Flying Lawyer

For the next two years junior suite 218 has a nice view over the construction site and a continuous beep-beep-beep sound from the construction equipment starting 7 am. Currently this is a not to go place.

nicolas75

I stayed 2 weekend nights last December, and - fortunately - did not hear anything from the Junior Suite.

Flying Lawyer

The emphasis of your post is on “weekend”. Construction stops Friday 5 pm and goes on on Monday. For the time being.

ninjalad

I was there when amount of noise increased dramatically, the GM stopped by my table at breakfast to apologize. This was late January and they were ripping up tram tracks along with the beep noises. Our suite was nearly at the end away from the work

PTahCha

ARRIVAL AND CHECK-IN

Had an one night stay with a standard room and airport transfer + breakfast package. The airport transfer was efficient in a Mercedes E class sedan, with the driver holding a sign of the hotel at the secure area exit.

The bellman took my bags and waited for me during check-in. Check-in was done concierge style at a sit down desk. The hotel upgraded me to a junior suite, and provided both early check-in and late check-out, which was much appreciated. In addition, a manager escorted me to the room, which is a first for me in Europe.

ROOM

The room is comfortable, with a loveseat sofa in the middle of the room with a coffee table facing the TV. There is a work desk overlooking the Metro construction. As for Flying Lawyer 's concern:

I really didn't notice any noises that were overtly disruptive. Then again, the level of noise is typical of a major city like NYC.

The bathroom is fairly large, with a separate full size tub and a shower. The hotel had switched over to full size Byredo products, although there was a display of Castelbel products for sale in the lobby. Full set of bath accessories, such as dental kit and cotton balls, were also provided.

There was a large bottle of mineral water provided in the room. About 10 minutes after getting in the room, another set of amenities were delivered, which included a half bottle of Tawny port, pastel de nata, and a bottle of sparkling water.



The only quibble I have for the room is the lack of accessible power plugs. Sure, they added a USB-A power station on the nightstand, but that does not help me powering other devices that require an actual plug.

RESTAURANT

Breakfast was provided in the hotel restaurant. The only option was the buffet, which is European continental, with fruits, breads, more pastel de nata, fruits, deli meat and cheeses. As part of the buffet, you can order an egg dish from the kitchen.

Since I did not get a chance to use the Ambassador F&B credit, I ended up having lunch at the hotel restaurant as well, which turned out that some of the breakfast servers were also working the lunch shift. There is an excellent deal for executive 3 course lunch for €18.50.



I had the soup, veal cheek, and the pudding.








Maybe because I had a wonderful meal the night before at DOP, but both savory dishes were under-seasoned. Nonetheless, you can't beat the price.

OVERALL

The hotel is at a fantastic location - it's literally 10 minutes away from most major attractions. In addition, it's steps away from the São Bento railway station, so the taxi bank is literally right there, although Uber is available as well.

The service was phenomenal, warm, and genuine. The room was fantastic for the value. Definitely will be my go-to when I return.

Ldnn1

Thanks for the very helpful review. Do you recall when the executive menu is available - I guess weekdays only? Edit: just found on website, indeed Mon-Fri.

moolman

Is the construction still going on, is it bad enough to stay at another hotel?

BXIAN

We are here now. I have Diamond and Ambassador status, and they “upgraded” us to a second floor room facing the square where the very noisy subway construction is going on. We have a 4 night stay-one night, the construction went on until 3 AM and kept us awake until then. We had a non working tv for 2 days of our stay. Breakfast is mediocre-burnt black bacon. If you want tea, you have to retrieve the China teapot yourself while juggling your buffet plate. Bathroom has gorgeous marble but shower in incredibly slippery. Really disappointed in our stay especially after experiencing a superlative stay at the Intercontinental Estoril.

BXIAN

On a more positive note, as others have noted, the staff here are really kind, particularly in the bar and breakfast areas. The bar had a couple of guitar players (one of whom is a fado singer) on Thursday nights starting around 7 PM. Drinks in the bar are quite good. The city of Porto is quite pretty. Unfortunately, while we were here in mid May, it was packed with tourists
​​​​​​, which made getting round on foot and via. Uber a challenge.

nicolas75

You were one of them 😅

BXIAN

I know……For a tourist experience outside of the city, we really enjoyed our full day Douro Valley tour with a company called CoolTours. We also enjoyed our visits to the Graham and Taylor port houses. This is our first visit to Portugal, and we’ve found everyone that we’ve met to be very warm and welcoming.

moolman

​​​​​​Because of the construction, I stayed down the street at casa de campagna another IHG property. I had a great stay here, on the same level as IC Estoril. I was upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite as a Diamond but that's ymmv.

ebayj

I had a most pleasant stay at the Cardosa Palace last week - but the subway construction is ongoing, incuding all night/overnight on weeknights. Getting that out of the way, I found the property to be completely stunning, excellent staff attention to (my) guest needs, and really a unique property in a very convenient location.

nicolas75

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes, very much so.

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked King Classic and received Prestige Suite.

How are the rooms?
Superbly renovated.
Around 105sqm
High ceilings.

Large living room with seating area and dining area.
Desk

Bedroom with very comfortable bed.
Sockets next to the bed.

Television with large number of international channels.
No Chromecast.
Free PressReader
In the living room, Samsung the Frame smart tv, with Netflix free access

Large marble bathroom with separate walk-in shower and bathtub.
Byredo Bal d’Afrique toiletries.
Separate guest toilets.

Large separate dressing.

Small terrace along living room with panoramic vegetal wall and chairs.
In the bedroom, view over the city.

Espresso coffee machine. Kettle
Very efficient air conditioning/heating system.
Very quiet.

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A.

What was good and what was bad?

-Good
Superb suite
Attentive and smiling staff
Great staff
The kind of little attention I love: my fridge was full of Coke Zero.
Excellent breakfast served by great team.
Elegant atmosphere

-Bad
Nothing.
Work on the metro line has not yet been completed (it has been delayed mainly because of archaeological discoveries).
But frankly it's not much of a problem: access to the hotel isn't very complicated if you arrive by metro (more difficult with a taxi, because of traffic congestion).
At weekends, there's no noise from the building work as it's stopped.

Value for $ or IHG One Rewards Points? Would you return?
Stay was very pleasant indeed.


Exterior






















Lobby bar




Access to the rooms


Prestige Suite


















Stairs to the bedroom

Bedroom








Bathroom







Dressing area


Welcome gift


Minibar and coffee station


Spa and fitness centre




Breakfast










Ll

IMH

Gosh, I was allowed to "like" nicolas75's post, which the IB software doesn't always allow me to do. Your comprehensive and helpful reports are always appreciated, especially when you're kind enough to visit hotels where I've got reservations.