InterContinental Hotels Group Stay Forum - HI Lisbon Continental

Just finished 3 nights at this property. As a Platinum I was offered a discount for the breakfast buffet (10 Euros vs 13.50 Euros), and also offered a discount on daily wi-fi (10 Euros vs 20 Euros). On one of my nights two bottles of water were left. I did purchase the breakfast one morning and there was limited hot food (scrambled eggs, bacon, tomatoes, baked beans). There was a selection of cereals, sliced meats, cheese, yogurt, rolls and juices. Not as big a selection as other hotels I've been to, but enough to start the day if you don't want to worry about scouting a breakfast location. I had a 9th floor room.

Easy access from Campo Pequeno two blocks away. At Campo Pequeno there is a Metro station, airport bus stop (3.50 Euros with first weekday pickup about 0810 so watch your times), and a below ground shopping mall with a food court that includes a soup and sandwich place that I like (you select from 5 different soup vats, but you better be up on Portuguese to know what's in each one- they're labelled). An all-day transit pass covering Metro, bus and tram is 5 Euros and sold via electronic kiosk in the station.

I should add that on my prepaid rate the hotel converted it to dollars and added 3%. After a series of e-mails between them and Holiday Inn Customer Relations in Birmingham they reversed that charge and rebilled in Euros. This is the 4th time I've had a property in Europe bill me in dollars with a surcharge (dynamic currency conversion) and I've always been successful on being made whole.

http://tom911.smugmug.com/Travel-Europe/Portugal/2012-Lisbon-Portugal/i-fhJXQRg/0/M/001-Holiday-Inn-Continental-M.jpg

http://tom911.smugmug.com/Travel-Europe/Portugal/2012-Lisbon-Portugal/i-CqzDM6f/0/M/002-Holiday-Inn-Continental-M.jpg

More photos HERE (http://tom911.smugmug.com/Travel-Europe/Portugal/2012-Lisbon-Portugal/21647334_7cBMks#!i=1726557412&k=fhJXQRg).

Just spent a night on 2 occasions at the HI Lisbon Continental. Handy location for the mainline trains and metro, and a E10 taxi from the airport (not the E16 that the first taxi driver asked for).

Breakfast is extensive but nothing special - certainly enough to get you going for the day. Expect to get a nice espresso somewhere else.

Not that it matters, but no Platinum recognition or special offers or upgrade of any sort (we were on a paid booking). No free wifi but I was able to hook into someone else's unsecured site for a while. Coffee, tea and electric jug provided. Trouser press in rooms. Like most hotel rooms, a shortage of hanging points for drying clothes.

The only real annoyance was the mattress covers - those vial plastic or rubber things that are hot, sweaty and slippery. No problem after we removed them ;) .

Various nice local inexpensive restaurants about 10 min walk away.

If you love watching & hearing aircraft, get a room on the NW side. Nevertheless, the rooms are quite quiet with closed windows.

I should add that on my prepaid rate the hotel converted it to dollars and added 3%. After a series of e-mails between them and Holiday Inn Customer Relations in Birmingham they reversed that charge and rebilled in Euros. This is the 4th time I've had a property in Europe bill me in dollars with a surcharge (dynamic currency conversion) and I've always been successful on being made whole.

The hotel has been scamming its non-Euro guests like this for years. They have been challenged many, many times, but refuse to change.

I imagine the kick-back from their bank makes it too attractive a deal to give up.

I now`stay elsewhere: Lisbon is a place with no shortage of good hotels.