Convenient location / historic hotel

We spent half an hour in our rental car to get there - driving in Porto can be quite a nightmare (that was the last rental day luckily).

Anyway, the location is good for people coming by train, as it is near Sao Bento station and not far from all the main attractions; it is also near to the metro station in Placa Libertade. Anyway, keep in mind that streets in central Porto are either downhill or uphill, so be prepared to sweat if you don't use buses/trams.

Our room (312) was ok, in my opinion, with no view whatsoever (central courtyard) but satellite TV with many different networks in English/Spanish/French/Italian etc.

Buffet breakfast didn't leave us disappointed.

Service was professional but not really "friendly" as in other parts of Portugal. Well, I guess it's the standard be within hotels.

Price is honest even though I guess it's mainly due to the good location. Internet access is expensive though, so look for the Internet cafe' on the same side of the street walking towards the river.

Freundliches Gästehaus

Bei unserer Ankunft wurden wir von einem netten Jungen empfangen, der sehr gut englisch sprach. Das Zimmer war sehr sauber und geräumig. Für ein Drei-Sterne-Hotel war das Frühstück sehr gut. An unserem nächsten Besuch in Porto werden wir ganz bestimmt wieder hier wohnen.

Gutes Preisangebot

Wir erhielten ein einmaliges Angebot für unsere drei Nächte Aufenthalt im zentral gelegenem Porto. Es ist kein luxuriöses Hotel, aber sauber und ruhig mit einem ausreichenden Frühstück. Der Frühstücksraum ist sehr klein und wahrscheinlich nicht ausreichend bei Vollbesetzung, jedoch befindet sich eine angrenzende Dachterrasse auf dem Gebäude, die man bei warmen Wetter benutzen kann. Das Personal am Empfang war das freundlichste und hilfsbereiteste, das wir je getroffen haben. Sie informierten uns über all die besten Orte, die man aufsuchen sollte, welche jedoch nicht unbedingt in dem Reiseführer enthalten sind. Ganz bestimmt werden wir dieses Hotel wieder aufsuchen. In Porto haben wir uns verliebt. Es hat viel mehr zu bieten als viele andere kleine europäische Städte. Es gibt dort nicht nur die übliche Auswahl an Kirchen, Kathedralen, Schlösser etc., sondern ausgefallene kleine und alte Geschäfte, Kaffees und Büchereien, die seit ihrer Entstehung nicht verändert wurden. Natürlich ist das Probieren von Portweinen ebenfalls eine feine Sache. Besonders zu erwähnen ist da Offleys, wo das Personal und der Portwein großartig sind. Taylors hat einen wunderbaren Garten und ist darüber hinaus ein Weltklasse Restaurant.

Very small rooms

We stayed in the double comfort room with terrace and view.

The hotel is very centrally located and the staff are friendly and helpful. Breakfast is regular Portugese standard and the ambience is fine, but the rooms are so very small!

The most expensive "comfort" rooms have a space of 50 cm around the bed left and the bathroom cannot hold 2 people at the same time. There is just no place left in the room to open a suitcase without having to jump over it.

The terrace is nice and spaceous but is shared, so other visitors having a late night drink on the terrace next to your room will keep you awake. Furthermore, beds are extremely hard and we have suffered some back pain after sleeping here.

Roadworks

I have just come back from Porto and wanted to let you all know about the roadworks going on around this pretty decent hotel. It wasn't too noisy to sleep but they are working until 9pm at night to get the road finished. Usually, this hotel would be in a very good location because it's so central. But at the moment there are fences up all down the street, and big machinery being used almost constantly.

Kindly guesthouse

when we arrive we were well received by a gentil boy, that spoke very well english.

the room was very clean and spacious.

the breakfast was very good for a 3 stars hotel

we will be back certainly in a next visit to porto.

Simon Haws

Cheap but not necessarily cheerful

I cannot suggest any way (other than double glazing) to reduce the traffic and street noise. Awful!

Breakfast was poorly managed in every possible way: on our first morning, the (TINNED!!??, oh no, not in PORTUGAL) fruit salad ran out. There were queues for tables (much to the chagrin, in particular, of some American visitors). Tables were not cleared promptly. Bread and other supplies were not topped up regularly enough - probably due to the arrangement of scullery and breakfast room, whereby an overview is impossible to achieve.

The next day, the coffee was cold. Only because I asked was an explanation given (to me) - a little announcement, e.g. an apology, to the clients in general would have helped. One employee said there had been a problem with the electric socket. Another employee said her colleague had forgotten to turn the machine on! Hmmm...

There was no variety in the breakfast: the same cheese and ham (and packet jam) were trotted out each day.

We weren't expecting four star catering, just three star (the rating for the Residencial). A little imagination and minimal extra cost would have improved the impression of the whole breakfast experience (even, dare I say it, some musak in the background).

When we entered our room, there was no shampoo in the bathroom. A plastic clip used in packaging shirts was on the bedroom carpet. It was still there two days later. Worse, there were toe-nails from a previous guest on the same carpet - who knows for how long. Not just negligent, this is unhygienic!

We paid 45 Euros a night. Compared with other hotels, this is high for the service and quality we got.

Good value - Residencial Pao de Acucar

We paid such a bargain price for our 3 night stay at this central location in Porto. It isn't luxurious, but it's clean, quiet and the breakfast is more than adequate. The breakfast room is rather small and we did wonder how they would manage when the hotel is full, but there is a nice roof terrace adjoining where you could take your food in the warmer weather.

The hotel reception staff were the friendliest and most helpful we have ever experienced. They will tell you all the best places to go which aren't necessarily in the guide books. We would definitely use this hotel again.

We also loved Porto itself. It has a lot more to offer than many small European cities. Not just the usual collection of churches, cathedrals, castles etc but also genuine, small, old shops, cafes and libraries which have remained unaltered since they were built. Of course the port wine tasting is fun, too. Especially good is Offleys where staff are lovely and so is the port. Taylors has a wonderful garden and world class restaurant, too.

Good value

We stayed overnight and found the room, service, assistance and location to be very good. We would certainly stay there again.

GREAT !

Lovely quiet residencial just off the main square with pleasant friendly helpful staff who spoke English. Generous breakfast, and spacious rooms with AC and a TV. Certainly worth 50-60 euros.