Esqina Cosmopolitan Lodge

Recent Reviews: 150

• User:battyet

  Trip type: Couples

  This should have been a 5* Review

  17 May 2026

  The hotel is in a great location in Lisbon, close to popular tourist areas. Yes, it’s at the top of a hill but most of Lisbon feels like it’s on the top of a hill - you can’t really avoid that. Popular areas like Alfama, Chiado and Bairro Alto all felt within comfortable walking distance and there was a tram stop just down the hill. Baring in mind the hotel is in a pretty old building, they’ve done a great job of making if it feel fresh, modern and welcoming. There is a bar and restaurant on the ground floor too. There was a lift, which was welcomed after a day wandering the city. Check in was 3pm and check out was 12pm. All the staff were friendly and helpful throughout our stay. The room was small, but you expect that in a city. Despite this it had most things you needed including air conditioning, a small fridge, kettle, hair dryer, a clothes rail and storage along with a suitcase stand. There was free water and tea/coffee facilities. The shower was great, powerful for an old building and better than most I’ve had in older city hotels. The room was cleaned daily and the rest of the hotel felt clean too. There were lovely views from our 3rd floor room. If I had 1 small issue with the room itself, it’s that there was no chair in the room, even just a small stool would have been beneficial for my wife getting ready each day. So why only 4*s?We had a fire alarm “false alarm” while we were there. Not ideal but that wasn’t the problem, the problem was that there was no clear plan in place to handle it - the whole thing was utter chaos. Guests were wandering around tired, confused and generally unsure what they were doing. The member of staff on the night shift was shouting incoherently that it was a false alarm from the electrical cupboard in the lobby, which you’d only hear if you were in ear shot. Eventually the alarm, which only sounded in the main lobby of the building and not the rooms, was turned off, but again there was no reassurance that all was ok. No emergency services arrived at any point. I will be honest, the whole thing was unsafe and could have genuinely put people’s lives in danger. The hotel should have fully evacuated until the emergency services cleared the building and indicated that it was safe to re-enter. That would have been inconvenient but it would certainly have been better than risking people’s lives. Please, please, please ensure you have a proper evacuation procedure going forward. ESQINA Esqina, Owner at Esqina Cosmopolitan Lodge, responded to this review Dear Guest,First of all, thank you for such a detailed and balanced review. We truly appreciate the kind words regarding our location, team, cleanliness, comfort and the atmosphere of the hotel. It means a lot to us, especially knowing that your stay could otherwise have been a 5-star experience.We also sincerely appreciate your feedback regarding the fire alarm incident. During an intense thunderstorm that night, a sudden electrical surge triggered a false alarm in the system. Our night auditor was immediately able to confirm through the alarm panel information that there was no active fire or danger situation inside the building, which is why the priority became silencing the alarm as quickly as possible to avoid unnecessary panic and disturbance during the night.That said, we fully understand your perspective regarding communication and guest reassurance during the incident. Even in a false alarm situation, guests should feel clearly informed and guided, and we recognise that the experience may have felt confusing from a guest point of view. Your comments are fair and valuable, and we will use them to further reinforce our communication procedures for situations like this in the future.Thank you again for your thoughtful feedback and for recognising so many positive aspects of your stay despite this unfortunate situation.Warm regards,Esqina Cosmopolitan Lodge

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• User:Yelena F

  Trip type: Friends getaway

  Great accommodations

  08 May 2026

  Hotel is very nice and clean. They have a nice breakfast selection for a very reasonable price.

• User:Janet H

  Trip type: Friends getaway

  Delightful Stay in Boutique Hotel

  15 Apr 2026

  The Esquina Cosmopolitan Lodge is centrally located, very close to activities in Central Lisbon. The Esquina staff was very helpful. They offer a delicious breakfast - both buffet and made to order eggs or pancakes. Our room was small but very efficient. Hot water for shower... Although we only figured out the wand, not the rainfall overhead! Staff helped us with ideas of what to do, where to find public elevators (instead of steep stairs between streets), how to buy train tickets, etc. All the people working there were very personable and did things like refill our water bottles before we left for the day. The beds were comfortable to sleep on and the duvet covered comforters kept me warm, even though I get cold at night. We cannot recommend this hotel highly enough.

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• User:lisahN9997GO

  Trip type: Friends getaway

  Great Hotel in Lisbon

  28 Mar 2026

  Excellent hotel, a hidden treasure. The location is ideal, breakfast is outstanding as is the bar service. Check in was easy and the desk staff are efficient. Special thanks to Mayara and Bruno for all their assistance and hard work! Much appreciated!

• User:Colin F

  Trip type: Solo travel

  Had a nice stay, but there are a few things to be aware of...

  09 Dec 2025

  As many have pointed out, the hotel has a great location in the heart of Lisbon’s central district. Most restaurants and sights are walkable or with a pedicab from the nearby square two blocks to the north. There are in fact several great restaurants on the same street – Rua dos Sapateiros (shoemakers street). As has also been said, the staff are great too and the price is fair for what it is. By European standards, the rooms are quite large, at least, the upgraded ones, which I recommend. The accoutrements are basic, again, the same as most of Europe for typical rooms. I got a street view room which was good and the windows are decently sound-proofed. I recommend against the ‘interior view’ which looks at a dim light well. My challenges with this hotel are twofold: 1. The shower is most vexatious, with an open corner (see photo) which I found impossible to contain, and 2. The abundance of drug dealers nearby and throughout central Lisbon. The second issue is admittedly beyond the hotel’s control but I hope they lodge a complaint with the police, who are mostly absent in the core. There were a couple of dealers in particular on the nearest corner and who were trying to sell pot and what they said was ‘crack cocaine’. At one point, a trio of them started to harass my companion and I and I had to turn around and tell them to back the f##k up, then their ‘supervisor’ came over to hush them. Lisbon is one of the best places I’ve ever been (and I’ve been to a lot) and I know Lisbon is a liberal European city but this is unacceptable on many levels and there’s an epidemic of these scum and which needs to be dealt with. I might also add that the Baixa (central) subway station is only two blocks away so if you’re reasonably capable, you don’t need a driver from the airport, as the time difference is minimal (30-40 mins). That said, avoid rush hour. Aside from those things, I’m happy to recommend Esqina as a solid value, clean and pleasant ‘lodge’.

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