My wife and I landed on time from our acceptable but not overly inspiring Iberia flight over to Lisbon. It was a great value on points compared to anything I could find on Delta so that worked for us.
We had never been to Lisbon and wanted a number of days to both enjoy and checkout the city. We booked our 5 night stay using 140,000 Marriott points and when compared to the cash prices getting just over 0.007 / Euro per point value.
Also impressive was how well we were treated as Gold elites with Marriott. We arrived early (noon) and were told if we wanted to wait we could get an upgraded room but if we wanted to immediately go to a room they only thing they had was a standard king room. We were tired from flight and desperately wanted a shower so that worked just fine! Now a tour of the room.
I have zero complaints about this standard room. The climate controls worked perfectly. The bed was clean and comfortable. The outlets all worked and the wifi was fast. The only strange thing was the glass shower but there were curtains between the glass you could lower.
Single shot coffee machine and mini fridge is always welcome and appreciated.
I had no use of an ironing board but I always like this nice touch in a hotel.
I did not find myself missing the shower door as much in this room as I could close both the glass door to the bathroom as well as the lav area and it made the room hot enough not to feel the normal constant draft from most door-less showers in Europe.
One of the main reasons we booked this, vs. other cheaper Marriott point option hotels in Lisbon was we wanted to have some sun time each day if possible before our very long cruise. I hate having no suntan base before we board and while our days were a bit brisk the mostly sheltered area worked just fine.
As Gold’s no breakfast option (other than a small discount) was provided. We have zero interest in the 25 Euro per day price tag per person before discount as there are a number of very nice breakfast options in a few block walking distance of the hotel.
Overall a very nice hotel and excellent value for our points as the only fee for the hotel was 20 Euro in city tax compared to what would have been an over 1000 Euro stay without points! The only mistake we made was using the very reliable Welcome Pickups for this trip. While the ride was perfect I had no idea that Uber was so ridiculous cheap in Lisbon. I paid $20 for the pre-booked Welcome Pickups ride that could have cost me just $5!
So if you are keeping score so far we avoided parking by a cheap one-way rental to O’Hare, a nice visit to the American Airlines Flagship Lounge and paid 150,000 Alaska points plus $120 to fly business class to Portugal and now 140,000 Marriott and 20 Euros to stay for 5 days in Lisbon. – René
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Always nice to read your blogs. Bet you are doing a NCL transatlantic.
Byron – Thanks. Crossing was in December.
thanks for posting this. I’ll actually be staying there this summer for a work trip.
@René – Great redemption value! We’ve stayed at the Intercontinental the last two times (using annual CC free night certs) we were in Lisbon and once at the Fontecruz (boutique hotel in the Bonvoy program). Based on your review the Sheraton looks like it’s worth a try as I’m a Bonvoy Platinum and Mrs. DLPTATL is a Titanium. Do you know if the hotel has a lounge? It’s fairly typical for Sheraton’s to have them and provide access to Platinum and above as well as those booking on a club/concierge floor.
@DLPTATL – Yes but closed during our visit.
I was just here as a Titanium. The lounge has essentially been moved to the lobby bar. From noon to 5:00 the lounge benefits are free coffee (espresso, cappuccino, etc) and soft drinks. 5:00 – 7:00 each night there is happy hour and there is free beer and wine as well as an appetizer plate that varies by the day from the restaurant. They will serve you more than one plate if you ask. 7:00 – 11:00 is free beer and wine from the bar as well as live entertainment on the weekends. The beer and wine selections are so so with one local draught, but the staff is incredibly attentive and friendly. Definitely a positive post-covid “lounge” experience.
@Rene, I’m struggling a lot with your math on the point redemption. 140,000 points for what would have been slightly more than a thousand euros for five nights is less than one cent per point. $1400 USD equivalent would put you at one cpp and this appears less than that.
@Browner – missed a zero. Will fix. It’s 7/10ths not 7.
@Browner, thanks for the updated info on the lounge/Plat recognition. Doesn’t sound like a bad deal providing benefits in the lounge instead of a dedicate club, particularly when compared to a US Sheraton where complimentary alcohol is extremely rare these days.
I think a lounge matters a lot less in Lisbon because eating out is so affordable and at such high quality- good wine is 5 euros a glass at most nice mid-range restaurants and breakfast at a cute modern brunch place is usually 25 euros total for 2 people. If you go to a more typical Portuguese restaurant you can expect maybe 30 total for dinner with wine for 2 people.