I will email you and look forward to hearing everything. I plan to book a Windstar cruise from Lisbon to London. It sails in June 2015. Got the airfare using miles locked down first. Used miles for business over and first-class back. Great way to begin and end this fabulous trip. We will arrive in Lisbon on the 4th and sail on the 8th. We will also add a few days in London. London is so much easier to plan. I am only just now learning about Lisbon. Always excited about travel..... doesn't matter who is doing it. We are the friends that you can share your slideshow with. LOL. I hope you have a marvelous time.

 

Oh.. we are actually in Annapolis.

I am back from our great adventure. Loved Lisbon (and the Lisbonaire was great as well - wrote a review of it on Trip Advisor, where you can find the Lisbonaire Apts listed under specialty lodging or something like that). I totally understand about the trip planning. I only had from early October to mid-August to plan our trip, but I got so obsessed I ended up with almost an inch of notes and maps and printouts. I ended up getting that down to less than a half an inch of stuff, but my planning paid off. We enjoyed all ports, and soon I'll be posting my pictures on http://www.pbase.com/roothy123. Take a look in a week (or less) and you should see pictures of what we saw and did. Lisbon was fairly easy to do on your own using a 24 hour ticket purchased in any Metro station. However, we splurged one morning and went on a Bike My Side sidecar motorcycle tour. It was great - learned and saw things that even I didn't know about, had fun, felt safe, etc. My husband loved it too.

You will have no trouble finding things to explore in Lisbon for the amount of time you've alloted. If you like photography, I'd plan on spending a few hours at the Palacio Marques de Fronteira out by the zoo - few tourists, wonderful old colorful palace, pond and garden. Great for photograpy and not overrun by visitors. If you just want to wander the grounds (worthwhile) you can do that by paying 3 euros when they're open; if you want a tour, you have to reserve in advance as hours are somewhat limited. Use the 24 hour ticket to save your feet and cab fare. It will let you ride the funiculars, which cost twice what regular bus and tram cost and are really fun, the Metro, which is a pretty good system, and all buses and trams within Lisbon/Belem.

That's for posting again. I'll look for your review and email you too. How many days were you in Lisbon?

We arrived on a Thursday morning (early) and went out sightseeing until check-in time at the Lisbonaire. We stayed overnight at the Lisbonaire, then had until about 1 before we boarded our cruise ship. I went back out a little after that before dinner, and then we spent the night on the ship. The next day the ship left at 4 and we needed to be back on board at 3:30. Therefore, we were in Lisbon probably a little over 2 1/2 days, but fairly broken up because part of it was while we were on the ship, which stayed overnight. However, I still managed to see and do a lot - but certainly not everything there is to do in center city - or outside if you want to go to Sintra, Caiscais, etc. (Some people find those places too touristy; some love them. I didn't really have enough time to go, unless I gave up more of Lisbon - and I loved Lisbon!)

We will be in Lisbon for about 4 days before our cruise. What neighborhood if the Lisbonaire in? Was it lively with lots of restaurants and people?

Yes, it's located in the first parallel street, west south end of the main avenue of Lisbon and near the Restauradores square, quite close to some historic Lisbon areas, to the right side you have Bairro Alto, to the south side you have Chiado and the downtown. To your left side Alfama and the Castle. Plenty of transports available. And restaurants and people too in those areas.

Yes, as Dom Peres says, it is a pretty lively area, although the street that the Lisbonaire is on (Rua da Gloria) is fairly quiet, and appears to be mostly residential. It has some restaurants, including Quermesse, which was pretty good, but other than that, we didn't eat at any of them, so I don't know which ones are good. Well, actually we DID have breakfast at a little place on the major avenue (Liberdade), a minute's walk from the Lisbonaire - but nothing else. The main street has shops and a few restaurants and a good number of people. Close to the Lisbonaire are Restauradores Square and Rossio Square, and there are lots of restaurants and people around there, including a pedestrianized strip called Rua Das Portas De Santo Antao. Some people think it is a bit touristly (with an occasional restaurant employee out in the street advertising their restaurant); others recommend it quite a bit. We walked down there and it was hopping, but that was after we had dinner at Quermesse, so didn't really check anything out. At Restauradores Square, quite close to the Lisbonaire, there is a tourist information center, which was pretty crowded when we were there during the day (August, high tourist season!) There is an elevador (funicular) which takes you up to the Sao Pedro viewpoint over the city, and near there is a restaurant recommended by the Lisbonaire. We didn't eat there, but saw it during the day in our wanderings.

Hope that helps.