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The popular Pensão Residencial Gerês, run for 11 years by a friendly husband-and-wife team, has 20 simple rooms around the corner from Praça Dom Pedro IV. The Gerês feels homier than many of the neighboring budget options, and caters to an older, quieter crowd. Party animals and backpackers should look elsewhere.
Rooms are sunny with stark white walls and high ceilings. The décor is very simple: only sturdy wood beds, wardrobes, and bureaus, along with the occasional vase of faux flowers. Some rooms have balconies with pleasant views of the pedestrian streets. Request ahead.
En suite bathrooms have shower stalls though no tubs. If you'd like to save a few euros, book a room that shares one of the corridor bathrooms, which are sparkling clean.
There's a computer station in the TV lounge with broadband Internet access and a printer. And a video surveillance system linked to the lobby lets the staff see who is buzzing at the front door.
Oh, and be sure to check out the small shrine on the second floor. A tile bearing the building's completion date?1864?is surrounded by, you guessed it, faux flowers.
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