Originally Posted by
vuittonsofstyle
Really interesting and informative report, Musken!
I agree about the food. The only place I ever found amazing food in Portugal was in the Algarve, at Villa Joya and Vila Vita Parc - both German owned! That said, I did have very good food at The Yeatman.
I suspect you would have preferred a Junior Suite at the Yeatman as the big suites can be a little dark, especially the one you stayed in.
Service throughout the area you explored tends to be hit and miss on the best of days. If anything you probably had a better experience than most.
Sad to hear about the poor experience at the Yeatman spa, but I agree that Aquapura Spa treatments are very good. I just didn't get on with this place, mainly because of the dark rooms and pubic areas. Like you, though, I loved the Douro Valley river cruise. Did you visit the wineries, too? I found this fascinating.
Thanks again for the insights!
Oh, and VERY interesting abut The Lapa! Could it be that service here is now better than when Orient-Express ran it?
Food at Yeatman was good, just not very memorable as has been the case for some other Michelin star restaurants that we had eaten at. Breakfast there was the best we had. But the DOP restaurant in Porto (by Rui Paula) was brilliant. He has a restaurant in the Douro as well.
We wanted a bigger suite to get separate bed- and living room, that's why we changed from a jr. suite.
We did visit two wineries during our stay at the Aquapuro, lots of them there and most really taking well care of visitors showing the cellars, letting us taste etc. Great.