The catch at Memmo Príncipe Real

The hotel sells five room types and only two come with the panorama in the description: the Superior City View and the Superior Terrace City View. The Superior Two Bedroom promises a partial city view from its balcony, the Exclusive Room is sold on a balcony with an outdoor fireplace, and the Superior Room, the cheapest room in the house, is described by its finishes and no view at all. For 9 to 11 February 2027, the Superior Room was 252 euros a night and the Superior City View 270, both non-refundable with breakfast: 18 euros for the reason you came.

Set the river aside too. The hotel's own FAQ says that none of its rooms has a river view. What the view rooms get is the rooftops and the hills, which is plenty, but it is not the Tagus.

The pool is not in a garden of its own. The hotel's services page puts it on the restaurant and bar terrace, and Café Príncipe Real, which takes outside bookings, serves there every day from 12:00 to 23:00. Oysters with three Portuguese wines run daily from 16:00 to 18:30, and the DJ sessions start as the light goes. The pool is heated and open to residents 24 hours a day, and non-residents cannot swim in it, but they can take a table at its edge with a glass. The hotel's own photographs show a long, narrow strip of water beside the tables; guests report that it is small and overlooked by diners.

There is nowhere else to retreat to: no spa, no gym of its own (guests are sent to the one at the sister hotel in Alfama) and no children's pool.

The hotel is not on the street. Its own directions describe a narrow street and a small tunnel off Rua D. Pedro V that open on to the quiet square where it stands, which is charming on foot and awkward with heavy bags. The hotel itself recommends arriving by taxi, Uber or Bolt. Inside there is a lift and one room adapted for reduced mobility, and guests report steps inside the rooms that get in the way.

Then there are the hills. Chiado and the Bairro Alto are downhill, eight minutes on foot to the Trindade beer hall, and a climb back. The Glória funicular at the end of the street is closed, and a replacement service, the 51E, runs between Restauradores and Largo do Carmo from 7:00 to a last departure at 21:00. Rato, on the Yellow metro line, is a 12-minute walk by the hotel's own reckoning, and the 24E tram and the 758 bus both climb from Praça Luís de Camões to Príncipe Real.

Check-in is from 15:00 and check-out by noon, and the hotel's FAQ is blunt about the gap: an early room is available only by booking the previous night in full, and a late departure only by booking the following night. The front desk is open 24 hours and will keep your bags, but that is the whole offer.

The small print runs the same way. On every rate, leaving early costs the full reservation, and the non-refundable rate is charged in full when you book. The Lisbon city tax, 4 euros per person per night for guests aged 13 and over, up to seven nights, is not in the price and is paid at the hotel. Parking is 30 euros a night, subject to availability, and the laundry goes out, takes 24 hours and does not run at weekends or on public holidays.

Four of the five categories are sold for two people, the hotel has no extra beds and no interconnecting rooms, and the Superior Two Bedroom, 45 square metres with two bathrooms, is the only category that sleeps four. For 9 to 11 February 2027, two adults with an eight-year-old were offered that room alone, at 424 euros a night non-refundable, against 297 for two adults in a terrace room. Two adults with a baby were also offered only the Two Bedroom, at 324 euros, even though the hotel's FAQ says cots are available subject to availability. There is no children's pool, and the pool terrace is the restaurant and bar, with DJ sessions in the evening.