Vila Gale Opera Hotel

Picked the location due to its proximity to the Egas Moniz hospital (visiting a patient there) Couldn't have asked for a more wonderful experience. The room was clean, modern, sleek, fully functional. The breakfast in the restaurant (included) was absolutely fabulous every day of my 2-week stay. The bamboo and ornamental grass garden on the grounds was lovely to walk through, too. The staff was way way over-the-top wonderful. One night after I'd been there a week, a desk clerk came over to me in the lobby lounge (where I was surfing the Web on my laptop) and after verifying my identity, said, "your husband would like to talk to you" and handed me the phone. WOW!!! The entire staff was wonderful. I was not a rich and famous guest, just a normal person, but they treated me like I was royalty every single day. I can't say enough good stuff about them. The lobby/bar/reception area is beautiful, and I enjoyed the evening concerts. The lounge food is great, too. Location is quaint, a little off the beaten path but perfectly safe. Neighborhood is quite homey, too, and public transportation is a snap. My ONLY complaint (small) is that Internet is only available for really expensive rates in the room, or mildly expensive wireless rates in the lobby. Instead, head a few blocks down Rua Junquiera to the library or the wonderful cafe KAI and get free internet access. Overall, though, I highly recommend the hotel due in large part to the wonderful staff--every single one of them was great!

Pros: Nice, clean hotel. Helpful staff. Good food. Tram and bus lines stop nearby. Very close to Congress Center. Cons: Noise from suspension bridge. Sayed in the hotel for 5 days during a conference in late August. The hotel is less tthan a 5 minute walk to the Congress Center. The food at the hotel is good. The breakfast buffet included cereal juices, ham and the like. The dinner menu is good and reasonably priced. A pedestrian bridge connects the area with restaurants that are built in remodeled warehouses. The food and service at the restaurants was quite good and the prices were very competitive. A taxi to the airport was about 10 euros. The hotel room was very clean, modern and very well lit. Two twin beds had been put side by side by side to make a full sized bed. Cloest space was ample. The air conditioner worked with and made very little souind. A large desk area easily accomodated my laptop. Internet connection ran 15 euros a day. The internet connection was very good. The room was pretty quiet except for the constant humming sound that cars and trains made from a nearby suspension bridge.(My room was on the east side of the hotel which was closest to the bridge.) When a large tran rolled by it seemed like the room would shake. Fortunately, large trains did not pass very often. Local trains seemed to run every 15 minutes or so. Tram and buses run a couple of blocks north of the hotel. The rouites include the Caxia and Belen. The area near the trams has some bakeries, atm's and restaurants. Otherwise, the residential parts of the area seemed to be quiet.

This hotel is out of the centre. Access by bus is not easy, although there is a tram stop just 200m away and taxis in Lisbon are not expensive. A taxi from the centre to the hotel cost around €6. The Lisbon Conference Centre is just across the road, so the location suited me perfectly, but this is *not* a centrally located hotel and I would not recommend it to people visiting Lisbon for sightseeing. It is about 4 tram stops away from some touristy areas such as the Jeronimos, or the Belem tower. The area where the hotel is looks a bit run down though. There is no business Centre, so I had to pay to log in and print my boarding card in one of the two computers available to the guests in the lobby. There was life music most nights in the lobby. Loud life music. Breakfast was excellent, plenty of fresh fruit available!

Although the hotel is clean and comfortable the manager was extremely rude. When I checked into the hotel I was made to sign a form which clearly stated that breakfast was included as well as giving me directions to the breakfast room. Every morning of my 3-day stay I had breakfast and they never mentioned any charges. However when I checked out they tried to charge me $25 per breakfast! When I complained they told me my reservation was on a room-only basis. When I pointed out that they had mislead me the manager was extremely rude and told me I should read all the small print when booking. He insisted that I pay for the breakfasts and after a lot of arguing and rudeness he let me pay a reduced amount. I visit Lisbon regularly and will never use this hotel again.

I stayed at the Vila Gale for four days in early November. The rooms are very clean, nicely decorated and comfortable. Those on the "bridge" side are more noisy. An extensive breakfast is included in the room rate. The hotel is not downtown but a tram stop is two blocks away and it is a 10-minute ride downtown. Sites of interest in Belem (Jeronimo, Tower of Belem) are about a one-mile walk from the hotel. There are restaurants and shops within walking distance. There is a charge for the pool, but overall the room rates are reasonable and this is an excellent value for business travellers.

I stayed at the Villa Gale for business in the beginning of May. It was very convenient to walk to the conference center and was across the street from the Docas, which hosts numerous restaurants and bars... a must to see and do! The hotel was very modern and clean. Marble bathroom was nice, but I'm not used to a "queen" being 2 twin beds pushed together. None the less it was very comfortable. The meeting rooms are very nice and the hotel food is very good! Everyone was very nice and eventhough they don't have a business center they helped us make photo copies and print outs. Most were willing to try their hand at English as well! If you walk a block out of the hotel, there's a cute town with restaurants and shops. It's directly under the Ponte de April bridge and is near a major road, but it wasn't distracting. All in all, it was a pleasant stay!

This is a convenient, predictable and comfortable business hotel not too far from the centre of town. Although it is a perfect base to explore both Lisbon and the beach towns of Estoril and Cascais, it misses the professionalism and eye for detail you would expect. Plus Points: - Clean, comfortable rooms. We had a room on the third floor overlooking the convention centre. What the room lacked in view it made up for in general appearance. The bathroom was well kitted out: with a good shower/bath and amenities. The bed was very comfortable. Apart from that the room had windows that opened and an air-conditioning unit where you can regulate the temperature, fan speed, etc. - Excellent location; great if you want to combine beach and city. The hotel is near the Ponte 25 de Abril (Lisbon’s Golden Gate Bridge) – the quayside has a number of excellent restaurants and bars. Nearby trams and busses whisk you off to the centre of town. Taxis are cheap (no more than € 7) and plentiful. There is a nearby train-stop with frequent services to the beaches at Cascais and Estoril. - Modern hotel. Everything looks new and well-kept. Negative points: - Smelly rooms. Our room smelled of sewage; our friends, who were staying on a different floor, had the same problem. A couple of minutes of intense air-conditioning with the window open solved the problem… but it didn’t make for the most pleasant welcome after a day of sightseeing. - Swimming pool. This pesky, sweaty, chlorine-hell disguised as an indoor pool does not add anything to the hotel. Apart from draconian rules (no deckchairs outside, compulsory use of swimming caps, etc.) the € 7.50 charge for the use of the facilities makes a mockery of the place. - Breakfast. Although the breakfast is more than passable the coffee was undrinkable. Bad Nescafé in a country that has delicious coffee of its own? The selection of fruit was either unripe or from a tin. Pastries were great though. - Varying service. Some of the staff were reliable and really did their best, whereas others were inexperienced and incompetent. They recommended a bankrupt Brazilian restaurant (which was a taxi ride away), they said they called us a cab but then seemed to forget and they put loud music on the stereo in the foyer whilst the live “in-house opera” was on – mixing Lionel Richie with the already inescapable sounds of badly sung opera. Despite all this I would stay here again and would definitely recommend it.

We took a taxi from the airport to the hotel which cost us about 25 EUR although it is not that far away. The hotel itself is nice designed and the rooms were modern, very clean and had enough space. It is located just right next to the famous bridge of April 25th (reminds me of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco) - the traffic is a little bit loud. Breakfast buffet is of good quality. On the first day we walked to Belem which is a 30min walk. If you want to go to the center you need to take the train which is a 5-10min walk away from the hotel take it for (1-2 stations) and you are in the heart of Lisboa. On the other side of the street is a little harbour with lots of restaurants and bar - just like a food corner with real restaurants. For 90 EUR per double room there is nothing to complain about.

I have been there for 3 days (from 8 to 11 July) and i love it! Its was my 1st time there and for a 4* i garantie you that you will be very satisfy! I choose this hotel because of his location: in front of Tejo river with a beautifull right in front of Docas bar's (very good place to go out for fun); a few minutes from Belem Tower, "Pasteis de Belem" (the most famous Lisbon cakes, have to eat at least one!) and Jeronimos Monesterium; and because of the concert of Chemical Brothers nears from there in 9th July (they chhose the same place to stay!!! ,-))) ) About the hotel: very warmly place, great staff, super clean, excellent breakfast and always with opera or fado sounds. Have to leave at 12 pm... but stay to 2 pm and no one call or come to leave the hotel... and you know that all people love to stay a little more in bed in the last day, right? Unfortunally i decide to stay in Lisbon for one more night and choose a diferent hotel, Altis Park Hotel, a 4* too. DONT GO THERE!!!! Believe me... the view was great (17th floor in front of the river) but if u like clean things u will not found it there! The carps were so dirty that have a horrible smell!!! I give to this hotel 1*!!! Even IBIS HOTEL are really better!!! And more expensive than the Vila Gale Opera Hotel! Incredible... dahhh.... Me and my girlfriend love the VILA GALE OPERA HOTEL. Next time i go to Lisbon will stay there again, for sure!

Good value in an odd package and interesting location. Having chosen this hotel for its location relative to some business appointments, we were pleasantly surprised. For a reasonable rate we got a very modern room, an excellent buffet breakfast, competent staff, swift service, and an airy, refreshing lobby. The hotel is located near the riverside highway and almost under the bridge over the Tagus (the Ponte 25 Abril). At first glance, this looked bad. Fortunately, the hotel seems to be well-sound-proofed against the heavy traffic noise. Then, on our off days, we found that the sea wall promenade was only a short walk away. Along the promenade we were able to walk to several sites (the Torre de Belem, the Discoverers monument, the presidential palace, the monastery). For food and entertainment, we were also able to walk to the Docas restaurant development on the river and the famous Pasteis de Belem. Of course, the views along the river are grand. Since our business involved alot of car travel, we found that the hotel was convenient to the bridge, to the highway into Lisbon, and the expressway north to the airport. Moreover, streetcars into Lisbon and Belem run less than a block from the hotel. Thus it was easy to get downtown for an afternoon among the famous sites. The hotel's operatic theme was interesting but inconsistent. Nice paintings and costumes on display, but no opera music in the halls. Our only complaint was poor sound-proofing between rooms. Overall, excellent value in a four-star hotel that seems out of the way but is still convenient to some good destinations.