The Hotel Tivoli is a well-known long-standing fixture in the Avenue Liberdade in the north of the centre of Lisbon. I had actually stayed there many years ago when I was looking at a new job and it was with positive recollections that I remembered that the rooms in the hotel were quite comfortable and the breakfast had been OK. That was well before the days when I used to record methodically what I ate and so I welcomed the opportunity to record this hotel now. On entering the hotel one can be quite impressed by the somewhat open but dark public areas. Rooms are quite comfortable but given that this should be a five star hotel it is probably not five-star in UK expectation. We were there for a couple of nights as an organised tour group prior to a river cruise and although we did not eat any meals in the restaurant we used it for breakfast. I enjoy hotel breakfasts and among the various entries on this blog I have recorded some excellent examples of what I would call first-class breakfasts. Last year during a trip to Lisbon, where I actually stayed out of town in Sintra, there was a truly first class experience in the Pena Longha resort, which is also five star. One of the acid tests of a five star breakfast is the presence of smoked salmon and sparkling wine. Whilst the Tivoli had the former, the latter was not to be found. These are hard times still in Portugal. As noted elsewhere, Portugal is a country where hot food is not an essential component of life, and it was no surprise that the various hot food stations were only modestly hot. I guess I should know better and just stick to the cold buffet. Maybe it is just that it is accepted that Southern European Food may not be hot.
No steam and not much in the way of flames
As you can see it is all very old fashioned and a bit silver service in style.
My modest selection from the hot buffet: not very hot, and probably about a 7
Bitter experience of eating in group tours indicates that the early bird gets the choice of fresh worms. We were there pretty much just after the restaurant opened. It was the weekend, so they were catering to tourists and groups. Within about a half hour when the more leisurely of the group decided to stir, all the tables were occupied, and there was a queue to get in to breakfast. In my opinion, this is something that should not happen in a five star hotel, even with a group that is adhering to a strictish timetable.
In conclusion, five star it was not, but it was a comfortable hotel. The breakfast was four star at best, and could have been hotter.
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