Sintra Bliss Hotel

The staff are outstanding; friendly, helpful and pro-active when dealing with problems. The location is excellent, the garden is lovely and the breakfast was great. Our bed was comfortable but being on the top floor it had a sloping roof-which meant the only places you could stand up straight we’re the bathroom and each side of the bed. The bathroom was well appointed and had everything you needed.

Two major issues dragged the score for this hotel down significantly: 1. There is air con in the rooms but they are not individually controlled so on our first night everyone on our air con circuit had the temperature set at 25C for the night. The rooms at the front of the hotel look out to building works (see below) and several late night bars so opening the window meant a lot of street noise throughout the night and then again early in the morning. So no sleep. When we raised this at reception they took immediate action which we were really grateful for, setting everyone’s air con to 20C which was welcome when it’s 33C outside! 2. There are building works being done in the adjoining building and the building across the street. That included using a large drill to remove plaster from the wall adjoining our bathroom. So no sleep after 7.30am and no siesta in the hottest part of the day either. And lots of headache tablets. This isn’t the hotel’s fault and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it, but as a guest, I’m looking for peace and quiet and to be able to sleep in the room. Two nights of insomnia and two days of non-stop drilling = bad rating. If the building works we’re finished we’d stay here again but I’d recommend rooms at the back of the hotel, looking into the garden and on the lower floors if you’re tall.