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We were hoping to return to the Hotel Suiço Atlántico and find that it had gone through some renovations. But this isn't the case: The thin, rough carpet is still thin and rough; the showerheads are still unpredictable; and the beds are still narrow. Only the televisions feel different. They seem much older than last time, though we're sure they're the same.
Essentially, rooms look like nicely sized college dorm rooms, preserved from 1976—close to the time the glass-encased Lisbon tourism collage above the lobby was dreamed up and the year this hotel reviewer was born.
So why do so many people—us included—continue to sleep at the Suiço? Well, it's cheap, and it's a skip and tumble from Praça Dom Pedro IV and the Rossio metro stop. Whether you want to head up into the Bairro Alto for a drink or over to Saldanha's shopping malls, it's just plain easy.
And the place is clean and extremely well cared for, much like your mother's ancient pull-along vacuum cleaner: You wish she'd get a new one, but she insists the old one still works just fine.
Know this: while the décor may be downright soporific, rooms next to the elevator shaft are not. Breakfast is acceptable, at best.
However, we still love that knockout lounge and bar area with its stained-glass windows, wood paneling, and kitschy medieval feel. For a little time travel, stick your head in the bubble pay phone. You'll see what we mean.
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