Sheraton Porto Trip Report
MODS: I did do a search and found two threads on Porto, but couldn't tell if this belonged there or not. Feel free to do your MOD thing if you'd like and move it-I'll obviously defer to your judgment and apologize for any inconvenience.
My wife & I stayed at the Sheraton Porto over the last weekend in September (check in on 28 September for 2 nights). Overall, I was extremely satisfied with my stay, save for two things. However, there was one positive that I think made the stay worth it.
When we booked the trip, we had planned to meet one of my wife's friends in Porto and she was responsible for doing all the arrangements while we were there (tours, etc.). Unfortunately as of a few days before the trip, she hadn't come through with anything and we took over not really knowing anything about the place. Worked with American Express Platinum Concierge (which generally has been very helpful), but everything they could find was sold out. My wife's friend had the same luck when she finally decided to try. Ultimately, I was about to give up when I decided to call the hotel directly. I forget who I spoke with, but after a few minutes of explaining which rivercruise we wanted to do, etc., he called me back a few hours later and had us fully booked on one of the "sold out" cruises that we had been keen on going on. Interestingly, the price dropped over 20 EUR per person too! Needless to say, this left a very favorable impression on me about the hotel.
Hotel is beautiful, clean, modern, just not in the heart of the tourist part of the city. No big deal though, cabs were cheap. Check-in was smooth, save for not getting a platinum upgrade (paid reservation). When I inquired, the desk worker had to get a manager, who ultimately agreed to let us go to the club floor but that we couldn't access the club lounge. I protested and he agreed we could use the lounge. On a side note, our room upgrade was the same room we would have had, just a higher floor, so nothing special there. They did provide a bottle of port in the room and free water. I can't stand when rooms are available and they don't give the upgrade without getting pushed on it (I know from reading this is a common complaint at this hotel). Okay, after that and the fact they don't have the sheraton sweet sleeper bed, everything else was great. Free breakfast in the lounge was the way to go, including a hot buffet on a roof/balcony terrace on the top floor. free breakfast in europe saves a lot of euros from those overpriced hotel buffets! The bar at the hotel was really nice with live entertainment both nights and food/wine reasonably priced. The only other problem I had was at check-out--I got charged twice for my room (they charged me for my old room and the upgraded room) and someone charged parking to my room. After quite a hassle, they finally agreed to only charge me once, but getting the parking off took some arguing (I don't have a car!). Anyhow, I guess this is more of a mixed review, but I think I saw past the hassles and had a great stay, coupled with their help at the beginning of my stay. I would recommend this hotel but would caution you to just be ready for the upgrade game!