andymo99

Just finished a two night stay here.

Plat upgrade was simply to "club floor" (21st, with club on the 24th). I didn't bother asking about suites.

The room is as described earlier, but reports of bathroom at 60% of square footage are exaggerated. I rather like the room/layout, despite the bathroom taking ~30% of the space. If you add the closets opposite the bathroom plus the walkway between them, I suppose you get to 60%.

I didn't have any trouble mastering the light controls, nor the A/C. I had no challenge in sorting how to use the shower. I was staying alone, so the lighting issue wasn't relevant, though I see how it could be an issue if staying as a couple. Same for the ability to maneuver about the room. No issue as a single, but perhaps for two it would be tight.

As noted elsewhere, service is outstanding throughout. All staff members took pride in offering a good experience. For example, the bellhop went out of his way to offer a restaurant recommendation, called the restaurant, wrote the name of a dish, etc. The next day, he remembered me and asked about dinner.

Club lounge is fine. Decent happy hour apps. Not as bad as noted above, but not great. Breakfast was good in the lounge and very good in the lobby - though not nearly at Asia type standards.

Location is convenient. Taxis are easy. I didn't use the gym/pool/spa.

All in all, I will definitely return for future business trips to LIS. Less ideal for leisure trips.

flyalotlm

We just completed a four night stay in early December and had an experience similar to Andymo99's posting above. Great service from staff who spoke good English. We were automatically upgraded to the Club Floor and subsequently lucked into a suite when someone checked out early. The view to the south, the same as the Club Room's view, is the nicer of views. The location is convenient to a Metro stop and Bus stop, and you can buy a 24 hour transportation pass from the machines at the Metro that is good on the buses, the Metro, the funicular, the trams, and even the Santa Justa elevator. A great deal for 5 Euros. You can easily take the Metro to & from the airport to the hotel unless you have a lot of luggage. The Club Lounge was nice with decent food though we preferred in the morning to eat in the restaurant for the buffet breakfast and use of the expresso machine for cappuccinos. Had great service in the Club Lounge. Did not use the Spa, exercise room, or outside pool. Overall, we had nice stay.

doctor15

I'm curious.. was the buffet in the restaurant included as part of the suite, or for being a plat?

Thanks for the transit info!

doctor15

I stayed here for several nights recently while on vacation, and really enjoyed it.

Check in:
I booked a combination of the 40euro sale from last year and points, but was confirmed into an Executive suite using SNAs. I had requested early check in through my Ambassador, but had not heard back if the message had been passed along. When I arrived around 10am, I was pleased to find my room was available.

Room:
The suite was VERY nice! As other posters have mentioned, it reminded me of a darker decored W. The walls were covered in a leather-like material, there were white LED lights everywhere, and the bathroom featured lots of glass. However, the toliet area was not viewable, and there were also blinds in the bathroom which could be lowered for the non-voyeuristic. The coolest part though was that the windows had electronically controlled blackout shades, which could be lowered or raised at the touch of a button from the bedside. Be careful though, as these shades don't let in ANY light! We literally slept 12 hours the first night, not even realizing it was late morning when we work up.

Breakfast/Lounge:
We received complimentary breakfast buffet either in the lobby restaurant or lounge. I'm not sure if this was due to Platinum status or included in the suite, but I did receive my 500 point amenity. The buffet in lobby was very extensive, so we ate there most days. The lounge had a much smaller selection, but more then your standard Sheraton lounge breakfast and was a much better atmosphere with views of Lisbon. If the lounge has what you are looking for in breakfast, it is probably better to dine there. In the afternoon they had a happy hour, but it just had a few snacks, a bottle of wine, and a vermouth bar (which I have never even heard of before). It was a nice touch, but not really worth much unless you happened to be in your room and needing a small snack at that time.

Location:
From the airport, we took the metro to Saldanha, then it was only a few minute walk. I would not recommend doing this with heavy luggage, as the metro has lots of stairways. The easiest is to take the Aeroport Express bus, which has luggage racks and drops you one block from the hotel. It is 3.50euros, but if you buy the Lisboa card, there are coupons for 2euros. Cabs are also cheap, but the bus was very direct and i couldn't imagine took much longer.

While the hotel is in a modern neighborhood not by most of the tourist sites, it is very easy to get everywhere. Rossio is a 20 minute walk downhill and the metro was very fast and convenient. Picoas is across the street, but we always walked 5 minutes to Parque which is on a line more convenient to the downtown area.

Overall, this was a great place to stay and while not right in the heart of the city, it did not impose at all on our sightseeing.

Nanook

We just completed our third stay at this hotel. We love it and it suits us fine. Taxis in Lisbon are not all that expensive, so don't let it's location worry you. We would have walked around more, but it was about 99 degrees there for a couple of days thus all the taxi rides.

We had a similar room to last time, on the lounge floor. The lounge has changed since we were there two years ago. Now you can't get a cocktail. Just beer and "martinis", which is really just vermouth with an olive or onion. They may have wine, but I wasn't interested in that so didn't notice. But the breakfasts are decent and service is great. There are two computers in the lounge, as well as about 4 or 5 downstairs in the lobby next to the concierge desk.

Captain Schmidt

Had a very irritating stay on Sunday night at this property. Was enroute back from Morocco and had an enforced layover in Lisbon which I wasn't happy enough about but having stayed a couple of times at this Sheraton previously, thought I'd stick with something that I was familiar with and was close enough to the airport.

Seemingly I had booked a queen bed room for only one guest and on check-in they seemed surprised that my wife wanted to stay in the same room as me but that they could accommodate her for an additional EUR20 for the night. I expect this from some little local hotel in the third-world, not a major international chain and have to say I found it quite tacky.

Anyway hope they spend the 20 Euros wisely because it is the last of my money they will ever get.

Rykoshet

Planning a 4-5 night stay here at 80 EUR (breakfast included). This is for leisure and sightseeing this summer.

I have found boutique hotels in Lisbon for similar rates, but as we are points hogs, the Sheraton appeals to us and the rate seems reasonable.

Any advice as to whether this is still a decent hotel for tourists, or if I would be better off somewhere else...

Also available 5 nights at 32,000 points, but that didn't seem as worthwhile.

nologic

Terrific hotel. Good location. Excellent rate. Don't think twice.

Rykoshet

Nice, thank you! Any suggestion on the 80 EUR (with breakfast) per night vs. 32,000 for 5 nights and no breakfast?

We prefer to eat breakfast quite early and get ready for the day, but I'd hate to miss out on traditional Portuguese breakfasts...

nologic

It's less than 32,000 pts because u'll earn some pts. But if u call it 30,000 pts, it gets to how u value pts. If you value them at a relatively conservative 2.5 cents/point, then that's $750. If u think u can higher value like 4-6 cents by redeeming for business or first class air, then not so good. On the other hand, if it helps you feel better about ur tip and expense, it's priceless.

Rykoshet

Ok, then I'll just pay for this trip myself. Hopefully I can find a coupon or something to stack onto my corporate rate for further benefits or rate cuts.

Thanks so much, now to plan the Azores!

Oxon Flyer

No contest : Paying Eur80 when it includes full breakfast is much, much better than spending the points. As you're Platinum, you will get access to the club lounge, which does serve a reasonable, but fairly modest breakfast : if you want the full works breakfast in the restaurant (which, IME, was great), then it's still definitely the way to go.

I would question your logic nologic.

Spend Eur400 on 5 nights, and you'll earn Starpoints, and let's say that'll be the 2,000 you've estimated. So you'll be 34,000 points better off than if you redeem 32,000. And maybe eligible for extra promo bonuses too.

Tizzette

The breakfast buffet is stylish and quite a nice spread and would set you back 25 euros if you had to pay for it separately. It might be more than 25 euros now, it has been 3 years since I lasted stayed there. There is a characteristic apartment neighborhood immediately behind the Sheraton with all kinds of little local shops including a handy Pingo market with prepared foods to take out (or there is some seating) and buy your water and cokes, a bakery cafe, florist, antiques, restaurants, tiny tailor shop, tiny shop to fix scissors, many neighborhood shops right outside the door. The apartments don't have central heat as a leftover from Salazar days, who decreed the people could not afford such a luxury. That neighborhood is a window into a way of life that is long gone from the US, juxtaposed next to the international brand designer shops in the shopping mall located in front of the Sheraton, which is the tallest building in Lisbon and very Euro Moderne. Taxis are cheap to the tourist sites.

TravelinSperry

I disagree with the location comment others mentioned. I think it is FAR from the tourists sights and things to see. I wouldn't stay there (and I'm a point hog like you!). Try the Sofitel.

Koby

Plenty of public transport, cheap taxis, a very nice hotel at 80€/night in a lively area... who cares that it is "far from" tourist sights. (It's not, by the way... Anything you'd want to see is a few metro stops away.)

Anyway, I doubt the OP can get the Sofitel for 80€/night...

Added, on the cash or points question: as others have said, 80€ with breakfast is a great deal. Don't use points for this one unless you're short on cash.