Hotel Altis

Nice Hotel, little old-​fashioned (70ties), large Roms– but: rooms noisy, bathroom of the neighbours very loud.

Altis is a nice hotel, I think it would be a really good 4 stars, but unfortunately it doesn’t live up to its 5^th star.
The building looks a bit dated, but the interiors, particularly the rooms, are very modern and comfortable. Large mirrors everywhere, slippers and nice toiletries, an entertainment system and big fluffy pillows on the bed, are some of the things you can expect.
The staff is pleasant enough, especially the barmen and the reception clerks, but I found some of the waiters to be very clumsy and almost rude. During breakfast service, for instance, the inexperience of some of the staff would show through and you’d also see them bumping into tables/​chairs without even acknowledging it.
The breakfast buffet is also a bit disappointing, plenty of choice, but everything’s very basic. Again, it wasn’t what would expect for a hotel in this range — other similar hotels in the area are much better, so Altis doesn’t compare well.
We had one event with catering at the hotel and that was also not up to scratch, I couldn’t believe how disorganized the service was, the food served was not very tasty or well prepared and we had a disproportionate amount of desserts versus mains/​starters. So I wouldn’t recommend their catering, even though the venue — the D. Fernando Grill on the 12^th floor — was very accommodating for a that big number of people — there’s also a covered balcony that runs around this floor, great for al fresco socializing.
There are a lot of smoking areas indoors but they’re not overly intrusive — I sat on the lobby bar working for a while and only felt a very faint smell of tobacco. However, if large numbers of people gather in one of the bars smoking, it may become discomfortable.
Wi-​fi is free, but the list of freebies ends there. We were supposed to get a complimentary bottle of water every day in our room, but that never arrived — for what it’s worth, we complained on check-​out and they apologized profusely. Still felt very stingy on their part, they were charging a whopping 4 € for mere bottled water inside the room. There was also a Nespresso machine and coffee capsules, but each of them would cost 2 €. I understand things are more expensive at hotels, but this just felt excessive.
In summary, Altis certainly has the infrastructure of a very good hotel, but it needs to rethink the way it treats their paying customers, how it trains the staff and definitely what kind of food standard they’re aiming for. As saving grace, they seem to be geared towards a business audience and they have good facilities such as the business center that you can use for free even for printing some documents.

Altis Grand Hotel = pleasant!
After 2 nights at Hotel de Estrela (5 Unilocaly stars!) it was a bit of a letdown to drop into the Altis Grand Hotel for our last evening in Lisbon. However the price was right (about 140 euro for a double room) and the service was great, so our stay was totally pleasant, just not «amazing» or really «5-​stars!»
Altis Grand Hotel is a big convention/​tour bus type of hotel. With 300 rooms, it serves this demographic very well and has some amenities that make it attractive to them. For instance, when we checked out Sunday morning there were not 1, not 2, but 3 HUGE coach buses with older guests departing for a day of sightseeing. That is about 300 people right there! Obviously this clientele is very well behaved and quiet so I am not complaining at all, just trying to paint a picture.
Every staff member was absolutely lovely. The doormen, the reception staff, housekeeping, everyone. All extremely sweet, helpful and accommodating. Fitting of a 5-​star hotel type service.
One small complaint — we showed up to check-​in at noon (had to leave our previous hotel) and were told check in was at 2pm. We were there with a baby, in the pouring rain and I have to think there was at least a room available. I think they are pretty strict with their policies though, so just an FYI to travelers. No early check-​in.
The room — really nice. They’ve obviously been updated with fresh surfaces/​carpet. The bed comfortable and crisply clean. Our room was nicely outfitted with a double bed, large flat-​screen TV, bathroom with tub and shower (plus separate bidet/​toilet room), chair, desk, etc. All very comfortable for our 1 night stay. The view was nothing to rave about but we won’t hold that against them. I’m sure in the front of the hotel it is a nice view!
They brought a very nice cot for the baby — a full size/​standard cot (not a travel cot) also with very fresh linens. Much appreciated! As mentioned, the hotel is very quiet (nice!) so we tried to convince the baby that this was in order. For the most part, he complied!
So in short, if you are an explorer type and just need a place to take a shower and rest your head whilst going out and about in Lisbon, this hotel will serve you perfectly. If you are looking for «boutique» or «unique» experience this might not be it, but the price is right and it’s very clean and updated so it’ll do just fine! Service makes it sparkle.
Of note:
*taxis were always available right outside hotel.
*doormen delivered our bags directly to our room after check-​in.
*bar/​café in lobby serves light bites/​coffee. (very good coffee, too!)

Don’t be fooled, this is far from a 5* hotel like they would have you believe.
First all, they allow smoking in the lobby bar at the hotel so you are greeted with wafts of second hand smoke as soon as you walk in. Next, you will wait approximately 20 minutes for check-​in and then they will assign you a small room the size of a closet. The next day they upgrade you to a suite which is large but still very dark, dated and sofa looks like it has been there a while. Even the hallways are dark and on motion sensor lights. You may be walking in near complete darkness for a few seconds before the lights come on … kind of creepy.
I was at the hotel for a conference and we kept hearing construction noises during our conference sessions. Also, while the wifi is free, it kept dropping and was very unreliable. Then on checkout day I once again had to stand in line with second hand smoke for someone to print out my final bill.
I would not recommend this hotel to anyone.

Ainda cheguei a conhecer o Fernando Martins, o grande impulsionador do serviço de excelência do Altis. Um senhor, apesar de benfiquista!!! Tenho assistido a inúmeras conferências, dado que o espaço é bastante requisitado e nem todas têm corrido pelo melhor, em termos de serviço de catering e de eficiência; tenho, igualmente, acompanhado algumas campanhas eleitorais, sendo que é normalmente a base de um dos maiores partidos políticos, e posso concluir que o serviço é de elevado nível organizativo, sobretudo atendendo às enchentes que não rareiam em dias de eleições

Não conheço este hotel como utilizadora do serviço de quartos, ou seja nunca fui háspede residente mas conheço-​o bem na sua qualidade de anfitrião de eventos.
Nesse campo cumpre muitíssimo bem a sua função e não é por acaso que organizações com tanto peso na sociedade portuguesa o escolhem para «sede» em momentos importantes.
Penso que o pessoal é especificamente treinado para receber este tipo de eventos e na verdade o serviço é esmerado.
A última surpresa que tive foi quando lá se realizou o exame da escola de línguas do Cambridge e o hotel distribuiu pelas várias salas centenas de alunos que se candidatavam ao certificado: As instalações prestam-​se a isso e o facto de estar muito central ajuda.

Este Hotel é conhecido como o Hotel escolhido pela equipa do Futebol Clube do Porto para se instalar nos dias de jogos em Lisboa, assim como é conhecido como o Hotel onde um partido político costuma estar para realizar conferências de imprensa em datas importantes.
Contudo, há uma explicação. De todas as vezes que fui a este Hotel, o serviço de quartos e o serviço de apoio a eventos é exemplar. O catering que eles colocam à disposição é de se lhe tirar o chapéu, conhecida como «nouvelle cousine», mas garanto que o que vem no prato é suficiente para ficarem satisfeitos.
O Hotel já tem alguns anos e pertencia a um ex-​presidente do Benfica Futebol Clube.
O lobby foi todo remodelado por uma conhecida arquitecta e designer de interiores. Os quartos, aos poucos têm-​se adaptado ao novo estilo criado pela artista.
Quanto aos dois restaurantes que têm disponíveis no interior do Hotel, apenas visitei um e posso dizer que é o oposto deste serviço exemplo, foi uma desilusão.