I'll start off by saying I am a long time Starwood loyalist who has traveled extensively with my family in Europe and I was quite surprised at the attitude towards family with this hotel.
Let me make this very clear for anyone thinking of booking at this hotel...if you have more than 1 child, you will be forced to book two rooms at the Sheraton Lisboa. There will be no exceptions made and most likely, they will try to find other ways to increase your cost.
I was genuinely excited to visit Lisbon and stay at the Sheraton Lisboa. We were traveling with another family and because of the number of children (7 with ages ranging from 2 years to 10 years old) I made sure we reserved 3 rooms total.
Based on the hotel's Family Plan Policy which stated "Children who are 12 or younger sleep for free in the existing bedding of a room shared with a paying adult." we felt 3 rooms were adequate to accommodate all of us. I wrote a note to the hotel explaining our situation and asked for connecting rooms. The hotel promptly responded by saying we had too may people and I would need to book TWO additional rooms. When asked why that is the case, they responded by saying they have a maximum occupancy of 3 people per room. I first questioned why the need to book two additional rooms since we already had 3 rooms. I also asked about their Family Plan Policy which stated children stayed for free and did not mention anywhere the rooms were limited to 3 people. They did not provide a response and stood firm by saying only 3 people per room.
The sense I got from the hotel was a desire to extract as much money out of me as possible instead of trying to make us feel welcomed. Even after I booked the extra room at an additional cost, they let me know that they would put extra rollaways into the room at a cost of $30 per room per night. That's an extra $270 they wanted after I spent money for an extra room. It would have been a nice gesture if they provided those rollaways at no cost. I promptly told them not to add the extra beds and we would manage.
All of this was PRIOR to even stepping foot on the property. Below is my assessment of the property itself:
Location: The area is nice and quite but a bit far from the main attractions of the city for visitors. A 5 to 10 Euro taxi ride will get you to most of the major attractions and there is a Metro station next to the hotel but you will need to make at least one or two transfers to get to the attractions.
Hotel: The hotel itself is nicer on the inside than what the outside would suggest. The building is old but you can tell they used very nice materials when it was built so it still looks good. The lobby is isn't grand but it's nice and lively. There is an outdoor swimming pool but it was too cold for us to try out.
Rooms: The hallway and rooms were more on the modern side than most Sheratons I'm used to. They felt more like W Hotels. They are fairly spacious and while the glass encased bathroom is a bit of a shock at first, it isn't bad once you lower the shades to create privacy.
Staff: We didn't engage with the hotel staff outside of the check in and check out process. The hotel manager introduced himself (since my last note to him before arriving at the hotel expressed my disappointment) and offered 1 rollaway bed for one of the rooms at no cost which was nice but this came after they let me know my gold status would not give us access to the lounge for breakfast unless I wanted to use more points or pay for access. Again trying to increase my cost.
Overall: If you are a single traveler, a couple, or a family with 1 child that is okay with staying away from the tourist sections of Lisbon, then this is a good option for you. However, if you are a family with 2 or more children, I recommend you choose another property since their own Family Plan Policy will not apply to you and you will be forced to book another room.