This was my first experience of anything Portuguese, and the Hotel Torre Mar, once found, is a good choice. Actually it is easy to find, but I had arrived without either a GPS or a hand map and had no idea where I was.

The reception staff (like most of Portugal) is trilingual English/French/Portuguese and were always very informative. I managed to forget that Lisbon is on a different hour from Paris and woke up an hour too early for breakfast and the breakfast room (on the top floor over looking the rooftops of Povoa di Varzim), was still in darkness :) The sympathetic night receptionist who accompanied me in the left to the 4th floor where the breakfast room is located, suggested that I wait until the bread arrived but I declined saying I would return later lol. And went back to bed!!! You can not fault the Portuguese sense of service and practicality. Breakfast itself is a really nice affair, although the orange juice is very insipid, but hey you can live without orange juice!).

The room was very large and clean, the bathroom equally so. Internet connection good. Services included massage were cheap, but then I found out that everything in Portugal is. In fact, the hotel reminded me of an IBIS. The one thing I would complain about is the sound-proofing. First of all there were works going on inside the hotel upon my arrival around 4 pm, which kind of worried me but the reception assured me that this wouldn't continue ALL night! Which I was glad to hear. That was one thing but being beside a major road into town with very thin walls, you could hear the build up of traffic which starts around 7pm. The hotel could do with some double-glazing in my opinion.

Povoa im Varzim itself is a nice little place especially the historic town centre but the port is a bit sleepy, with a nice little beach (a 10 minute drive from the hotel).

The town is also located to the main roads that take you to the northern towns, Guimaraes and Braca and other wonderfully historic places. In fact Guimaraes, the birthplace of Portugal, will become the European City of Culture in 2012 and is definitely worth a visit, if not then a stay (it's just buzzing with history and the hills all around are a joy). Porto is within 30 mins away.

A special word has to be said about Portuguese drivers... be extra prudent on the road as they all drive like maniacs most of the time.