We are a small, independent team of travellers and writers based in Lisbon. We spend our own money on the rooms we review, arrive unannounced, and write up what we actually found — not what a hotel’s PR team would like you to read.
The travel-media business mostly runs on the opposite model: hosted trips, affiliate deals and partnerships that quietly shape coverage. There’s nothing illegal about it, but it changes the incentive, and you can feel it in the writing. Eli the Papillon exists to be the version you can take at face value.
How we make money without selling reviews
When we recommend a place, we may include a booking link that earns us a small commission at no cost to you. That link is added after the review is written and never changes the verdict. We also run a free newsletter, and we’ll add reader memberships in time — but the reviews will always stay independent of all of it.
What we mean by a good stay
Not the most expensive, and not the most photogenic. A good stay is one that delivers on what it promises for what it charges — a nine-room guesthouse and a grand alpine lodge can both earn top marks, each measured against its own price and its own promise.