I have a family of five, which has always made travel… interesting (read: stressful to book, but if I put in enough research, all turns out well and we have a great trip). When the kids were little, the three of them could fit in one queen bed together while my husband and I got the other in a standard room. That was easy. We loved Disneyland because they had sofas that turned into actual nice bonus beds to sleep a fifth person as the kids grew into teen sized… all without having to shell out for a suite. Great! But other travel hasn’t been so simple, especially when traveling abroad and wanting to stay in cool local hotels vs corporate places that could be anywhere. Enter the issue.
Many people turn to Air B&B or VBRO to alleviate this challenge, but I’m not one to opt for those as they have caused so many problems for locals around the world exacerbating housing prices due to the high volume of tourist rentals (most famously right now in Barcelona, but the same is true here in America in places like Ann Arbor, where we live). So that leaves families like mine hunting longer than others looking for rooms that sleep five or two rooms – with one that sleeps three (or else we’ll have to get a THIRD room, which is a total budge blower and no one wants to be alone on vacation, as it isn’t as fun as the bonding that inevitably happens at night in hotels). It’s even kept us out of staying in places we’ve really wanted to spend the night (like Sintra and Cascais) due to a lack of triple rooms (or ones that I could find three months ahead of our vacation in our price range).
We don’t want to stay in places that aren’t in the good spots or feel budget. We want a good place for a good price.
So if this is where you find yourself too, below are two excellent hotels we stayed at in Lisbon plus one we stayed at in nearby Sesimbra that I’d recommend (& stay at again on a future trip)…
Hotel Gat Rossio
We loved Hotel Gat Rossiol! The location is premium. It is literal steps from the Rossio Metro and train station, easy walking to really great restaurants, plus central for everything else. The people who work here are super friendly and helpful. It’s clean with really comfy beds, excellent air conditioning, good wifi, and feels like a home away from home. Now, the rooms are pretty small, so if you’re wanting to lounge around inside a private space on a couch, then maybe this isn’t for you. However, if you like shared spaces like a large private patio for hotel guests or a lounging area with giant couches to meet up with others in your party or other travelers, you’ll like this. As I write these words, I want to add that it’s not a loud or party spot, even though this description may sound like that. It’s just a comfy safe and clean place with nice people with plenty of open areas to lounge, just not in your room. The bathrooms are small but tidy, with the Euro essential of a toilet room (aka WC, water closet) separate from the shower/sink (“bathroom”), which I love. We had two rooms stacked on top of each other. We were on the second floor, our kids (all teens) in the room above us on the third floor. Our room had a great little balcony too (where I felt like I could be Evita and sing “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” lol) as I looked out into the little alley down below.
The kids’ triple room was two floors, which they thought was uber fancy – one single bed on the bottom floor with a lofted bedroom with a nice double that also featured a table and two comfy chairs to lounge at. Their room was much bigger than ours and even had a coffee maker. We felt super safe here, as did the kids. Something else we loved about staying here – there’s an excellent coffee shop half a block (3 minutes) away – Fábrica de Nata. This place was great for coffee and breakfast and an evening snack and decaf coffee after dinner. Even if you can’t get a room in Hotel Gat, try to stay nearby because this location really has everything and is super walkable!! There are several other hotels here too. (The one across the street also had triple rooms, but were more expensive, FYI, but it looked nice too.) It’s easy to drag your roller bag from either metro, train and/or Uber/Bolt at this location, making getting to/from the airport a breeze.
JAM Hotel Lisbon
This place is just cool. JAM Hotel Lisbon‘s location isn’t as good as the Gat Rossio if you’re walking everywhere, but I’d stay here again. The location is still good for other Lisbon exploration. Best of all, they have an excellent hotel rooftop wading/sitting pool with a nearby bar, which also has an attached fun games room. The people that work here were so all so nice and there’s free coffee and snacks. We had mentioned we were celebrating our anniversary and they even surprised us with a free round of drinks gift card to use at the rooftop bar! It was so relaxing to sit up there and look out at the river both at night with all the city lights and in the morning, where we watched boats go under the April 25th Bridge and a yellow tram head out towards Bélem.
This hotel has cool style and is eco-friendly. The experience was so different from that at both the other hotels listed here, as our room was one for six people – one double bed (which my tall 6″4″ husband took all for himself while the kids and I each got our own bunk bed that had these cool sliding screen “doors” on them, so you could read or browse Instagram or whatever without disturbing your fellow travelers. It was kinda dorm-esque in that way, with really cute, colorful decor too and a really big sparkling new tub/shower bathroom+WC in one. We were impressed by the high quality of everything but the beds, which just weren’t as comfy as both other hotels we stayed at in the Lisbon area on this trip. But I’ve recommended this hotel to others and would most certainly stay here again in the future. A friend of mine from Scotland with two little kids also loves this hotel and stays here every time they visit Portugal (which is yearly now) on their way to Madeira. Even if you stay elsewhere, I’d visit the rooftop bar here at night for the view and a dip in the pool while you sip your drink in a way you’re not going to do anywhere else in Lisboa!
Four Points – Sesimbra
The Four Points by Sheraton Sesimbra is luxury, at least by our standards. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get a great deal here like we did. One of their “Premium Suite Terrace” rooms has two bedrooms, both with a really nice, comfy queen bed plus a living room with a good sofa bed plus chairs and table and mini-fridge. There’s also a HUGE terrace patio with superb views, complete with your own loungers and outdoor dining table and chairs. Everything is SOOOOOO nice here. We felt deluxe, no doubt. My kids thought I was a real hero with the views and nice pool and premium suite. When we got to their excellent breakfast, they literally thanked me. Not something moms get for booking a vacation hotel, even if the kiddos appreciate it. The cost was actually about the same we paid for two different rooms in Lisbon otherwise. Sesimbra is a lovely place that you should go, but there’s no train, which takes it off the more tourist-saturated radar. Yay! Read all about my Sesimbra tips in this article.
Note, all of these recommendations above are based solely on our experiences at them in June 2025. We are not getting any commission nor have we been paid to write any reviews about these (or any other) places!!
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