Lisboa Plaza Hotel

We first stayed in this hotel in 1997 whilst holidaying in the Algarve. We hired a car from Auto Jardim in Albufeira and drove from Carvoeiro to Lisbon in about four hours plus. The main highway from the Algarve to Lisbon is a race track, not for the faint hearted, be prepared to meet a line of three cars coming towards you round a bend or a 50cc scooter towing a trailer on the hard shoulder.
A Portuguese Man of War is not just a jellyfish. The bridge over the river into Lisbon is a spectacular crossing but take some change with you because there is a cheap toll. The hotel was found quite easily. It's situated near the Eduardo Park in a street running parallel to the Avenida Da Liberdade which is a very well known area of Lisbon. We booked the hotel whilst visiting a Thomas Cook travel agent to find a holiday in the Algarve. The trip to Lisbon was an extra to celebrate a wedding anniversary.
The hotel staff were very helpful and found us a good base in the centre of Lisbon at a very competitive price. The hotel itself has an underground car park that needs to be treated with respect since it is narrow and curls round. It's a curly wurly and I'm glad we didn't have our normal family saloon, series three, with us. It's very tight. Inside the hotel we found the bar to be cozy, welcoming and attractive with a selection of cocktails for sale on the night we first visited. The staff are friendly and the room, indeed the whole hotel, was extremely clean and tidy. It had a very nice feel to it. I was disappointed that the flowers and champagne I had preordered were not in the room upon arrival.
The room was a good size and the bathroom was excellent. The flowers and champers appeared the next morning. One of the reasons we chose this hotel is because it is ideally placed to tour the centre of Lisbon from. We enjoyed a lovely stroll down to the river, along the bank (where you'll find plenty of eating places) and along towards the Tower of Belem and the Monument to the Discoverers. Check out the marble pavement where a map of the globe details all the great Portuguese sailors and navigators who discovered the world. If you get the chance to go to the top of the monument do so. You'll be rewarded with a fine view.
Venturing further we were impressed by the nearby lace cathedral and various parks and gardens in the city. There are some beautiful buildings in Lisbon and dozens of fine old churches to explore or appreciate slap bang in the middle of the city. From the hotel, walk towards the river and come across the entertainment area within a five to ten minute stroll. There's many fine restaurants here and you can enjoy the live music (fada) as you dine at night. It's a thriving bustling city with a quiet and relaxing undertone to it. Be prepared for the aircraft over ahead.
Not living next to an airport in the uk I was surprised to see aircraft flying over the city into Lisbon's airport. Also be prepared not to venture to far off the beaten track. One morning we went for a walk, got lost, and ended up walking through a residential area the like of which would be hard to find in the UK. There was a lot of poverty and deprivation to be seen so I guess we stumbled across the wrong end of Lisbon. But you'll find social deprivation in any big city in Europe and it certainly hasn't put us off Lisbon.
This is a lovely well priced hotel, clean and compact, ideally suited for business or leisure. We've been back since '97 and we expect to return again next year (07).