#12
I have been travelling for easily two decades for both work and pleasure and I can say I've never written a review with this type of headline because I don't believe in hyperbole, but I genuinely have yet to experience a hotel across 30-some-odd countries and 4 continents that had this level of a) GREAT staff, and b) nice amenities and a real quality product.
It's a really well decked out hotel with good amenities and absolutely superb staff - and I highly recommend this to couples, business users, and friends.
We don't think the Epic SANA's size or style is that suitable for children - and even though I know they offer things like babysitting, we personally felt places like the pool deck and spa would be pretty boring for children, and also with size and space, kids running around would be somewhat intrusive to other guests.
I would like to spend time to give praise to Bernado and Bernado on the reception on the concierge and reception, Isabela on reception, and Pedro in the lobby... all provided GREAT service during our stay and for me, a hotel is ALL about the staff and the experience. You should ABSOLUTELY book this place if it's in your price range and suits your requirements - it will be well worth it.
Read on for more detail if you are that way inclined -----------------
The Epic SANA Lisboa is about a 15-minute cab ride from Lisbon airport and located at the Northern Edge of the main area of the City a few minute walk from Parque Eduardo VII where the big Intercontinental and Four Seasons are located. So it's a nice enough area, more residential than "business" or "tourist", and you will need to jump in a cab to get to most of where you will likely want to go in the city. However, with Uber and Bolt ride-share apps in the city - a trip from the Epic SANA right into the heart of Lisbon will take less than 10 minutes (closer to 5) and will typically be less than €5 (private ride, so even less for a shared ride).
The hotel amenities and rooms are, to put no finer word on it, superb.
We booked a Junior Suite, and were kindly upgraded to the slightly larger Deluxe Suite (a nice touch). A separate big super King bed with footrest and plenty of space, separated to a living area by some slide close doors. The living area which had a nice two-person table with chairs, and a two person sofa and footstool. The bathroom was HUGE, a full walk in shower with a superb Hansgrohe bathroom equipment, two vanities (with plenty of space, not squeezed together) and a nice big tub too. The toilet was also in this bathroom, but there was also a second toilet just by the entrance to the room. Really well laid out room. Ours was part of a connecting - so you could really have a big family in two of these rooms. The connecting door requires the same door card to open.
Coffee machine with stocked coffee was available, a small fridge inside the under-counter cupboard (ours was empty, but that wasn't a big deal for us). Plenty of plugs. Two big closets. An iron and board, and a in-cupboard safe. The room is clearly new - it doesn't have that "lived in" feel yet, no chips and marks or stains anywhere.
Now the hotel itself. The rooftop infinity pool, about 1.5m deep, about 3m x 5m is big enough to take maybe 12-15 people before it would feel crammed, but the deck is much more a lounging deck than a swimming one. They have towels all laid out and regularly refreshed, 7 cabana style beds, with about a dozen loungers (both black for some reason so they really attract the sun but that's a small thing) and some other smaller chairs for just sitting near the entrance. One floor down and accessible to the pool from the deck is a small restaurant, ~20 covers I'd say.
Now I would say the only "slightly" poor experience we had at the Epic SANA Lisboa was the speed of service at the pool. It was "table" service (that's what I'd want from a the quality level of this place) and the attendees at pool side were friendly, helpful, quick, regularly clearing away empties and asking if you wanted anything else, but the restaurant (and particularly the bar) was really slow (even when the deck was half full), two virgin mohitos (really good) took a good 20 mins to arrive as an example. No fault of the servers, but they maybe need one more member of staff on the restaurant/bar.
The spa on the -2 floor. The indoor pool is about the same size as the roof. Unsure if it's heated in the winter. Spa has about a dozen loungers, a sauna with space for at least 12 people comfortably, a giant tiled steam room with space for more than 20 no problem at all. Three showers in the spa area might be a little challenge when full - but you have to call down to book a time so it's highly unlikely you'll ever face a situation where any of those areas is at capacity. The changing rooms are great, huge personal showers, lockers. The fact there was individual tumblers and two orange and lime/cucumber flavoured water jugs is an example of how this restaurant is all very well thought-out.
We didn't try the restaurant, but we did have a big two-person breakfast and it was good. Big pastries bowl with a selection of sweet and savoury, two plates of fruit, two ham, cheese, mushroom omelettes, sausages, bacon, bowl of breads. Two fresh squeezed orange juices. Two pots of peppermint tea. One might say a little on the pricey side at a little over €50, but not much, and it was good quality stuff.
We did try the downstairs bar though, lots of inside chairs, comfy and more functional, with a centre bar (piano there for those nights too), the outside area is big and well covered for sun, two outside bars (not stocked when we went, but there) easily enough for 50 people. The service, again, great, barman was friendly, suggested two passion fruit rum drinks, great... little snacks for free... but €15 each, again, a little pricey, but they were heavy on the rum, and good quality.
I can say without hesitation that, for what you get, and in this location and city - you're dealing with easily one of the best hotels in the city... and the staff, they make it absolutely worth visiting.