Windstar's hotels

We are considering staying at the Intercontinental Hotel in Lisbon at the end of our cruise.The main reason is that if we take the morning ship's tour of the city we will conveniently be dropped off there afterwards with our baggage and the tour would give us a reasonable idea of where things are in the city.

We've never used a ''Windstar'' hotel before and was wondering if their rate is better than booking directly with the hotel or using one of the many booking sites.

Has anyone ever independently booked one of Windstar's designated hotels?

We opted to book a private tour with "Your Friend in Lisbon" when we departed the Surf in September. The guide was great and we didn't have to spend the day on a tour bus. They can pick you up at dock or you can go to your hotel first. Taxi's are plentiful and cheap so we also chose to stay a little bit out of the city at the Lapa Palace which was superb. How many days are you staying in Lisbon? We did 2 days of private tours. One half day and one full day. We were so happy to not be on the buses that were all over the place.

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Well we only have the one night as we managed to get flights out to Tenerife and back from Lisbon using BA avios points and went with what was available in club class at the time of booking.My husband also needs to be back in London the day after we get back.

We normally like to do our own thing although we have in the past done day tours with private car and driver which gives one plenty of flexibility in the itinerary.

I was a little concerned about trying to see lots of things in one day in what I understand is a very hilly city.It was all the to-ing and fro-ing with luggage to hotel then wandering about trying to fit too many things in.One of my knees sometimes gives me a spot of bother so I thought a half day tour and then just the rest of day doing maybe one or two things on our own would be the way to go.

Your reply though,has given me food for thought.We could certainly look into getting a car to meet us and take us around in comfort.

We've only sailed on the Windsurf and Windstar before.This time we are trying Star Legend.I wonder if we'll miss the sails?

Thank you for your reply.

We have used Windstar hotels several times, in Rome, Venice, Istanbul and San Jose. That have been expensive but very satisfactory and convenient with both transfers included. Most recently we booked our own room in the San Jose Costa Rica hotel that they use and got a better rate, then added the one way transfer to the ship and took a cab to the hotel from the airport. We saved some money doing it that way.

Thank you. Our cruise is not until April so I have plenty of time to sort out the best option for us.

I am trying to sort out about three different holidays we are taking by next summer --other two land based though.

I have found Windstar hotels to be very expensive. I think you could do much better on your own.

Well, I am doing quite a bit of research at the moment.

I have found a company called Get Your Guide.They can do a 4 hour private tour for £113 .This would be better for us than being on a bus in a group.That seems a very good price.

I am also trying to find an alternative hotel to the Intercontinental which I understand can be very busy with tour groups.The advantage of staying there though is that they have a restaurant which gets pretty good reviews.Most restaurants seem to be closed on Sunday evenings so we may have to resort to dining in.It is also within walking distance of a museum I am interested in---Museu Calouste Gulbenkian which has a collection of both ancient and modern art.

So,I am now on a mission to find an hotel which can offer similar facilities to the Intercontinental,in a quiet area with either a good restaurant of its own or within easy distance of somewhere open on Sundays.