The Emerald House Lisbon, Curio Collection by Hilton {POR}

I chosed this hotel in Lisbon for a short vacations of a few days in the Portuguese capital as none of the other Hilton options (or any other group options) appealed to me. I wanted something new and the Curio seemed appropriate. Rate were acceptable and I was guaranteed to have the "newly opened" smell as the hotel opened its door in January. 

The Curio is over two buildings and there are different banks of elevator depending on which building your room will be. There is a restaurant on site, a small gym and a lounge, which is not an executive lounge but accessible to anybody (but small and in the basement). 

Check-in was done early at 10 AM but the room was not ready, so they store my luggage and I came back at 3 PM to get my key. There was no upgrade, and I suspect this was an hotel decision. The app showed me upgraded the eve of arrival but the same day morning I was put again in the standard room. So corporate upgraded me and the hotel over-rode it. Based on the app they were still selling some rooms. 

The room was a standard room, a bit on the small side. It is definitely brand new and it shows. The bed was comfortable, the pillow too. There are plugs (both electrical and USB) on the side of the bed and at the small desk. A safe was provided. Contro,s of lights were akward at first but after one day I get used to them. There are banks of small buttons at the entrance of the room and at the side of the bed. Each button control a light and are labelled, with a master on/off. When a light is on there is small right LED on the button. Depending on context the LED become green to help (for exemple, the WC light button beside the bed becomes green at night). It takes a bit to get used to but this is actually a good design.

The bathroom was OK, the sink one more time of the impractical design (flat bottom), the shower quite good, good pressure and temperature. But no towel rack to hang them to dry.

The phone is a nice design but lack features: no red light to indicate you have a message for example. 

The AC is very annoying, as it turns on automatically every time you switch on the main room lights. 

There is a pad instead of the standard brochure.

Service was OK. The reception staff was OK but lacked knowledge of the public transports around the hotel. I do wonder about their working condition, my stay was 4 nights and it was the same two people the entire time I spend their, morning and evening shift, with no break in between. Same with the restaurant staff. 

Breakfast service was inexistant, no eggs to order advertised (but I saw someone with an omelette my last morning so...), they do not bring hot beverages or juice. The breakfast itself was good enough, quite variable (cold cuts were so-so, but extensive choice of pastries and they were good). 

I was given a welcome gift and honestly this was not great. Random items (what should I do with jam ?) that comes from a supermarket. Just some fruits and maybe one or two good quality chocolates instead of Mon Cherie would have been better than this weird large plate. It looks just cheap.

This was not the only thing that leave an impression of cheap: there was no glasses in the room, only paper cups (two smalls for coffee and two large for water/tea). 

There is a restaurant on site, which had a nice menu but I did not try. Room service menu is very very limited (one soup, one salad, some sandwiches). 

Location is quite good. It seems a bit away on a map but is not so really. Several museums and other attractions are within walking distance (not always easy but this is Lisbon). The neighborhood has several nice restaurants and cafes. Market is quite close too,

Several bus stops around that links with different parts of the city, including Belem. Access to the airport requires taking the bus to a metro station then metro, but is easy enough provided you are not overwhelmed with luggage. 

I would recommend the hotel provided expectations are managed. There are a few negatives points and they might have a weight in the decision. I am afraid though that this hotel will be overpriced during the summer season.