Locke de Santa Joana

Seriously can't recommend this aparthotel enough! I spent four amazing days here in Lisbon. The building has a really unique and charming central courtyard layout, with beautiful greenery and a small pool in the middle. Plus, there are pretty tile decorations everywhere. It's also super pet-friendly 🐕🦺 – there's a wall covered in Polaroids of all the dogs who've stayed, which is just adorable. I even played a 'find the beagle' game there and found one in 50 seconds! You should try it too [😏]. The front desk upgraded my room, and it came with a kitchen and a washer-dryer combo, which was incredibly convenient! You can ask the front desk for laundry pods. Breakfast is a self-serve buffet 🍳 with a good variety of options; nothing particularly stand-out, but the Portuguese custard tarts were surprisingly delicious! Not as sweet as the ones you buy outside, definitely worth a try! One thing to note is that since it's an aparthotel, housekeeping doesn't automatically clean your room. Also, you need to bring your own bottled water and toiletries, though I heard you can get them from the front desk if you ask – I was just too lazy to bother. The location is excellent, right next to Marquês de Pombal Square on Avenida da Liberdade, feeling very safe! It's also only a one-minute walk to the metro, so super convenient for getting around.

Hygiene: Very clean, and the bedding was very comfortable. The only downside is that the room was a bit too small, making it impossible to open a large suitcase. Facilities: The hotel seems to be a renovated old building; you can see traces of the refurbishment. There was a strong, pungent smell in the corridors, and painting was happening everywhere. The room itself didn't have a mini-fridge. Environment: We were assigned to the farthest D building, quite a distance from the front desk, which was inconvenient. Also, the hotel rooms are very spread out, like navigating a maze. It was very difficult to find staff members anytime, anywhere, and there was no phone in the room.