Just finished a stay. I had booked a room with outdoor terrace/balcony, and that is what we received.

Room had two water bottles with a label indicating that they were complimentary. We used them and they were replaced every day. Later in the week we noticed that the label had been switched to one with a price tag (not sure, €3.50). Not sure if that was a mistake or if only the first two bottles are meant to be free. In any case were weren’t charged for water.

There was no letter explaining elite benefits (which for us was essentially water bottles and breakfast).

Breakfast buffet was reasonable (though at times a bit crowded… annoying when people bring their luggage into the restaurant with already narrow paths between tables) . Scrambled eggs aren’t great, but omelet or other egg dish can be ordered a la carte. Since they are very busy, it can take a while to get the made to order eggs. Staff in restaurant is very friendly.

Room is fairly comfortable, and being able to sit on the terrace after a long day of exploring to enjoy a wine or snack is nice (and why I booked that room category).

The shower/bath configuration of those 7th floor rooms is bizarre: inconvenient, uncomfortable and somewhat dangerous. The overhead shower was almost touching my head (6 ft), the bathtub was somewhat slippery with no mat or grippy coating. The only handle is place such that you can’t use it to get out of the shower safely. And of course the placement, more or less free standing in the room, makes the room unsuitable unless you are a single traveler or a (romantic) couple.

Fire alarm went off twice in five days. First time in the afternoon, and we trekked down the stairs for the 7th floor with other guests. The second time in the 8am range when I was just about to turn on the shower. Fortunately it stopped after about 10 seconds and we decided to carry on showering. Later an apology letter was placed in the elevators and in each room.

Much has been written already about the location. We actually liked it. Convenient to the metro, but not in a super touristy area. Self service laundry and small super market are just a block away. We took a cab from the airport as we arrived late at night, and decided to splurge on an Uber for the return trip (around €9 for XL) to avoid having to drag our rollaboards over the cobblestone sidewalks to the metro.

Day use rate includes Diamond breakfast?
 

I am staying at the Lisbon Doubletree in April on a day rate, checking in at 9 am and leaving late afternoon.

Does anyone here knows whether (Diamond) breakfast is included when on a day use rate?

Yes it does and I do this often, generally day stay rates are 9-5pm , I’ve done this many times, arrived at 8am had breakfast ( just explain to the breakfast desk you are a diamond member on a day stay so you won’t be on the list ) and then checked in at 9am.

I’m in the doubletree Milton Keynes this coming Monday and this is what I will do,

Excellent, thank you for your reply.

I may be in Lisbon in a few months, but have never been before. I'd be going with my wife for about 4 nights and will be doing all the normal tourist things. We don't need to be in the heart of everything, but we want to avoid being an an area too quiet, not safe, or somewhere that needs a 15 min Uber ride to do anything.

This property is running about 70 EUR more per night than the Curio Emerald House. Is the location here enough to justify the additional cost? Or is the Emerald House location "good enough"?

I would choose the Emerald House. From there it`s 30 minutes by feet to the Rossio Square - the center of Lisboa. From the Doubletree it`s also 30 minutes.
The Emerald House is much better, is newer and has much more quality then the Doubletree. Also the district is quite nice with restaurants and bars 10-15 minutes by feet away.
And as an alternative: Taxis are cheap in Lisboa.

I really like Saldanha area where DoubleTree is located, it's lively, but away from the overtourism, ​​​​​while still being close to the city centre (either on foot or by bus or by metro). I particularly enjoyed finishing my day with a drink at the awesome Dejavu kiosk at Saldanha square before going to bed.

That being said, I have switched to another hotel in Lisbon because the Doubletree is crap. It used to be a great hotel but it's age is starting to show and they don't seem to be willing to invest into renovations.

Thanks for the details, it's good to know on the tradeoff of location vs. general hotel quality. Seems that Emerald House is the way to go between them.

Yeah, it sadly seems to be that way for too many Doubletrees in their system. The reviews online for this property also mirror what you say here.

In fact, as much as I try to be Hilton loyal the prices are just really high for my dates (280 EUR/night at the Emerald House and around 350/night for Doubletree). The Intercontinental and Sofitel are around the same price as Emerald House, with lots of quality boutiques even cheaper.

Looking at dates for next summer and the calendar says every night from Memorial Day through September is sold out? Am I too early?

Yes.

Just stayed at this DoubleTree Lisbon. It is crap and I will not return. I am a Diamond Member and used points for my 3-nights stay. No upgrades and I was assigned to most basic King Guest Room.

What I dislike:

• Their interior design and furnishing is bizzare. Black walls, black doors and green carpet.
• Bizzare and weird bathroom set-up. Mirror partition between the long bath area and room. From the bathroom, you can see the entire room but from the room, you can only see half the bathroom. Hard to describe this weird design. You have stay in the room to experience it.
• The room and furniture are run down.
• No toiletries or slippers in room. You need to ask or request from reception.
• Did not offer me their signature cookies when I checked in. Had to ask for it.
• Limited breakfast choices
• Overall the property is pretty run down.

Any experience with this property in terms of Diamond recognition? I'm planning on staying in Saldanha in January. I switched to another hotel for my recent stays, but since I've earned the status in the meantime, I'm wondering whether it may be worth it to go back despite the overall state of the property if there's a chance for a nice upgrade etc.

My Diamond recognition consisted of free parking (and breakfast of course). No upgrade, drink vouchers or anything else. See post above, it's a strange hotel and the walls between rooms are paper thin.

Thanks. I have stayed there multiple times so I'm aware of its shortcomings but it was before I had any status with Hilton (or maybe I had silver, I'm not sure). If there was a chance for a good upgrade, I'd give it a try again as I really like the location, but it seems I'll just choose one of the alternatives instead. Thanks again!

So I ended up booking the hotel again after all (the alternative in the location was either Ibis with reports of bed bugs in recent reviews, or Holiday Inn Express...).

It seems they are doing some renovations. Since they have been supposedly going for 7 weeks and since public areas still look the same as always, I cautiously hope that they may be remodeling the rooms? Also, they put me on the third floor as a diamond in low season (normally I was put on higher floors even back when I stayed as a blue or silver member) which could perhaps also suggest they are doing something with rooms. Let's hope for the best. I like the hotel in general but it's getting really worn out.
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