Hotel SANA Reno (Lisbon, Portugal)

This hotel is great with impressive facilities and friendly staff. That rooftop pool with city views, really is the icing on a very appetizing cake.

It has all that you could ask of a hotel which, on a number of fronts, exceeds with ease, its 3 star rating. It’s also family friendly and the Welcome Pack, unusually, includes things that are of interest to kids.

The Sao Sebasto metro is right next door, taxis are cheap (*the hotel will order one for you if you want) but you don’t need to be over energetic to walk to almost anywhere in the city centre. There are lots of cafes and restaurants in this area and that roof top pool/bar is a fantastic bonus.

Rooms are quite small and those looking out over the less than impressive courtyard are deprived of much of the natural light. So, yes, ‘gloomy’ is the word!

If you make it for breakfast, the room isn’t big enough for the numbers it caters for. They’ve tried to solve the problem by adding fewer tables seating greater numbers. Consequently, you are sharing a table - and early morning small talk - with complete strangers.

Everywhere: activity starts in the very early hours with deliveries, refuse collections and general traffic building up. It’s no different here so, if you think these things might pose a problem, opt for a room to the quieter rear of the hotel.