Detailed review by bigmutt
When you read the reviews here (going back 3 or 4 previous years) you get the sense that the "glory days" for this place are behind them.
Many of the 2009 reviews, for example, talk of "sumptuous" breakfasts, with big trays of bacon, eggs, etc. and good fruit juices and coffees.
Now fast-forward to 2010 and 2011 and read the breakfast comments: "depressing", "slow", "miserable", "barely adequate", "the low point of our stay".
Do hotels realize that breakfasts, especially at these prices, are important to some of their guests? I guess not, or they would put a little more effort into ensuring a decent experience. Raise the price by a couple of euros, if you have to, but don't let the lingering memories of a lousy breakfast be what's remembered by guests paying over a hundred dollars a night to stay with you. Not to mention the negative comments on these websites that drive customers elsewhere.
One could fault various other areas, such as the poor, intermittent "free" WiFi, but there's not enough space here.
Reviewers here who refer to this Turim as "Fantastic", Absolute Gem", and even "Best Hotel we stayed at in all of Europe" surely must be either very inexperienced or have quite low standards; or they're newly in love and EVERYTHING is wonderful.
I would rate the rooms as B-minus, the location as C, the overall comfort & amenities (like lobby, services, etc) as a C-minus, and the breakfasts no better than a D. The staff probably deserve a B+, though.
This is unacceptable for $131 per night; and the booking.com site actually lists the "regular" price as an astounding $286 per night (but with the "Smart Price" you get 55% off, hence the $131 per night.)
I really hope this hotel will some day get back to how it must have been in 2009 and before, but for now it's pretty sad that management just doesn't care; there's lots of hotels in Lisbon that are MUCH better for the same price or less.
Turim Lisboa3
