InterContinental Lisbon Review
The Intercontinental Lisbon was the second part of our stay during our Lisbon family vacation.
This review offers an honest look at what to expect. The hotel was perfect, but the complete opposite of another great hotel that we’d just stayed at in Lisbon (the Lisboa Carmo Hotel)
Overall, we had a great stay, and it offers the five-star quality you’d expect from an Intercontinental resort. Whether or not you should book a stay here depends on what you’re looking for in Lisbon, which we’ll talk about more.
Key Takeaways
- The InterContinental Lisbon is above Marques de Pombal Square, near Avenida da Liberdade and Eduardo VII Park. The hotel is large and newer, and popular with American guests.
- Akla Restaurant offers fresh Portuguese cuisine.
- If you’re looking for a luxury hotel with large rooms, this is one of the best options in Lisbon
- If you’re looking for an authentic historic Lisbon neighborhood, there are better options.
Overview of InterContinental Lisbon
Booking
We booked our stay at the InterContinteal directly though IHG. We used a weekend night certificate that was about to expire, thanks to IHG Ambassador status.
Our stay included breakfast, something we always add when staying at European (and most international) hotels. The price for breakfast is usually not much more than a standard rate, with the quality of breakfast much higher than what you’d find in the U.S.
Location & Overview
Getting there
InterContinental Lisbon towers over Marques de Pombal Square. It’s park-like neighborhood is close to luxury shopping at Avenida da Liberdade. Eduardo VII Park is close by too.
It’s easy to get here from the Lisbon Airport via Bolt & Uber, which are plentiful and cheap in Lisbon. There’s a metro stop close by too, but the metro route from the airport is a bit out of the way. Read more on our guide to getting around Lisbon.
The rideshare pickup area outside Lisbon airport isn’t the easiest thing to find. After clearing customs, you need to go back up one level to the departures (check-in) area.
There’s a pickup/dropoff area call Kiss & Fly right outside the terminal. We took these pictures from the parking lot looking towards the terminal:
Who We Recommend InterContinental To
The InterContinental is a good option for American based travellers looking for a familar, high end hotel in Lisbon. The rooms are large, perfect for a family, the service is great, and everyone we met spoke English (which actually wasn’t a problem anywhere we went in Lisbon). We wouldn’t hesitate to return here.
The hotel is also a great option if you have status in the IHG loyalty program, and are looking to earn or use points (or a free weekend night certificates).
What We Didn’t Like
There was nothing negative about the hotel itself. But, the InterContintenal isn’t in the best location if you’re looking to explore Lisbon’s old neighborhoods.
The area where the InterContintal is newer. While there’s plenty of restaurant options around, the location didn’t compare to our last hotel in the old Carmo neighborhood of Lisbon. In Carmo we could walk out the hotel and be within a couple minute walk of ten different restaurants.
When looking for restaurants around the InterContinental, some the closest ones were closed during the evening. We were able to find plenty a short 5 minute walk away, but the area was definitely quieter at night than the Carmo area. On a Saturday night, we didn’t pass any other people on our walk to or from our restaurant.
That said, don’t let the location deter you from staying here. Lisbon isn’t a huge city, so you can get where you need to go with a 20 minute, 10 Euro Bolt ride most of the time. Even the historic area’s locations are spread out, we still needed a Bolt ride to get to locations like Belem tower and the science museum (opposite directions).
Lobby and Check In
The lobby area is huge for a hotel in Europe, and looks like a five star hotel. Bellman at the front door are there to assist with any luggage, and remembered us each time we left and arrived, offering assistance with where we needed to go.
At check in we were upgraded to a higher floor and room category, and chose our welcome amenity of breakfast for having IHG status.
Rooms and Suites at InterContinental Lisbon
We were upgraded to a city view room on the 11th floor, with some great Lisbon views. The window even opened up slightly, a first for us on a room this high. Unfortunately it was rainy and cloudy during our whole stay!
Compared to our previous hotel in Lisbon, our room at the Intercontintetal was around twice the size (or more).
The room was modern and clean. It had a very comfortable king sized bed with extra plush pillows (too plush?), a large writing desk by the window, and a small loveseat couch with an ottoman.
We had a note thanking us for our IHG loyalty, as along with a small plate of deserts.
The minibar area contained a espessro machine with plenty of pods, and a baggage storage area
There was also small minibar fridge with the expected high prices. Lisbon overall had very reasonable prices for food and drinks during our whole stay.
The room has daily housekeeping and turndown service during the evening.
The bathroom had plenty of room too, with a large shower, toilet and bidet.
Amenities
The InterContinental Lisbon has amenities you’d expect for a five-star luxury hotel.
- Fitness Center: The hotel has a large gym, with treadmills, weights, and machines. We didn’t use it since we were walking the city hills all day.
- Room Service: Available but also something we didn’t use, with plenty of great food nearby.
- Concierge Service: The concierge team was always available for questions about our first time in Lisbon. Like the best way to get to the football match (the metro)
Food and Drink
Akla Restaurant
We didn’t try dinner at InterContinental on this trip, preferring to try nearby local restaurants each night.
For dinner we ate at two different Italian restaurants in the area: La Trattoria, about a 5 minute walk (wouldn’t return), and Madame Restaurant, about a 10 minute walk (would definitely return).
Breakfast
We did eat breakfast both days, and it was overall very good. Located just above the lobby, the restaurant serves breakfast until 10:30AM. This worked good as we were still adjusted to U.S. time, and waking up close to 10am.
As we mentioned earlier, you can’t go wrong by booking a breakfast included rate at European hotels. Even lower priced hotels we’ve stayed at put the typical American hotel breakfast to shame. You’ll find less runny powdered eggs, and more fruit smoothies, fried eggs, and crossaints.
The service and food at breakfast was excellent, including fresh hot chocolate for kids.
Four different kinds of fruit juices and smoothies.
Big collection of pastries including the custard pasteis, and jams.
There were plenty of other breakfast options, including fried eggs and bacon.
Conclusion
The InterContinental Lisbon has the typical high Intercontinental quality. There’s stunning views from some rooms and top-notch service. The hotel feels more like a U.S. based hotel, with large rooms and other amenities. It differs from what you’d typically find staying in a European hotel. This is either good or bad depending on yours preferences.
The location is in a newer area of Lisbon, close to luxury shopping and some attractions like the zoo. But, it’s a bit of a drive from the oldest neighborhoods of Lisbon.
