In what used to be a big family's home in the best neighbourhood in Lisbon, The HOUSE is a "boutique B&B" that offers its guests a sophisticated but relaxed ambiance inside, and a terrace with a breathtakingly beautiful view over Lisboa. Come, you will feel at home in The HOUSE.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Great View
Harbor View
Languages Spoken
English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Location
Travessa do Pinheiro 11 4th Floor, Lisbon 1200-763 Portugal
Name/address in local language
The House
528 reviews
Getting there
Good for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
There was a large group of us that stayed at the house this past weekend for our friends hen party... and in every sense it was perfect! From the minute i had booked the trip i had been in contact with Francisco, who was fantastic! I always had questions and queries for him and he always replied quickly and always so helpful. When we arrived at the house i met with Anna, a lady that worked there, and also spoke with Francisco who told me about the layout of the house etc.. he was extremely helpful and gave us recommendations for food that night which was brilliant! (Check out the market which is a 10 min walk from the house).. excellent food, lots of choice! The house itself was amazing... all of the rooms had their own bathrooms. And everybody got given towels. The terrace was incredible.. we spent most of our time there,lapping up the sun and making most of the large space and amazing views! We will definitely be back in future :)
Read more
Date of stay: March 2020Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I stayed at The Home for six nights in late November. This was my second vacation to Lisbon and these are the positive things I can say about this B&B.
I found the staff very friendly and helpful, giving advice of things to do in Lisbon or where to eat.
I would say the breakfast was between very good to excellent. It was the standard European breakfast which consisted of juice, bread, meat, cheese, jams, fruits and cereal. But the quality was very good, the bread was always fresh and you could toast it if you wanted too. The coffee was excellent and I had my three cups of black coffee, America size cups of coffee each morning. If the coffee was not enjoyable I knew could always visit a local café for coffee, but I had no reason. You might think three cups of coffee was too much but read where I sometime had my last cup of morning coffee.
The room I stayed at was the Ajuda. My room was clean, warm and spacious. I never felt like I was staying in a small white box. The room had a large closet, a chair, a ladder that functioned as shelves to put my person belongings. The room’s bed was very comfortable and had plenty of blankets to keep me warm during those November nights, so each night I slept like a baby. The neighborhood where the Home is located is quiet at night too, so the only noise that woke me up each day was my alarm clock in the morning.
In my room there was an unused outlet so I could to charge my netbook and camera’s batteries each night. While the room did not have a desk, I had use of the House’s beautiful living room with its soft sofa, chairs and table to sit at night using my netbook to access their Wi-Fi. So there was no need of the desk in my room, the living room was very comfortable, so comfortable I could have fallen asleep on the sofa.
While many of the other rooms in the House had their bathroom in the room, my bathroom was not in the room but across the hall like 10 feet away. The bathroom was cleaned each day, I believe more than once too during the day and was spotless. There was plenty of hot water for the shower. Just in case you forget (I did not) there was soap and shampoo in the bathroom.
But what I have said so far about the House I can say the same things about other B&Bs I have stayed at throughout my travels. But these are the highlights that make this B&B stand out for me.
1 – To say the entire staff is friendly and helpful is wrong, because they do more than this. The entire Home’s staff went out of their way to make me feel welcomed and even took a personal interest in my plans for the day and night. Almost each morning during breakfast, I was asked what my plans were for the day and even suggestions were made to me. The staff knew this was my second trip to Lisbon but they would sometimes find something that they would think would be of ‘interest’ to me.
For example Francisco the owner of the Home, made suggestions to me I would know not have done on this trip or even future trips. One was to visit the Basilicia de Estrella, a block away from Home. Since my hobby is photography and I had my camera gear with me, he suggested I go to the top of the roof and dome of the Basilicia to shoot some photographs from there. I very glad he made the suggestion because it was worth the time to do it. Another of Francisco’s suggestion was to visit a photo exhibition that was close by and that too I found it interesting.
One morning during breakfast, Joana one of the Home staff members asked what I was doing today and I mention I was visiting the Lisbon’s aquarium, Oceanario again as I visited it on my first trip. A few minutes later she handed me the Oceanario’s brochure. I did not ask for one but if felt good to get this kind of attention.
I will admit that without Francisco’s presentence to take the ferry to visit Cacilhas, on the other side Tagus River, I might not done it on this trip. But this is where the Home really shines for me.
Francisco point was that I should go to Cacilhas because I could see all of Lisbon which I already knew. But his point was should go because I could shoot some interesting photographs from there.
On beautiful Lisbon day, I did take the ferry ride to Cacilhas and walked from the ferry’s dock all the way to Statue of Christ, Cristo Rei. Then late in the day when I walked back from Cristo Rei to where I would take the ferry back to Lisbon. On my way back I did get to see and photograph Lisbon an hour before sundown. Lisbon was bathed in yellow light and the only way to see this was from where I was. This was one of my highlights for me on this trip and I have the photographs I wanted to create on this trip.
Everyday my interactions with the Francisco and his staff, I felted they wanted me to enjoy my days and nights in Lisbon. Sometime I was coming back late in the day to get ready for dinner and depending on the time there was someone there to greet me, give me suggestions where to eat, checked if a reservation was need and make them for me.
Anyone who is a first time visitor to Lisbon would want this kind of attention and advice. Anyone who wants to get more out to their vacation time would want this kind of attention and advice. I saw this kind of attention also being showered on the other House’s guests too.
2 – On the day of my arrival, I found on my bed a five page color print out. It was a list of places to eat near the House and other areas in Lisbon. Along with each restaurant/café’s name was its address, phone number and the type of food served. Included for each place was small Google map displaying the street and cross streets where the restaurant/café is located. As I was flipping through the pages I could not help thinking that something put some effort and time into creating this list.
This list of places to eat, it turns out are Francisco’s personal recommendations where he eats too. One morning while I was discussing with Francisco about his list and I could not help thinking to myself he takes this very seriously. Francisco is looking for places that will serve good food for his guests, along with the good service too. I did eat at two of them on the list. I even twice visit one place. But the food was very good and the price was reasonable.
The recommendations did not stop with the list. Francisco also recommended a place to have gelato (ice cream), an unusual looking café that a photographer would enjoy visiting and a place to have port wine. I did try some of the places recommend on Trip Advisor and Rick Steve’s Lisbon guide book, but Francisco’s list was the ones I really enjoyed.
If you are an ice lover make sure you ask where to have Ice cream as it is an excellent place to have desert and walking distance from the Home.
3 – I visited Porto for four days before coming to Lisbon and on my second day I asked where can I get my laundry done. The House did my laundry, they do it at the B&B and the cost was very reasonable. They ironed all cloths, under wear, my shirts, jeans, I think my socks too! It’s one less hassle for me on my trip, having my laundry done.
4 – The area where the House is located, is my type of area. Not a tourist area, but an area where the locals live. Most of the people I would see or meet everyday where the locals. The nearest public transport I would use was the 28 Tram. I will admit on the fourth day the novelty of the riding tram worn off a little as it felt like going to work, riding the New York Subway.
On some days I did not ride the 28 Tram, there is alternative transportation option getting to my destination or returning to House. I would use the Lisbon’s subway. The Rato Train Station (Yellow Line) was a 15-20 minute walk away.
I felt safe in this area even though there not to many people on the streets at night, but I still felt safe.
5 – The House’s roof deck. When Maria, another member of Home’s staff to took me to the roof deck for the first time, one word sums it up for me when I saw the view. WOW! I was aware of the House had roof deck from the information on their website and it had a view of Lisbon. But the view of Lisbon from the Home’s roof is vast and no photograph can do it justice as the view spreads out in front in almost all directions.
I would describe how vast this view is when I would stand on the roof looking towards Tagus River. My right shoulder would point in the direction of Cristo Rei. My left would almost point to Castle Jorge that is far away. The view continues behind you with the Basilicia de Estrella’s dome behind you. Like I said the view is vast, beautiful during the day, magically at night. On a clear night besides the twinkle in the sky from the stars, I would see the twinkle of lights from the other side of Tagus River and Lisbon itself lit up in soft lights before me. Because the area is quiet at night the only noise I would hear while I was on the roof would be the noise I made myself.
Each night before I went to bed I would visit the roof. I made a night cap for myself, sit outside, enjoying the view and my nightcap. The few nights it rained, I still visited the roof. Some mornings after finishing breakfast, I would grab one more cup of coffee and make my way to the roof. Standing there, drinking my coffee while taking in the morning view of Lisbon. These special mornings came with my room and were free of charge.
6 – The last highlight for me is, I liked that special touch I found in my room that had spoiled me. In my room I found a plush bathrobe and slippers to use during my stay. Now that I have been spoiled by the plush bathrobe, I bought myself one when I returned from my trip.
It has been almost a month since I returned from my second trip Portugal and I know there are going to be more in the future. I have been reflected how enjoyable my Portugal trip was and some strange way it was enjoyable writing this Home review too. That because of my enjoyable stay at the House many due to Francisco, Maria and Joana hard work each day for their guests. If I stayed somewhere else beside Home, I would still have a wonderful visit to Lisbon, but I know it would be a less wonderful.
Let me put it this way. To me visiting Lisbon is like desert and my stay at the House was like adding whip cream and a cherry on top of my desert. The topping just makes for a better desert! :)
Read more
Date of stay: November 2010
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed for 5 nights in TheHouse in February/March. But I wouldn't have mind to spend a few more days there!
All rooms are superclean. And trust me, I checked it thorougly ;) (I am allergic to everything...) Not only our own room (Lapa) was spotless, but also the lounge, breakfast area and terrace were well taken care of. Beds were comfy. At night TheHouse was calm and quiet. And no street noise as well.
The breakfast buffet consisted of: several kinds of bread, cheese, meat, jam, honey, coffee, tea, juice, water, 2 types of cereal, milk, yoghurt, something sweet like cakes or local pastries (which were yum btw), and fruit.
There is a lounge for those who'd like to watch tv, read a book or magazine, or use the B&B's laptop with internet connection.
On the top floor is a terrace with the most stunning view of a city that I have ever seen. Probably the best view in Lisbon! The terrace has an inside and outside area. From both you can see the 200 degrees view. Inside is a lounge, where you can have e.g. a coffee, beer, glass of wine, or soft drink. Self service. Prices are reasonable.
This B&B is located next to the Basilica da Estrela. Nearby (2-minute-walk) are busstops and tramstops. Nearest subway is a 10-minute-walk. Since there is no subway or train connection from the airport to the city centre, we decided to take a taxi to TheHouse (which cost us €15 - on a Saturday). However, there are special aerobuses that take you to the centre for €3,50, so that's an option as well, but it will take you much longer and you'll need to change to a bus or tram in the centre.
From TheHouse you can easily get to all the interesting places Lisbon has to offer by public transport. Buses and trams leave regularly and even on time! Tip: buy a 48h Carris Yellowbus card for €19 per person. It will take you everywhere! You can use 2 different hop-on hop-off bus routes, and all Carris buses and trams (also historical tram 28).
Although TheHouse is not in Baixa (the actual city centre), we felt it was a good location anyway, since interesting sights are all around Lisbon. Public transport is cheap, and there are many ways to get back to the Basilica da Estrela.
Host Francisco was very helpful and checked almost daily if we needed any tips or help. All in all a great experience in a great city and B&B! Would definitely recommend it.
Read more
Date of stay: March 2011
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Well-designed website, number 1 on tripadvisor (back then, in april 2011) meant that I booked without hesitation the chiado room, which is supposedly the best in the house at a whooping 120 eur/night. Whilst the automated reply is very well-written (tips on how not to be ripped off from taxis etc.), the "human" replies to our enquiries were all late and rather unprofessional. Our booking got cancelled "just by mistake" but it took the owner a few days to confirm that it was just a system glitch due to a room upgrade we requested on a previously unavailable night. Upon asking for directions to the place by rental car a couple days before arriving nobody replied to our emails. The location is neither super central nor easy to find. The entrance is not clearly signposted and betrays the very name of "the house": it is not a house but the last two floors of an apartment block. The welcome wasn't warm either - first and foremost I was urged to pay straight away (even before having seen the room!) And when I asked a simple question I was told that "everything was already explained" to my partner. The chiado room is TINY, especially compared to the impression one has from the internet. Also, all rooms face the centre staircase so it can get quite noisy as soon as other guests enter or leave. After an exhausting day of driving we relaxed on the amazing terrace with great views of the city. While we were taking in the atmosphere the owner came to tell us that we had to leave strictly before 8pm as the terrace was rented for a private function - and subsequently reminded us of this about 3 other times which was a bit unnecessary. When I asked for a suggestion for a restaurant he just repeated what is written on the (arguably quite good) restaurant guide that is provided at reception - with no further insight nor satisfactory reply to the fact that I am Italian and did not wish to eat in his suggested italian restaurants. When we made our way back to the house after a nice night out at around 1am, he met us outside the main entrance and told us with a slightly sarcastic tone: "it's a beautiful night, why are you guys coming in so early?". I don't think I should be told what to do by my bed and breakfast host. Shortly after he urged us not to be noisy upon entering with a very patronising tone (just because we are two young guys?). Breakfast is nothing special but ok for people like us who are not too fussy. We left with very mixed feelings as we wouldn't have expected such an average experience from the n.1 rated b and b in lisbon! Compare this with, for example, the 6 only guesthouse we stayed at in Porto: half the price, courteous service, big rooms and a smile whenever we met the owners. Too bad for "the house": they got the concept right but fail to deliver on details.
Read more
Date of stay: April 2011
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from fcpcc1, Owner at The House
Responded Sep 23, 2011
Dear Paolo1988, I could argue every single one of the points you make instantly. However, the overall feeling that your writing transmits clearly indicates that your evaluation of TheHOUSE is based on assumptions, and wrong ones. Because of this I will not refute your comments. Î just want to let you know that you got the wrong impression: nobody here, least of all myself, has any problems with the fact that you and your partner are young. "Just because we are two young guys?" is a comment that does not make sense, unless you are waiting to hear it. The tone was in your ear, not in my voice; just the same for your next comment: the obvious reason for not making noise at one o'clock in the morning is that it was one o'clock in the morning. Despite completely disagreeing with your comment I still wish you had had a good stay as that is the reason why I started this business. Not everything is up to us though. Best regards, Francisco Cansado Carvalho
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Although small, the “Library” room is comfortable and one has a nice view of the city. The very familiar environment found in the hotel compensates for some shortcomings, such as not having a TV, a wardrobe or even a hair dryer in the room.
However, two serious problems must be reported here. Firstly, there is no receptionist in the evenings. It doesn’t seem a professional practice to leave all guests without an immediate assistance at a certain time. Maybe the hotel’s owner prays every night that nothing goes wrong with them… At least, the hotel should count on receptionists 24 hours/day and another professional for emergencies, such as electrical faults.
Bitterly disappointing was the smelly bathroom due to an issue in the plumbing system. Indeed there’s a message in which the owner apologizes for the inconvenience and affirms that the unpleasant odor disappears by letting fresh water flows from the shower for 40 seconds. Obviously this doesn’t solve the problem and the smell becomes quite worse in the evening. . Smelly bathrooms are unacceptable, although the owner tries to convince the guests of the opposite. Honestly speaking, the rooms with this problem should be closed and Mr. Francisco should really take actions to solve it.
For these reasons I don’t recommend The House to anyone who looks for a hotel in Lisbon.
Read more
Date of stay: March 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Well, this is a hard review to write. I have waited almost six months to write it. The view from the terrace is amazing. The room is as advertised and the photos do it justice. The location is good, and the staff, once we arrived, were very helpful. Here is the problem: I booked the room MONTHS in advance. Not weeks, but months. And then, just before we were to arrive, we were contacted by (a very apologetic) owner stating that they had given our room to another group, thus we could not stay all three days at The House. To his credit, he did get us a room elsewhere (Lapa 82 B&B). And here is the problem: we had a great room at Lapa82, and then were disappointed when we arrived at The House. Throw in the problem of having to move after one night (We were on a two month trip, this was our last place and we wanted to just settle in a little before heading home. You know?) and so all in all it was a disappointing experience for us. I don't like having a room sold out from under me. That being said, the owner did try to make it up to us. But still. It drops the rating.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2014
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:We had the Master Bedroom, with a big, private balcony. The bathroom is private, but over a ways.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from fcpcc1, Owner at The House
Responded Jan 31, 2015
Dear LaVidaBuona, Thank your for your comment and, especially, thank you for clarifying your identity so prompty! It allowed me to investigate exactly the situation. I understand that it may be upsetting having settled on a plan and then, after everything is confirmed, having to change it for reasons that are external. We don't work with overbooking but mistakes happen and we found that we had made a mistake with your reservation and the situation was that we did not have a room for you. We imediatly wrote to you letting you know that we would not be able to accomodate you on the first night of your reservation. We explained the situation and apologized for it, but our hands were tied. By now. there were only 2 options: you could cancel your reservation with us altogether for free and we would help you find equivalent accomodation; you could keep your reservation with us and we would find and pay for a first night elsewhere and pay for the taxi to go from the other place to TheHOUSE. You opted for the second option and we paid for a very nice room at another place. Six months later you write this review, evaluating us poorly because of something you knew in advance was going to be like this. We did make a mistake but I don't really see what else we could have done better after and, therefore, I find your review to be very harsh. I doubt you would have find many places that, under the same set of cirmcunstances, would have gone so far as we did to minimize the situation. I finish by, once again, thanking you for your imediate answer to my questions yesterday. It was the first time somebody did so I really appreciate it. Best regards, Francisco
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We stayed in The House for 3 days and it was the worst hotel experience, ever.
1. The room. We booked room titled 'Library', and found some visitors reminded the following visitors that the bathroom is smelly, so I wrote to the owner regarding the problem and he CONFIRMED that the problem was SOLVED. BUT, actually, of course not, the smell of the bathroom (let alone the bathroom is right next to the bed! give the tiny size of the room!) kept company with us for three days, I was not able to sleep and felt that I lived in a toilet.
2. The Room, tiny, tiny tiny tiny, basically it's a bed, that's it. Honestly if the price is the same with the Youth Hotel, it's fine.. we take it, but the price is not that cheap!
3. Breakfast, horrible, not many choices, it's like hell compared to the B&B I stayed in Barcelona, and the price is actually comparable!
4. Sudden Electronic Power Off -- we experienced this ACCIDENT at 10 pm in the evening, heating is off, no wifi, it's total darkness! We called the hotel owner several times according to the "EMERGENCY NUMBER" he left at the reception, but was not able to reach him! My husband and I had to go out searching for external help. Luckily after about 40 minutes, a holland couple who also stayed in the hotel reached the owner. It took another hour for him to send someone to come and fix the problem. ITS NOT SAFE! and Please, if it's an emergency call, pick your phone!
5. Terrible Cleaner -- well it's rather trivial compared with the things above, but the cleaner would put the dirty cushion which you could see the stain on them and was on the floor before, onto the bed...
It's a terrible stay, or rather we are unlucky, but it simply fell unpleasant everyday after a day of walking.
The hotel owner gave us half refund, thanks for your sincerity, but it can not compensate this terrible experience.
Read more
Date of stay: October 2016
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:if you really want to go, don't book the Library room
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from fcpcc1, Owner at The House
Responded May 9, 2017
Dear Tripadvisor community, Concerning fox_yue_hu's review of TheHOUSE Lisboa, I need to clarify the following: it did not happen like this but, none the less, we are sorry they did not have a nice stay. We always are when the guests don't like it here. The problem is that they thought we had given them the wrong information concerning the bathroom and had "tricked them" into coming when, in fact that was not the case. Because they refused to accept our explanation, everything from then on was terrible. For those of you that might not find it interesting enough, I will just say that, finally, we no longer have issues of any kind in this room bathroom (it did take us much more time than we liked but, because we do not own the building, there is a limit to what we could do before); for those that do want to know how everything happened, I will address the 2 important questions separately: 1) most importantly, the question concerning the emergency phone: we are not a hotel and do not have reception 24h/day; this does not mean that we are not available when away from the hotel, quite the contrary. I am not going to go into the details because certain informations are for our guests only but I always have my phone with me and I live 2 minutes from the hotel; most of our staff is within 15 minutes on foot; finally, on check-in, we give all the information that the guests need on how to reach us. Many have; in fact, this is the first time someone makes this allegation. Addressing the allegation that I was not available that evening, I do not know exactly what these guests did, and was unable to find out given their permanent attitude of refusing to speak and understand us. The guests did not tell me or any member of my staff about this when they were here. What I can say is that I was in a theatre, got a call from our lovely dutch guests, exited the play immediately and made my way to the hotel, despite them telling me everything was all right and that I need not hurry back. Because I was in the Expo district, I called one of my staff members living nearby so that he would be able to address the situation. I had no record of any previous calls but, from the moment I got the call to the problem being fixed it took 15 minutes. This was above average but, in my opinion, still a reasonable reply on our part for an event late at night. 2) In what concerns the bathroom smell, it is true that these guests wrote us beforehand concerned with it. Unlike their claims, we never told them everything was perfect but we did tell them, and it was true, that even though we were unsure that the problem had been solved (as it most definitely is now), we had found a temporary fix that seemed to be working but were still unsure as to when we would get clearance from the building's owners to do a more through intervention. We suggested they take a different room if they were concerned, they did not want to. The guests immediately before and after them were asked about it and did not complain and I personally slept there a week later, when the room was available. In the evening everything was ok, in the morning there was a faint odour but nothing very serious, certainly nothing worthy of a refund. Even so, and despite their most difficult and permanent attitude, I refunded them because they had not been happy here and they might have had some reason. Not being one for political correctness or corporate gibberish, I can say that I very much regret it. The rest of it, the cleaning and the breakfast etc... is a matter of opinion, you can find hundreds of commentaries online that, fortunately for us, go 100% against this. Because of this I won't go into it. As for the room being small, I not only confirm it (it is, after all, written on our website from day one), but thank this reviewer for the pictures. They do seem to show the room as it is, even if they do not do justice to the fantastic view. One final note to say that all this time we could have changed the room's name a number of times and get rid of the problem temporarily by avoiding these questions and pretending that it was always something different, a new problem. We never did, and we always answered every question seriously and frontally. Even so, and with this problem finally solved, I would like to apologize to all the guests that experienced it. Best regards, Francisco Carvalho
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
The first impression as we arrived at the guest house was the outside of the building; a very old, 1980s style building but with a view of the Basilic. The guest house was on the 4th floor and we were secretely hoping that things would improve once we entered the house. In fact, it just got worse. They were tidying up after a wedding so everything was disorganised, and to be honest we were slightly early. When we were shown around we realised that this place had not been refurbished in a long time and really lacked a freshness to it. Even the terrace, which on the website is shown as having lanterns and charm, is crumbling. The walls need repainted, the furniture needs replaced as do the bay windows and the concrete slabs...the only nice thing about it is the view. And it is the only nice view as, from our small terrace, you had a direct view of the other ugly appartment blocks. The room itself was basic, and the bed settee for my children was so uncomfortable, the mattress was so thin, that they couldn't sleep. The bathroom was not in the room but on the landing, a private bathroom for which we alone had the key. So far, so good. Unfortunately, the shower was broken so you had to hand hold the shower nuzzle, and the pressure was so low that it was not a nice experience. There was one little piece of soap in a bowl for all four of us. Again, the bathroom is in desperate need of modernisation. The staff were friendly but useless, and we were sent off on a wild goosechase looking for a restaurant that had closed and the wrong tram into town. Of course, very apologetic about all of this but this should not happen. We were also told that our booking for a restaurant had been changed but only as we were about to leave and we cancelled the booking. We were also rushed out of the guest house on the day of departure as apparently we had to catch a bus from terminal 1 to terminal 2, which is not the case. We began to wonder if they were not trying to get rid of us early as they had started to clean our bathroom and tidy our rooms while we were still at breakfast. All in all, a very disappointing stay, not worth the money, didn't sleep for the two nights we stayed due to the lack of comfort in the rooms, didn't use the terrace because it was uninviting, breakfast was terrible, fruit was not fresh, cake was out of a packet, and there was a smell of sewage as you entered the building...We do not understand the positive comments for this hotel. Would not recommend.
Read more
Date of stay: July 2014
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from fcpcc1, Owner at The House
Responded Jul 28, 2014
Dear Belledebbie, First and foremost, I cannot let your claim that it does not look like the pictures stand because it is not even remotely true. I usualy start by apologising for the things that don't go so well but, this time, I cannot. We do not have a single picture on our website/tripadvisor page taken by professional photographers, nor did we enhance any images with digital tools. What you see is what you get and, if anything, some details are now better than when the pictures were taken. You are free to dislike your stay, and I will go to that in a minute, but I cannot understand why anyone would make such a claim. The second most important thing that I have to state, is that, obviously, nobody was trying to get rid of you: what happened, having verified all details with my staff, was that, due to the extra work of cleaning up after the wedding, the girl started cleaning the rooms earlier than usual; in the midst of the stress of doing it as quickly as possible, she mistakedly started with your bathroom because she thought you were staying one more night. As for the rest, there are a number of things to be said: the first is that, having the wedding and the whole hotel rented to that party on Saturday, I can understand that the service quality was lower than usual and that it is difficult to see "freshness" when we are still cleaning up. Carlota is very young and is only starting her work at TheHOUSE now and I can see that she still makes minor mistakes; what I cannot see is you asking her (or even less so Ana, on the following day) something and she not giving it her full atention; and this brings me to a point that is more important than explaining that the building is from 1959 or that it was the restaurant that changed the reservation and not us: we know we are not perfect even though that is our aim; however, if you point out whatever problems you have whilst staying with us, you can be sure that we will adress them in the best possible way. Instead, you chose to discard our staff, generaly considered excellent on tripadvisor and elsewhere, as useless, and write a very negative review instead. It is an option in which we both end up losing as we get a bad review and you don't get the stay you wanted. For our potential guests, please be so kind to let us know if you need anything ot if you have any complaints while we can still do something about it. Finaly, I would like to apologize to you Belledebbie, for us not having TheHOUSE completely ready and cleaned when you arrived (including the shower that was apparently broken the night before you arrived): I am afraid that the wedding didn't go as we had planned (it was better and our canadian fianceés were thrilled) and everything got late and because of that cleaning was delayed. I hope you can understand this. Best regards, Francisco
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
The House is a good Bed and Breaktfast. It is the service that makes this place as good as it is - not nessesarily the quality of the accomodation itself or the location. Don't get me wrong, this is a nice B&B - but the best in Lisbon?
Prior to travel, I asked the B&B for information on transfers to the accomodation from the airport and despite being told my confirmation e mail had these details - it did not.
The location of the B&B is within a quiet residential street. We considered the quality of the immediate range of local shops, cafes and resturants to be quite poor and limited. Tram stop is a 5 minutes walk from in front of the cathederal. Number 28 takes you to central areas.
On approach, the front of the building is not attractive, however as the B&B is located on the upper floors of an appartment block, I feel I cannot judge unfairly on this aspect. The signage to the B&B outside and in the foyer could be made to look more professional. Bits of paper stuck to a wall and a sign propped against a window is not what I consider professional.
We received a warm welcome from staff. Our room (Library) was very small and attractive and reasonably clean. Mirrors had not been cleaned, showerhead was broken and there were draws but no wardrobe. I asked to change rooms due to these issues, which the staff arranged without question.
Roof top terrace is very nice, but I wouldn't say spectacular. Some basic repairs to the paintwork, sliding doors, loose flag stones, removal of the odd dead plant would have made it a little better. One view shows a fantastic panaramic over the city. Another view closer to home shows tatty houses, rear of appartment blocks and ugly yards.
Kitchen with bar and drinks/ snacks was available - honesty system of helping yourself, keeping a tally then paying afterwards. Nice touch and handy. Tea bags not topped up daily, coffee machine was only an espresso maker. Beer, stout, wine, spirits, fruit juice and cans of pop available.
The living room, reception and dining room where breakfast is served were very attractive areas.
Breakfast was adequate and basic. Juices, tea, coffee, bread, pasties, cheese, pork meats and cereal. No mention or sight of eggs as mentioned in other reviews here. As I cant eat pork or cakes for breakfast I resorted to cheese and toast every morning - a little dull. Breakfast times were not advertised anywhere to my knowledge but turned out to be 8.30am - 11.00am.
Staff very helpful in booking taxis, suggesting and booking resturants and helping to book excursions.
Leaflets and books available in lounge and reception areas with ideas of things to do and places to go.
Overall experience: Wonderful service, few snags to the maintenace of the accomodation but overall good. Location questionable dependant on how central you want to be and what your priorities are.
Read more
Date of stay: September 2012
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from fcpcc1, Owner at The House
Responded Sep 20, 2012
Dear Lisaf168, We have just received your review. Even if I find it unfair, I would like you to know that it saddens me that you didn't like it very much. I always want our guests to have a good time and, at the end of the day, that is the reason behind TheHOUSE's very existence. Like all our other reviews, I am leaving it on our website's homepage as I consider that all reviews add something to the idea that prospective guests can make of TheHOUSE. I have to start by denying the claim for lack of information you mention: if there is one thing that we give to our guests it is information. I suggest you go back to your confirmation email and read what was sent to you; we even go as far as letting the guests know that we are available to go downstairs if there is any problem with the cabby. I hereby ask you, publicly, to remove this part of your review as it is not factual. We did have some staff issues during the summer, as our main housekeeper had to quit unexpectedly. Being a very small unit, and with the other maid on vacation, this had a considerable impact and I know that, for a couple of weeks or so, cleaning standards were not up to their usual best. For this I must apologize, even if nothing very important happened; it is just that we take cleaning very seriously. Fortunately, the new girls are now fully trained so everything is back to normal. We do make eggs (with or without bacon) on demand at breakfast, so they can be really good instead of being kept hot like in hotels. I don't know why you, while having read that you could have eggs at breakfast, did not ask for it. I simply don't understand this. And, by the way, breakfast time only ends when the last guests have had theirs. As for the rest, a guest that, per example, does not think our terrace is amazing (something that is present in all other 200+ reviews, including the bad ones) has demands that we, with 8 bedrooms and an average price of €85, cannot, and don't intend to, meet. I simply don't understand how someone can expect to get a €400/night-service for a fifth of the price. I would like to add the following: every single time we had a review that was neither four or five stars, there seemed to be a mismatch between what we are (something I consider is very clearly put both on our website and on tripadvisor) and the guest's expectations. Every single time this was due to us being number one on the rankings. People expect too much for the price and then discuss whether we merit or not the number one spot, even if they usually don't know the alternatives. And so I ask you: please don't come here just because we are, or were, before this review, number one. Please visit the website, read the reviews, understand what we are and are not, and come if it is your cup of tea. In this case, like all the other guests before you, you will absolutely love it. Thank you for your time, Francisco Cansado Carvalho
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This was the worst, by far, accommodation experience in all my years of travel. Booked the room for our last night in Portugal 4 months in advance. Received an email from the owner, Fransisco, two weeks before departing from home,that our room had been mistakenly, "double booked", but he could offer us another room and assured us that this new room had the very best view in the building and he would compensate us with a bottle of red wine upon our arrival. At the time,I had no reason to believe this man was being disingenuous so I took his words at face value. Little did we know then,that he routinely bumps guests if a longer booking comes along, and then shuffles you around. We have since read more of the reviews and see this is not an uncommon occurrence with him. He will bait and switch your room if it serves his bottom line. He doesn't care about a guests experience, he only cares about his pocket book.
If you are coming to Lisbon to see the main part of the city, you will find that the location of this property is terrible.It's WAY outside of where anything happens in Lisbon. Trying to access the "HOUSE" is a joke as it's actually on the top floor of an apartment building in a residential area. Signage is poor and you have to figure that out on your own via the intercom. The stairwells reek of urine. Our stay was off to unpleasant start before we even got to the front desk. Once the young man staffing the desk showed us our room, we were horrified, "The Playroom" as it is called is not much bigger then a utility closet, which stunk of raw sewage, the bedding was haggard and dirty;the shower was in such disrepair…it had broken handles with sharp edges. One had to dance around them to avoid being cut. We did not want to stay here, but of course the young man informed us they were full and this was our only option. After some discussion, he got the owner on the phone, Wow….talk about rude and insulting. After experiencing nothing but tremendous Portuguese hospitality and friendliness for two weeks, this was a shock to our senses. He was overbearing,discourteous and insisted we knew about the room change ahead of timeWell yes we did,but YOU totally misrepresented the room. Who cares about a micro view when the room reeks like an outhouse,is grimy and one barely has space to turn around in? Also, if you read other reviews here on Trip Advisor the sewage smell at this property is a known issue, so beware ahead of time to expect it. The HOT bottle of cheap red wine hardly made up for Francisco's room "bait and switch" he pulled on us. He refused to do anything further to allay our concerns, dismissed the idea of a refund and continued to be belligerent and insolent on the phone, I finally gave up and hung up as this conversation was going nowhere.
The "HOUSE" itself is run down and shabby - pictures on his website are outdated.Clearly,no money is being spent on upkeep here. Breakfast was a total joke.We were presented with cheap cereal, a few bottles of warm juice,terrible coffee and stale bread - none of the local ingredients we had experienced throughout our 2 weeks travels. Mass produced Babybel cheese instead of any of the amazing Portuguese regional cheeses??? OMG,come on.
Yes, the view from the rooftop is lovely…but that simply does not make up for every other aspect of this place. I only wished I had read more of the poor, terrible and average reviews here on Trip Advisor a little closer before reserving. Won't make that mistake again.
Check out was also an issue, we were paying cash and requested a receipt.Well you would have though we were asking for the moon.The staff were very hesitant to provide a receipt, this struck us as very odd.
A dissapointing way to end an outstanding time in Portugal. A country with amazing people and food. The only saving grace was finding the LOCO restaurant in the area. If you get stuck in this hellhole,I recommend you to consider this restaurant (nothing much else in this area anyway) to dine at.
I expect the owner will come on and reply to my review as I have noted he does this to all negative reviews.If his past replies are any indication,I presume he will be defensive and self-justifying.If he only put as much energy into improving his lodgings as he does into trying to squelch honest reviews he might actually get somewhere.
Trip advisor readers,you have been warned.With SO many other options in Lisbon, there is zero need to waste your hard earned money on this dump.
Read more
Date of stay: June 2016
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:Stay elsewhere.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from fcpcc1, Owner at The House
Responded Sep 26, 2016
To whom it may be of interest: I have been waiting for this review since my first conversation with these clients a month ago and here's why. In it, the client started by saying that dhe didn't want the room that they had previously agreed upon and that corresponded to their booking. Claiming that her closet at home was bigger than the room, she carried on by saying that everything in the room was horrible, including the view that consisted "only of rooftops" (besides the river and the castle, you can easily see at least 6 more monuments from that room). As we did not have any other rooms, I asked what would be a good solution for them. They stated that they made "reviews professionally", and after I asked for some clarification on what that meant, she proceeded by saying that the only solution would be a very steep discount. Understanding fully well that the consequence for not caving in to this sort of tactics would be a review like this, I told them that they would either stay as agreed on their booking, or not stay. They decided to stay, and I wrote the lines that you are about to read even before they checked out. They were slightly edited today, so that they are more in line with the actual content of the review. 1) Contrary to what the review implies, we actually lost some substantial revenue on this situation. We could (in hindsight, obviously, should) have cancelled this reservation when we understood a mistake had been made as it would have been better for us financially. But it wouldn't be fair as it was our mistake to begin with. Instead, and despite loosing us money as we had to move clients from a less expensive room to the most expensive room for 4 nights at the same rate, we tried to accommodate these clients by changing a couple of rooms. We explained the situation beforehand and clearly stated that the only possibility would be for them to stay on our smallest room; they gladly accepted and declined our suggestion to look up the room on our website. 2) We did offer them a bottle of red wine, one that has won quite a few prizes recently and has been rated highly by wine experts in Portugal. They claimed it was the worst wine they had ever tried. 3) Loco is a restaurant around the corner that costs from €100 per person. In Lisbon, this level of price represents the absolute top echelon in restaurants. I cannot help feeling that this client is judging us by the same standard she uses for restaurants, regardless of the fact that a comparable hotel room would cost €500 instead of the €85 she paid here. Not very fair then. 4) Even for someone that seems to have such high standards in terms of food, the client seems to be unable to understand how good freshly squeezed orange juice is, and what fresh bread and croissants picked up daily from the local bakery taste like; I stayed in a 5-star swiss hotel last weekend and I can honestly say that I prefer our breakfast, even if has, naturally, a much smaller pool of things to choose from. The ones we do have are very good. I could go on but there is no point. It is worth noting, however, the irony of the situation: a client that behaved from the off precisely like she's (unfairly) complaining to have been treated. Incredible! Thank you for your time, Francisco Cansado Carvalho Proud founder and owner of TheHOUSE Lisboa
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
I didn't have a car with me, but I saw people who did. I think there's a parking garage not too far away. (Street parking is very complicated.) You should ask the hotel directly.
Hola Voyage,
estaremos encantados de darle la bienvenida y no hay problema para llegar con ese horario, pero como no tenemos recepción las 24 horas, se cobrará una pequeña tarifa por el check in tardío.
Saludos!
Hi Patricia,
Welcome to TheHOUSE!
It is Rato, the last on the yellow line. From there it's about 10 minutes on foot.
Best regards,
Francisco Cansado Carvalho
There are more places to choose from in the Lisbon area.
ALSO KNOWN AS
the house hotel lisbon
LOCATION
PortugalCentral PortugalLisbon DistrictLisbonLapa
NUMBER OF ROOMS
8
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
