1/5 Matthew S. 2 years ago on Google
I
stayed
at
Avenida
Palace
November
10,
2021
to
November
14,
2021.
While
I
thoroughly
enjoyed
my
visit
to
Lisbon,
I
am
disappointed
to
write
a
less-than-stellar
review
for
Avenida
Palace
despite
all
of
the
positive
reviews
that
led
me
to
book
my
stay
in
the
first
place.
Unfortunately,
a
single
incident
soured
my
stay
enough
that
I
feel
compelled
to
share
the
awful
customer
experience
that
I
received.
On
the
early
morning
of
November
12,
2021,
I
was
returning
back
to
Avenida
Palace
via
cab
to
find
that
the
front
doors
had
been
locked.
I
knocked
on
the
glass
and
a
security
guard
welcomed
myself
and
two
friends
who
were
also
staying
at
the
hotel.
We
walked
through
the
lobby
towards
the
elevator
when
we
heard
the
security
guard
say,
“the
cab
driver
would
like
to
speak
to
you.”
Clearly
upset,
the
cab
driver
lunged
towards
my
friends
and
I,
using
his
foot
to
prevent
the
elevator
that
we
were
in
to
close.
He
claimed
that
we
had
left
his
cab
dirty
and
scoffed
that
“this
wasn’t
America
where
we
could
do
that.”
As
a
group
of
New
Yorkers,
we
are
very
familiar
with
cab
etiquette
and
did
not,
in
fact,
leave
his
cab
unclean.
Ultimately,
the
cab
driver
grabbed
me
by
the
arm,
dragging
me
back
outside
of
the
hotel,
and
threw
cleaning
wipes
at
me,
demanding
that
I
clean
his
car.
Terrified
of
what
would
happen
if
I
didn’t,
I
spent
10
minutes
wiping
down
the
entirety
of
his
car.
The
hotel
security
guard
did
absolutely
nothing
to
keep
me
safe,
and
even
held
the
door
open
for
the
cab
driver
as
he
physically
pulled
me
out
of
the
hotel.
Visibly
shaken,
I
returned
to
my
room
that
night.
Later
that
morning,
my
friends
and
I
went
to
the
front
desk
and
asked
to
speak
to
the
General
Manager
but
found
out
that
he
wasn’t
there.
Instead,
we
spoke
to
Pedro,
the
Front
Desk
Manager.
When
we
explained
what
happened
earlier
that
morning
and
asked
if
there
was
something
he
could
do
about
it,
he
said
he
would
look
into
it.
We
heard
nothing
more
from
him.
On
our
last
day
on
November
14,
we
asked
to
speak
with
the
Executive
Manager
(Manuel)
who
was
in
that
day.
After
re-explaining
the
situation,
he
said
that
he
had
heard
from
the
Assistant
Manager
despite
him
not
reaching
out
to
us
to
follow
up.
Manuel
was
very
accusatory,
asking
me
if
I
had
done
something
to
the
cab
driver
to
cause
him
to
be
so
upset
and
why
I
hadn’t
recorded
his
license
number.
He
also
asked
me
why
I
explicitly
didn’t
ask
for
help.
I
explained
that
I
was
in
a
state
of
shock
when
I
was
physically
dragged
by
a
cab
driver
who
should’ve
never
been
allowed
into
the
hotel
lobby
to
begin
with.
Manuel
said
that
there
was
nothing
he
could
and
–
quite
concerningly
–
let
us
know
that
security
cameras
outside
the
building
were
coincidentally
out
of
service
so
he
couldn’t
view
any
footage.
For
a
5-star
hotel
with
very
positive
reviews,
I
was
shocked
by
the
whole
experience.
Shocked
that
the
cab
driver
was
allowed
into
the
lobby
to
berate
me,
shocked
that
the
hotel
security
did
not
protect
me
when
a
cab
driver
was
physically
grabbing
me,
and
shocked
that
the
General
Manager
did
nothing
to
set
the
situation
right
(I
wasn’t
even
offered
a
free
cocktail
at
the
bar,
let
alone
the
comped
night
that
I
rightfully
deserved).
I
would
absolutely
not
recommend
Hotel
Avenida
as
I
did
not
feel
safe
during
my
time
there
and
felt
let
down
from
a
customer
service
standpoint.
I
sure
hope
that
Pedro
and
his
team
do
better
in
the
future.
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