Martinhal Lisbon Chiado Review: The Best Family Hotel in Lisbon (And It’s Not Close)
If you have ever stayed at a hotel that claims to be family-friendly and then handed you a Pack ‘n Play with no sheet and a kids menu that was just plain pasta, you will understand why Martinhal Lisbon Chiado feels like someone finally solved a problem the rest of the hotel industry refuses to acknowledge.
This Martinhal Lisbon Chiado review is for the parent who is done guessing whether the hotel has actually thought about their kids or whether they just put a small pool somewhere and called it a day. Martinhal Chiado is a different category of hotel. I am going to explain why, what to expect, and the one logistical detail that will make or break your arrival if you have a stroller. And I’ll tell you if you should book it – hint YOU SHOULD!
What Is Martinhal Chiado?
Martinhal is a Portuguese luxury hotel brand founded by couple Chitra and Roman Stern, who were tired of traveling with their four children and finding that luxury hotels were designed for everyone except families. The Chiado property opened in 2016 as the world’s first city-center elegant family hotel — and while that is a bold claim, it is also basically accurate.
The Chiado location is 37 apartments spread across a beautifully restored 1855 building in the heart of Lisbon’s most walkable neighborhood. The brand has four properties in Portugal — Sagres, Cascais, Chiado, and Residences — and while the coastal resorts have outdoor pools and more amenities, Chiado is the one that puts you inside the city rather than outside of it. With that said, I’ve read amazing things about the Sagres property so it is definitely on my radar as somewhere to stay in the future!
For a family that wants to actually experience Lisbon rather than commute to it from a resort, Chiado is the right call.
Location: Chiado Is the Right Neighborhood
Martinhal Lisbon Chiado sits on Rua das Flores, which is one of the more charming streets in Lisbon — lined with tile-fronted buildings, small cafés, and independent shops. From here, you are walking distance to almost everything on a family Lisbon itinerary.
Time Out Market is less than 10 minutes downhill. Castelo de São Jorge, the Alfama neighborhood, and Convento do Carmo are all reachable on foot. The Cais do Sodré metro and train station is about a 6-minute walk, which opens up easy day trips to Sintra and Belém without needing a car.
The neighborhood itself feels safe, lively without being overwhelming, and genuinely interesting to walk around with kids. There are independent bakeries, toy shops, and the kind of streets that reward wandering.
The catch — and I will address this more in the cons — is that Chiado is built on a hill, and that hill is a complete problem with a stroller. More on that shortly.
The Rooms: Apartment-Style With Everything Thought Through
This is where Martinhal Lisbon Chiado earns its reputation.
The property has 37 apartments across several configurations: Deluxe Studios (approximately 31 sqm, ideal for two adults and a baby), One-Bedroom Deluxe apartments (approximately 71 sqm, the right choice for a family of four), and Two-Bedroom Deluxe apartments (approximately 78 sqm, which accommodates up to two adults and four children).
For a family of four with kids the ages of mine, the one-bedroom deluxe apartment is the move. Here is what you get:
- A separate double bedroom for parents
- A dedicated sleeping area with bunk beds for kids
- A full living room and dining area
- A kitchenette with oven, dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave, and coffee machine
- A washer and dryer (genuinely game-changing for a trip with kids)
- A full master bathroom plus a second WC
Now here is what separates a hotel that says it is family-friendly from one that actually is. In the bathroom, there is already a step stool at the sink and a child-sized toilet seat. There is a toddler potty in the room. Non-slip bath mats are in place. There are kid-sized coat hangers. Milk is in the refrigerator when you arrive. The room has no sharp corners. The high chair is already set up.
You did not have to ask for any of it. It was just there.
That is the Martinhal difference. The hotel was designed by parents who were frustrated with travel. You can feel it in every detail of the room.
The only con I had of the room is that the bunk beds are in a nook between the bedroom and bathroom. So if you stay up later than your kids and need to go wash your face you will need to creep past them.
The Kids Club: The Reason Parents Book This Hotel
The Martinhal Lisbon Chiado kids club is complimentary and one of the genuinely best I have encountered at a city hotel anywhere.
It is located on the ground floor and spans two rooms: a bright main space with a mini climbing wall, ball pit, toys, wooden games, and a cinema screen, plus a quieter inner room designed for babies and younger toddlers. The whole space is colorful, clean, and supervised by dedicated staff.
Kids club hours run from 9:30am to 5:30pm, covering children from 6 months through early teens. The age range is real — staff adjust activities by age and the older kids are not stuck doing baby stuff.
The evening “Pyjama Club” is the part that makes parents want to cry with gratitude. From around dinner time through 10pm, staff supervise the kids, give them dinner, and let them watch a movie in their pajamas. If your child falls asleep, they are taken care of. You and your partner go have an adult dinner in Lisbon — a city that does not even start dinner until 8 or 9pm — and come back to sleeping children.
I cannot overstate how rare and valuable this is in a city hotel.
There is also an unsupervised playroom off the lobby for daytime use, which works well for winding down after sightseeing while someone puts the baby down upstairs. And a baby concierge service lets you pre-book equipment before arrival — bottle sterilizers, baby gates, porta-cribs, potties, bath tubs, door protectors — so you are not hauling it all from home.
Breakfast: Included and Worth Getting Up For
Breakfast is included with your stay and served in Bar 1855, the hotel’s ground-floor café. The spread includes cereals, fresh fruit, bread, pastries, homemade cakes, jams, and honey — plus a simple hot breakfast option. Emphasis on simple, this breakfast is good not great. But if your kids are anything like mine they don’t really eat breakfast so this was more than sufficient for our family. There is also an option to order breakfast delivered to your room, which works especially well on the morning you are trying to get everyone out the door early.
The café itself is a good spot to start the day. It has a distinctive BMW Isetta car in the corner that children find immediately interesting, which is useful when you are trying to eat your pastéis de nata in peace.
Practical Logistics That Matter
Stroller parking: Dedicated stroller parking is available in the hotel. They also have strollers to borrow if you left yours at home or are flying carry-on only.
Car service with car seats: The staff can arrange car service with car seats on request. If you are arriving from the airport or need transportation with young children, this is worth booking through the concierge rather than trying to sort it on arrival.
The no-pool situation and what to do about it: Martinhal Chiado does not have a pool. For a city hotel in a temperate climate, this is generally not a problem. But if your kids are going to revolt without one, there is a solution: the Martinhal Cascais resort is about 40 minutes from Chiado and is a full coastal resort with pools, beach access, and all the outdoor amenities. Martinhal guests can access Cascais for a day trip — drive out, have lunch at the resort restaurant, and use the facilities. It is not seamless, but it works, and Cascais is a beautiful town worth visiting regardless.
The hill: Rua das Flores is scenic. It is also steep. If you are arriving with a stroller loaded with a toddler and bags, plan your route before you get to Lisbon. Google Maps will route you up the direct approach, which is a leg workout. The staff can advise on easier approaches from different directions. Worth asking at check-in.
What It Will Cost You
Pricing at Martinhal Chiado varies significantly by season. Expect to pay more in summer and around school holidays when the hotel fills with European families. The one-bedroom deluxe is typically where a family of four will land.
Given that breakfast is included, the kids club is complimentary, and you have a full kitchen to offset some meal costs, the value calculation is different from a standard hotel room rate comparison. You are paying for a fully equipped apartment with a dedicated family infrastructure built in.
Martinhal Lisbon Chiado Review: Pros and Cons
Why you should book it:
The hotel has genuinely thought of everything. Toddler potties, step stools, bunk beds, child toilet seats — all standard, all waiting in your room. The apartment size eliminates the feeling of being crammed into a hotel room with two kids and their stuff. The kids club with evening pyjama hours is the single best amenity a city family hotel can offer. The neighborhood is excellent, walkable, and interesting. The staff are helpful and accustomed to making family logistics work, including car service with car seats. Breakfast is included. You have a washer and dryer.
The honest trade-offs:
It is a family hotel, which means there will be other families there. If you need a serene, adults-only feeling atmosphere, book somewhere else. The other families are there specifically because they like this kind of environment, so the chaos level is generally cheerful rather than stressful — but it is not quiet.
The hill is genuinely annoying with a stroller. Not a dealbreaker, but plan for it. There is no pool on property.
Who Should Book Martinhal Lisbon Chiado
If you are traveling to Lisbon with children under 10 and want to stay somewhere central, eat breakfast without managing a meltdown in a formal hotel dining room, have an actual evening to yourselves in one of Europe’s great food cities, and come back to an apartment with enough space for everyone to decompress — this is your hotel.
If you want a beach resort experience, look at Martinhal Sagres or Martinhal Cascais instead. Combine the two properties on a longer Portugal trip for the best of both.
There is a reason the reviews for this hotel are consistently excellent and the repeat booking rate is high. Once you stay at a hotel that was designed specifically for your situation, you understand how different it is from one that merely tolerates your children.
Staying in Lisbon? Read my full Lisbon with Kids guide for exactly where to go, what to skip, and how to handle the hills with a family. Planning a longer trip? See the Spain and Portugal itinerary we did with our kids ages 4 and 9.
Martinhal Lisbon Chiado: Quick Facts
- Location: Rua das Flores, Chiado, Lisbon
- Number of apartments: 37
- Room types: Deluxe Studio (~31 sqm), One-Bedroom Deluxe (~71 sqm), Two-Bedroom Deluxe (~78 sqm)
- Kids club: Complimentary, ages 6 months through early teens, 9:30am–5:30pm; Pyjama Club until 10pm
- Breakfast: Included
- Pool: None on property
- Stroller parking: Yes; strollers available to borrow
- Baby concierge: Yes — pre-book equipment before arrival
- Car service with car seats: Available through concierge
I hope my Martinhal Lisbon Chiado review helped convince you this is the right homebase for your family vacation in Lisbon!
