A friend and I will be traveling to Portugal this spring and are looking for inexpensive places to stay in Lisbon and Porto. I have been told pensoes are the way to go to keep costs down (below $80 for a double), but I have been unable to find specific recommendations on the web, other than on timeout.com. I would love to find some personal reviews. Any ideas? Thanks.

Aren't there any budget travelers here who have been to Portugal and can make recommendations? Please.

Hi, Mel <BR>If you will email me directly I can give you the name of an inexpensive hotel we stayed at in Lisbon. It had a great location. There are many others in the same area. It was a Fodor recommendation, I think. We ended up there after seeing the hotel we had booked (A real bow-wow). <BR>I can't help with Porto, we stayed farther south and daytripped. <BR>It may take me a couple of days to respond, but, I think we may have something you are interested in. <BR>Ciao! <BR>Gloria <BR>

Hi Gloria. Thank you very much for your response. I tried to email you directly, but my message came back as undeliverable.

Ooops! I forgot the "100" after our names. Please try again, Mel. I'll ask my husband to work on this later. <BR>

Any more ideas out there. Gloria's e-mail doesn't seem to work.

I have stayed at the Florescent and the Arco Bandera and the Lisboa Plaza. The Arco Banderia was a great cheap sleep, a little faded and shared baths, but, it was empty when we were there in March..so who cares, the Florescent was a little more modern, great location as was the Arco. I liked the Plaza, but, it was more money as not as well located for me. Look at the first two, you won't be disappointed. Beware of many steps at the Arco, however. <BR>I think these are on The Fodo's website under Rants and Raves, Lisbon Hotels. <BR>

Hi Mel, <BR> <BR>Last June, I stayed at a great little place right in the Baixa: The Duas Nacoes, which cost under $50 for a double with a private bathroom and a small balcony. We loved it for the location and our room and the charming breakfast room, but it may be a bit rough around the edges for some travelers; we were the only Americans there. By rough, I only mean that the bathroom was a little inconvenient and the furniture was a little garage-sale-cum-Goodwill, but it was all clean an the beds were comfortable. I would certainly stay there again, and that's what really matters in a recommendation, right? <BR> <BR>At the end of our trip, we spent the last night in Lisbon after returning from Spain, and stayed at a more modern place called Hotel Flamingo, one of the Best Western-affiliated hotels. It was clean and serviceable, like a Comfort Inn here in the US. It was around $65, I think, and again, I'd return there, too. <BR> <BR>Please let me know if I can help you any further.