Jeronimos 8, Lisbon

Jeronimos 8 is one of the most contemporary hotels I have come across in the city of Lisbon, Portugal. It has a real 'designer' feel to the establishment and makes a refreshing change from the heavy wood furniture and long draped curtains that you come across quite a lot in Portugal.

The hotel is well connected by tram, bus and train to the city centre. To save on costs whilst travelling to and from the hotel I suggest you purchase a ...
...Manueline pieces of architecture - Jeronimos Monastery is only 200 metres from the hotel. Torre de Belem and the Monument of the Discoveries are a walk away at 1.5 kilometres and the Cultural Centre of Belem is about 500 metres away.

Booking is very straightforward and can easily be done on line. It is just a case of choosing dates and stating the kind of room you prefer and the number of people staying. You can either pay a deposit ... more

Jeronimos 8 is one of the most contemporary hotels I have come across in the city of Lisbon, Portugal. It has a real 'designer' feel to the establishment and makes a refreshing change from the heavy wood furniture and long draped curtains that you come across quite a lot in Portugal.

The hotel is well connected by tram, bus and train to the city centre. To save on costs whilst travelling to and from the hotel I suggest you purchase a Sete Colinas travel card from the nearest kiosk or newsagents.

Location wise it is in a great situation - very near to some of the favourite and most famous attractions. For example: my favourite and one of Lisbon's most beautiful Manueline pieces of architecture - Jeronimos Monastery is only 200 metres from the hotel. Torre de Belem and the Monument of the Discoveries are a walk away at 1.5 kilometres and the Cultural Centre of Belem is about 500 metres away.

Booking is very straightforward and can easily be done on line. It is just a case of choosing dates and stating the kind of room you prefer and the number of people staying. You can either pay a deposit or the whole amount by using a credit card. Confirmation and receipt will be sent to you by e-mail.

My impression of reception staff on first meeting was good. This is not often the case in Lisbon as some staff in city hotels can be a little abrupt and somewhat disinterested. I have to say that I found the staff at the Jeronimos very friendly, helpful and efficient. I know Lisbon very well as I lived there for nearly two years so I have an idea of where all the restaurants are but I did overhear on a couple of ocassions the reception staff advising other guests where the best places to eat in the city where.

I do love the design of this hotel. Although it has a traditional look from the outside the interior is very angular and uncluttered. The artwork is minimalist with sculptures made from wood, marble and coloured glass. Furniture is extremely modern and again made from wood. Most pieces are from the Wenge range of furniture which is quite expensive and exotic. The colours are delightful; reds, browns, beiges and white. I love the fact that the room numbers are woven into the design of the carpets in the hallways and another touch that pleases me is the wrought iron balconies on the exterior of the building giving it that Shakesperian feel.

Our room was a double room with a very comfortable double bed which was right next to one of the windows. We were lucky to have double windows in the room which looked out on the street below. The bed was low down with a wooden base and two full sized wooden headboards. Linen and the top covering of the bed was pristine white. Light switches were made of stainless steel which I thought was a modern touch rather than the boring whie plastic and the headboard had two contemporary reading lamps made of steel also which were inlaid in the wood. Other bedroom furniture included a set of drawers with very strange drawers - shaped like an old fashioned cradle. There was a small two-seater sofa underneath the second window which was made out of the same funky wood and was boxed shape. A bit hard on the posterior but reasonably comfortable. Curtains and carpet matched and were beige and not too intrusive. It would have been nice to have a painting or two on the walls just to lift the starkness but on the whole I can't complain about the room. It was spotlessly clean and comfortable.

There are 61 rooms altogether and 4 suites if you ever want to push the boat out.

Wi-Fi is available as is Cable TV and the air conditioning does work and is simple to use. A mini-bar is there for you to have an evening drink before you go out on the town but I think it is better value to go down to the wine bar which serves good snacks. There is a wine list although it isn't very large but I thought the prices were fairly priced for a city.

The en-suite bathroom was minimalist also which I don't mind. I prefer bathrooms too be clean and slick. Slippers and bathrobes were available and a small collection of toiletries were available at hand. In our bathroom there was no bath, only a shower cubicle but that was fine as the shower was high powered and there seemed to be plenty of piping hot water. Towels were soft and of course, white.

Apart from the design of the main part of the hotel the other thing that I was impressed with was the breakfast. It was definitely a high point. The orange juice was made from freshly squeezed oranges and not that stuff that looks radio active and makes your mouth zing when you drink it. You could choose from smoked salmon, beautifully cut ham and scrambled eggs that were cooked to perfection. A variety of sausages and not just the boring, old hot-dog sausage that tastes of nothing but garlic and gives you indigestion for the rest of the day. To spread on toast or the varieties of fresh bread rolls and sliced bread was a selection of jams and a couple were very unusual. One was tomato and the other was pumpkin and they were both flavoured with cinnamon. Absolutely delicious.

Yes, a very nice modern hotel indeed. We enjoyed our 2 night stay in the Jeronimos 8. You can find the hotel on Rua dos Jeronimos 8, 1400-211, Lisboa.

Prices range from 125 euros to 280 euros per room or suite.

A little pricey but then it is Lisbon and a new, contemporary hotel in a great location.
 

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