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Many of lisbon's budget hotels and hostels which inhabit the older buildings of the Baixa district do not have a lift (elevator) and many that boast of a lift start from the level of the reception not the street level. A hotel I stayed in once had a lift which started on the 1st floor and involved 3 flights of stairs to reach it; if you need a lift check that it suits your requirements before purchasing the room.

Tap water is safe to drink in Lisbon so long as it has been delivered straight from the mains system. As for everything use your best judgment, if the water dispensed from the taps is cloudy or has floating particulates avoid. Never drink hot water as water heaters may be old and attic storage tanks could be in filthy locations.

A new flat screen TV may convince you to purchase a room but do consider what you are going to watch on it. The hotel may have cable (TV Cabo or Zone) but English channels are limited to news (CNN, BBC Prime and Euro Sport). The standard of Portuguese TV is poor with their evening schedules pack with quizzes, news and melodramatic soap operas.

The Lisbon is a noise city, the locals communicate by shouting in their coffee shops, the car horn is preferred to the indicator and the emergency services construct symphonies on their sirens. Consider this when selecting a room in a hotel especially if you plan to keep your window open during the night.

An air conditioned room cost 20-30€ more than the equivalent non air conditioned room and is only required in the peak summer months (June – august) when the windless nights struggle to cool down. During spring, summer and autumn there are cooling breezes during early evening which continue until one hour past sunset but as the land cools the night air becomes very still and air conditioning can be a blessing for a good night’s rest in summer. In all others seasons apart from mid-summer air-condition is not required, nights cool down sufficient so that an open window is that is needed.

Be sensible with valuables never leave them on show in your room, locks on doors can be weak and hotels and hostels constantly have streams of people passing through. If your room has a safe use it, if not hide passport credit cards somewhere other than under the mattress or in the one draw of the room.

If purchasing the room as a walking customer, ask to see the room, hoteliers will never take offence to this request if their standard of accommodation is good. While inspecting the room always test the level of the hot water.

The temptation of “breakfast included “may sound like a bargain but breakfast and morning snacks is what Lisbon does the best. There are literally hundreds of coffee shops spread across Lisbon selling cakes, pastries and coffee. The hotel must recoup the cost of the bland continental breakfast from somewhere; ask if you can have a discount if you choose not to take the breakfast!

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