This hotel has lots of charm, so don't be put off by the plastic windows disfiguring the fine old facade. The windows are all the more perplexing when you enter and discover that the owners have, in all other respects, gone out of their way to preserve the hotel. Polished sideboards sparkle with old brasses and china, fading photographs honour long departed guests dressed in long forgotten fashions. The management have even kept the old bakelite phone sitting in the lobby beside the hotel's original switchboard. All very charming.

The desk staff are great and can't do enough to be helpful, failing only once. Incomprehensibly they won't give guests an iron on request. Why? Because they want to charge for an ironing service. Very irritating. And doubly so when they refuse to hand over an iron whilst telling customers that all designated in house ironers are off on holiday. No iron. No ironers.

Breakfasts, incidentally, are very formal, but not very good. The orange juice was vile, and the coffee not much better.

The hotel is right in the middle of Porto's beautiful, mostly derelict city centre.

Spent two days a couple of years ago and just came back from a wonderful, relaxing stay at this hotel again. The rooms are pretty no-frills, but you do get a full sized bath. The hotel itself is a model of charm. Wonderful old creaky, art nouveau style with great public areas and a very generous buffet breakfast (not just the usual bun and coffee you get in most of Europe). The only small negative was that the TV channels available in the hotel were VERY limited and it made for some pretty dull nights when it rained outside. Will definitely stay here again!

Fabulous, quirky hotel, with something of interest around every corner. Staff very helpful, hotel location excellent and the breakfast is brilliant. If you like a colourless, modern hotel give this one a miss - it would also be difficult yo drive to (easily reached by train tho). Don't think the hotel had a fitness centre - but one does not walk the streets of Porto, one climbs! Porto is battling long term economic problems - nevertheless these are the nicest people we have met in any of our extensive travels.

First, even with a GPS, driving in Porto was an extraordinary adventure. We never found the hotel by car. I knew we were close so we ducked into a public garage and with my tourist level Portuguese, obtained directions to the hotel. It was only a couple of blocks away. The staff was generally quite friendly and helpful, save for one somewhat crabby guy in the morning. They directed us to a garage about 2 blocks to the north as the place to park the car. So after settling in we moved the car. It did cost 32 Euros for 2 nights and one day of parking.
The hotel rooms were small and cramped. Ours overlooked the street in front of the hotel. This was quite noisy at night so we had to shut the window and turn on the a/c. The room was possibly the darkest hotel room I have ever been in. The lighting was completely inadequate for our older eyes. The knob on the bathroom door was broken, otherwise the room was in decent shape, though quite dated. Although I would add, the lock on the door to the room could probably have easily been picked.
The hotel is in a good location. We are walkers, which in Porto means a lot of up and down as you descend to the river. It was decent place. One can imagine its past glory. They did have a nice breakfast by Portuguese standards served in their glorious old dining room. I wouldn't say it was poor hotel, just very very average to low average. I did serve our needs as base for exploration.