“Budget accomodations”

I found this place online late at night before we left Porto and booked it at the last minute because there were few other options. We started our trip in Lisbon at a hostel (Hostel Salitre). This place is listed as a residencia. I'm still not sure what that is, but it is more like a hostel. Ric… more

I found this place online late at night before we left Porto and booked it at the last minute because there were few other options. We started our trip in Lisbon at a hostel (Hostel Salitre). This place is listed as a residencia. I'm still not sure what that is, but it is more like a hostel. Rick Steves' Spain book defines a residencia as a hotel without a restaurant, a very broad definition. Hispania does not offer breakfast, and we understood that before we booked it, but after we checked in and paid, a lady who told us she was the director said that towels were not furnished. She said that travelers who book residencias understand this and bring their own towels. It was our first experience with this after traveling in Europe for years and when she saw that we were very upset, she brought us four towels. The residencia is not far from the center and a five minute walk from a metro stop. There is a stop at the front door for a bus that takes you to Plaza Mayor. The room was small but clean, and even though it faced the street, with the window closed street noise was not a problem. The director said a room in the back would cost €20 more. There was a shower in the room with plenty of hot water.There were three toilets on the third floor. None had toilet paper the night we arrived although there were TP holders and I assumed the no-towels-supplied rule also applied to toilet paper. I found a half roll on the tank of a toilet on the second floor and took several sheets. We were planning to buy a roll at the grocery on the corner but the next morning there was one roll in the holder and a spare in the men's WC but by that night they were both gone. In fairness, I can only assume that the guests are stealing it or that the housekeeping leaves a lot to be desired. Other reviewers complained that the elevator didn't work. We had no trouble with it in three nights there. Someone else complained that there is no kitchen or laundry room. Not so, there are both on the first floor, but there is a sign that the kitchen is only for the use of long term guests. We didn't need either during our stay. The caretaker, Pedro is usually available and though he doesn't speak English (the residencia is in Spain, after all) he was very courteous and helpful. We did ask him to call a taxi for the airport when we left. I already had the name and cell number of a taxi driver we had talked to earlier, but Pedro said he could not, for some reason we didn't understand. I finally got a customer at the bar next door to call for us on his cell phone. For what we paid, which was very little, it was a good value. Just bring towels with you if you book here. If it had been a hostel, I might not have been so surprised. The place where we stayed in Fatima was called also a residencia, and they supplied a very good breakfast, shower and WC in the room and towels.

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