Sheraton Porto, Portugal [Master Thread]
Oct 25, 2021, 3:07 pm
#46
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: JAX
Programs: UA Plat MM, AA Gold MM, Marriott LTT, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 3,770
Was there last week. Given a club room but club lounge was still closed - breakfast in the restaurant, happy hour 6pm-8pm via room service.
Spa was open and it was very good. Hotel facilities and the room felt very new and functional. I couldn't tell it's a hotel built in 2003.
Spa was open and it was very good. Hotel facilities and the room felt very new and functional. I couldn't tell it's a hotel built in 2003.
Dec 10, 2021, 1:11 am
#48
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Madrid spain
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton Gold, SPG PLT
Posts: 574
I had a recent stay of one night at this hotel as a Titanium member.
The only upgrade I received was club floor. The room was right next to the elevator, yes, right next to it. the room itself has diagonal steel beams blocking the view.
The room furnishing appear modern but not practical. The walk-in shower has design flaw, its pretty much at the same level as the bathroom, the water kept leaking out. The shower door sweep is tightly touching the bathroom floor, so you can't put a towel mat by the shower door otherwise you can't open the shower door to exit the shower. The room does not have capsul caffee machine, the only option is instant caffee with an electric kettle.
The Crown Plaza next door gave me a generous junior suite upgrade in the executive floor with ocean view (Spire Elite), the room has capsule caffee machine. The bathroom has double sinks, and Portuguese Castelbel toiletries. They also gave me a small bottle of port wine and a plate of natal de belem, nicely displayed.
The only upgrade I received was club floor. The room was right next to the elevator, yes, right next to it. the room itself has diagonal steel beams blocking the view.
The room furnishing appear modern but not practical. The walk-in shower has design flaw, its pretty much at the same level as the bathroom, the water kept leaking out. The shower door sweep is tightly touching the bathroom floor, so you can't put a towel mat by the shower door otherwise you can't open the shower door to exit the shower. The room does not have capsul caffee machine, the only option is instant caffee with an electric kettle.
The Crown Plaza next door gave me a generous junior suite upgrade in the executive floor with ocean view (Spire Elite), the room has capsule caffee machine. The bathroom has double sinks, and Portuguese Castelbel toiletries. They also gave me a small bottle of port wine and a plate of natal de belem, nicely displayed.
Dec 10, 2021, 7:05 pm
#49
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: LEJ BRU
Posts: 1,156
I had a recent stay of one night at this hotel as a Titanium member.
The only upgrade I received was club floor. The room was right next to the elevator, yes, right next to it. the room itself has diagonal steel beams blocking the view.
The room furnishing appear modern but not practical. The walk-in shower has design flaw, its pretty much at the same level as the bathroom, the water kept leaking out. The shower door sweep is tightly touching the bathroom floor, so you can't put a towel mat by the shower door otherwise you can't open the shower door to exit the shower. The room does not have capsul caffee machine, the only option is instant caffee with an electric kettle.
The Crown Plaza next door gave me a generous junior suite upgrade in the executive floor with ocean view (Spire Elite), the room has capsule caffee machine. The bathroom has double sinks, and Portuguese Castelbel toiletries. They also gave me a small bottle of port wine and a plate of natal de belem, nicely displayed.
The only upgrade I received was club floor. The room was right next to the elevator, yes, right next to it. the room itself has diagonal steel beams blocking the view.
The room furnishing appear modern but not practical. The walk-in shower has design flaw, its pretty much at the same level as the bathroom, the water kept leaking out. The shower door sweep is tightly touching the bathroom floor, so you can't put a towel mat by the shower door otherwise you can't open the shower door to exit the shower. The room does not have capsul caffee machine, the only option is instant caffee with an electric kettle.
The Crown Plaza next door gave me a generous junior suite upgrade in the executive floor with ocean view (Spire Elite), the room has capsule caffee machine. The bathroom has double sinks, and Portuguese Castelbel toiletries. They also gave me a small bottle of port wine and a plate of natal de belem, nicely displayed.
Jun 22, 2022, 8:17 pm
#51
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: JAX
Programs: UA Plat MM, AA Gold MM, Marriott LTT, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 3,770
We stayed here for 8 nights early June. I made 2 separate reservations, first one for 3 nights and second one for 5 nights so that I can apply SNA for the 5 nights. SNA cleared before we left for Porto to Executive Suite. The hotel was full with a convention for our first 3 nights, so we didn't get a real upgrade, but the room was decent sized The Executive Suite was nice, with enough room for us to spread out and be comfortable. Both bathroom were similar, with glass wall between bathroom and bedroom with a blind. This means that when the light is on in the bathroom, the bedroom will also be lit.
Club Lounge opens at 2PM with snacks, coffee, soft drinks, orange juice, beer and wine. Happy Hour is 6-8PM with 4 hot appetizers, a few cold items, sparkling wine, dry white port, and Tawny port. Happy Hour hot offerings change every night. The offerings are rather decent most of the times. We would often have appetizers and a drink before going out to dinner. Only one night did we stay at the hotel and just ate at the Lounge for dinner. Happy Hour would be better if the times were 5-7 PM like Sheraton Lisbon. Platinum and higher elites get breakfast in the restaurant plus 1000 points amenity. Breakfast buffet at the restaurant was quite good, with the usual complement of hot and cold items plus assorted breads and desserts. Orange juice is self serve fresh squeezed in a juicing machine, consistently sweet and tasty.
Hotel is located in a more residential area and about 50 min walk or 25 min by Metro (walk to Metro and transfer) to city center where most tourist sights are. We took taxi a few times to dinner across the ricer and back, although when the traffic is backed up, Metro may be faster and a lot cheaper.
Port tasting at Kopke is highly recommended. Kopke is the oldest port house and specializes in Colheita Port (single vintage Tawny Port).
Club Lounge opens at 2PM with snacks, coffee, soft drinks, orange juice, beer and wine. Happy Hour is 6-8PM with 4 hot appetizers, a few cold items, sparkling wine, dry white port, and Tawny port. Happy Hour hot offerings change every night. The offerings are rather decent most of the times. We would often have appetizers and a drink before going out to dinner. Only one night did we stay at the hotel and just ate at the Lounge for dinner. Happy Hour would be better if the times were 5-7 PM like Sheraton Lisbon. Platinum and higher elites get breakfast in the restaurant plus 1000 points amenity. Breakfast buffet at the restaurant was quite good, with the usual complement of hot and cold items plus assorted breads and desserts. Orange juice is self serve fresh squeezed in a juicing machine, consistently sweet and tasty.
Hotel is located in a more residential area and about 50 min walk or 25 min by Metro (walk to Metro and transfer) to city center where most tourist sights are. We took taxi a few times to dinner across the ricer and back, although when the traffic is backed up, Metro may be faster and a lot cheaper.
Port tasting at Kopke is highly recommended. Kopke is the oldest port house and specializes in Colheita Port (single vintage Tawny Port).
Jul 1, 2022, 7:44 pm
#52
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: SAN
Programs: AS MVP 100K, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Lifetime Titanium Elite, UA 1MM,
Posts: 1,707
I spent three nights here and found this hotel to be nice and modern, but after spending a week in other parts of Portugal, I found it to have a lot of pros and cons, with the cons outweighing the pros.
Pros:
Cons:
Would I stay there again? Probably not.
Pros:
- Modern and updated
- Breakfast included - It was a decent buffet. This was recognized at the check in process
- They didn’t charge me for parking.
Cons:
- Its geared towards business travelers primarily
- Bed was hard as a rock. I like firm beds, but my back is still feeling the effects of this bed several days later. I have never slept so poorly across three nights consecutively.
- You really need to plan to Uber/Taxi in to the central part of town since its a long walk (35-50 minutes depending on where you are going) and uphill mostly on the way back.
- I originally had two reservations, one on points and one on a paid rate. I applied SNUs on the points rate. The paid rate got upgraded about a week out. Sat that way for a few days, then the upgrade disappeared. I decided to stay on points, and cancelled the paid stay reservation within the allowed window.
- At check in, I was told I was given an exceptional upgrade to a Club level room. Thats great, I have access to the club regardless. I don’t know if the room was any better. I got a message via email that apologized for them not being able to accomodate my SNU request. (Only had these clear once, at a Courtyard)
- We went to the spa to book reservations on Sunday for Monday and Tuesday. We got waitlisted for something on Monday, but were able to confirm Tuesday. When we showed up on Tuesday evening, there was no reservation in the system. All we got was an apology. We checked out Wednesday morning.
- I asked the front desk to schedule a taxi to be there to take us to the airport early Wednesday morning. What we ended up with that morning was a 30 Euro car service.
Would I stay there again? Probably not.
Last edited by JC5280; Jul 1, 2022 at 11:42 pm
Jul 13, 2022, 3:46 pm
#53
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Berkeley, California
Programs: Starwood Gold, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 560
Just finished a 4 night stay early in July, and agree with what's been said lately about the hotel in terms of the room, location, breakfast, bed, etc. I'm platinum and was upgraded to a club floor.
As to location, I found Uber to be pretty cheap, and my fare was frequently 4-5 Euros to the central touristy area of Porto. During the weekend, fares were around 10 Euros. I did the metro a couple of times which was pretty straightforward. It's about a 10 minute walk to the metro station (felt longer in the summer heat), and you can usually find an electric scooter near the station if you didn't want to walk back. There's a ticket machine at the metro station.
Blinds between the bathroom and bedroom can be closed for privacy.
As to location, I found Uber to be pretty cheap, and my fare was frequently 4-5 Euros to the central touristy area of Porto. During the weekend, fares were around 10 Euros. I did the metro a couple of times which was pretty straightforward. It's about a 10 minute walk to the metro station (felt longer in the summer heat), and you can usually find an electric scooter near the station if you didn't want to walk back. There's a ticket machine at the metro station.
Blinds between the bathroom and bedroom can be closed for privacy.
Sep 4, 2022, 8:20 am
#54
Moderator: Mileage Run, InterContinental Hotels
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 5,911
Just completed three nights here. Overall, not bad, not amazing.
Arrived at 11am and was told "your room isn't ready." I urgently needed some rest, so asked if any room was available (regardless of floor/bed type), not just the king club room the app had been showing since the night before. Nope, come back after 3pm. Obviously they don't owe me a check-in before 3pm, but it's hard to believe that they didn't have any room available before 3pm. Anyway, ultimately got to my club room and was underwhelmed. 11th floor, just across from the elevator, next to a protrusion in the building, so pretty much offering a 90 degree view only. Room furnishing was fine, showing some wear and tear. I'm guessing other than the higher floor, nothing sets these club rooms apart from a regular room -- no nespresso machine or other premium features. Minibar empty, not even the usual free water bottles for elites.
Club lounge on the 12th floor opens early (2pm, I think) and offers some small nibbles (cakes/crudite/prosciutto) as well as red/white wine from open to close. From 6pm to 9pm, evening happy hour sees the addition of sparkling wine and red/white port, along with four hot food items and three small plate items. Alcoholic beverages were drinkable and food above average -- decent quality, with a local touch (e.g., hot items like fish or lamb skewers, empanadas, croquettes, and small cold plates with a tasty bean/octopus salad, roast beef). Desserts are a bit of a letdown; it felt as though it was mostly leftovers from breakfast. Club staff disinterested to hostile.
Breakfast was offered in the restaurant, a decent buffet by S. European standards. Omelet station churned out a credible product (although strangely not open before 8am on weekends), plus the usual selection of hot/cold items. No huge standouts, but overall decent quality.
I'm not a fan of the location. Pretty much halfway between the beach and downtown tourist area, with nothing worthwhile in walking distance. I did walk downtown a few times, taking different routes. Most interesting was via the botanical gardens and riverfront, but that's not something the avarage person would do. Metro stop Francos is about 10 minutes away, but it's not a very pleasant walk along a street with very narrow sidewalks (NOT advised with heavy luggage or if using mobility devices). There are a couple buses that stop near the hotel, most notably 502, which takes you downtown or to the beach and Matosinhos area. In fact, I found the latter pretty appealing and took lunch there several times. Spotted a Four Points there, which the website priced at a good 30% less than the Sheraton; if beach/seafood is the objective of the trip, that place might be worth considering over the Sheraton.
Arrived at 11am and was told "your room isn't ready." I urgently needed some rest, so asked if any room was available (regardless of floor/bed type), not just the king club room the app had been showing since the night before. Nope, come back after 3pm. Obviously they don't owe me a check-in before 3pm, but it's hard to believe that they didn't have any room available before 3pm. Anyway, ultimately got to my club room and was underwhelmed. 11th floor, just across from the elevator, next to a protrusion in the building, so pretty much offering a 90 degree view only. Room furnishing was fine, showing some wear and tear. I'm guessing other than the higher floor, nothing sets these club rooms apart from a regular room -- no nespresso machine or other premium features. Minibar empty, not even the usual free water bottles for elites.
Club lounge on the 12th floor opens early (2pm, I think) and offers some small nibbles (cakes/crudite/prosciutto) as well as red/white wine from open to close. From 6pm to 9pm, evening happy hour sees the addition of sparkling wine and red/white port, along with four hot food items and three small plate items. Alcoholic beverages were drinkable and food above average -- decent quality, with a local touch (e.g., hot items like fish or lamb skewers, empanadas, croquettes, and small cold plates with a tasty bean/octopus salad, roast beef). Desserts are a bit of a letdown; it felt as though it was mostly leftovers from breakfast. Club staff disinterested to hostile.
Breakfast was offered in the restaurant, a decent buffet by S. European standards. Omelet station churned out a credible product (although strangely not open before 8am on weekends), plus the usual selection of hot/cold items. No huge standouts, but overall decent quality.
I'm not a fan of the location. Pretty much halfway between the beach and downtown tourist area, with nothing worthwhile in walking distance. I did walk downtown a few times, taking different routes. Most interesting was via the botanical gardens and riverfront, but that's not something the avarage person would do. Metro stop Francos is about 10 minutes away, but it's not a very pleasant walk along a street with very narrow sidewalks (NOT advised with heavy luggage or if using mobility devices). There are a couple buses that stop near the hotel, most notably 502, which takes you downtown or to the beach and Matosinhos area. In fact, I found the latter pretty appealing and took lunch there several times. Spotted a Four Points there, which the website priced at a good 30% less than the Sheraton; if beach/seafood is the objective of the trip, that place might be worth considering over the Sheraton.
Oct 10, 2022, 6:43 am
#55
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands
Programs: Marriott LTP, Hilton Gold, ITA Elite+, Cathay S, Singapore S, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 3,147
Stayed here in August, hotel was ok, room a bit dated. I can see how it was a nice room 10 years ago, but it's just o.k. now. Bed was definitely not a Sheraton Sweetsleeper either.
Breakfast was good, club lounge was ok, good snack selection ok drink selections. Some ok wines, nice views form the outside patio though. Location not very good, but Ubers are cheap and plentyfull.
Next time I would stay at the Four Points instead, way newer and nicer hotel, a bit further out of town, but near the beach. Still easy enough to catch an Uber form there, or take the bus.
Breakfast was good, club lounge was ok, good snack selection ok drink selections. Some ok wines, nice views form the outside patio though. Location not very good, but Ubers are cheap and plentyfull.
Next time I would stay at the Four Points instead, way newer and nicer hotel, a bit further out of town, but near the beach. Still easy enough to catch an Uber form there, or take the bus.
May 6, 2023, 4:48 am
#56
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: USA
Programs: All
Posts: 104
Question to FTers : I am Titanium and was trying to decide booking a points reservation between Sheraton Porto and newly opened Renaissance. Was told by Sheraton that the Sheraton Club is only available to those who book a Club level room and Titaniums are not upgraded to Club level rooms. Is this legit ? TIA !
May 6, 2023, 5:42 am
#57
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AUS
Programs: BAEC Gold, AA PPro, Hyatt Globalist, Amex Plat
Posts: 7,029
Question to FTers : I am Titanium and was trying to decide booking a points reservation between Sheraton Porto and newly opened Renaissance. Was told by Sheraton that the Sheraton Club is only available to those who book a Club level room and Titaniums are not upgraded to Club level rooms. Is this legit ? TIA !
However, we absolutely did have club access during the stay.
Regards
May 7, 2023, 4:43 am
#58
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: USA
Programs: All
Posts: 104
That does not sound correct to me. We just recently stayed at this property (a couple weeks ago). My wife is Marriott Platinum. Unfortunately, at check in for some reason they did not see my wife's status in the reservation (not sure why, but that is irrelevant at this point) so we had not been upgraded prior to arrival. However, she refreshed with my wife's status and said she was trying to find a club level room to upgrade us to but at that point there were not any left (which I confirmed in the app). However, she did upgrade us one category, just not on the club level. But it certainly seemed she was planning to upgrade us to a club level room had there been one available.
However, we absolutely did have club access during the stay.
Regards
However, we absolutely did have club access during the stay.
Regards
Jun 10, 2023, 2:50 pm
#59
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Lisboa
Programs: BAEC Gold, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire, Easyjet Flight Club
Posts: 450
Have stayed here previously before Covid and the Titanium / Plat Premier treatment was amazing and usually included suite upgrades.
Stayed here recently and only got upgraded to a “club room” which in reality is the same as the entry level rooms. There were multiple category of suites available.
Also rate included breakfast and wasn’t offered any sort of welcome gift on arrival.
I assume the property managment have actively decided to downgrade elite treatment. Feels more like staying in the US than Europe.
Stayed here recently and only got upgraded to a “club room” which in reality is the same as the entry level rooms. There were multiple category of suites available.
Also rate included breakfast and wasn’t offered any sort of welcome gift on arrival.
I assume the property managment have actively decided to downgrade elite treatment. Feels more like staying in the US than Europe.
Jul 21, 2023, 6:56 am
#60
Moderator: Mileage Run, InterContinental Hotels
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 5,911
Spent four nights here recently. Some minor updates from my 2022 report above:
Was assigned the same room I had in 2022, 11th floor club room. Pretty unimpressive and worn, but now equipped with a Nespresso machine and water. Gilchrist and Soames toiletries. As mmodgan reported above, all suite types were showing available for booking. Because the hotel is known for its stingy policies (Should an upgraded room type include the room benefits?), I decided to ask for a suite (even though haggling for upgrades is not something I usually do). Basically, the suggestion was, need to use SNA if you want a suite. Because we arrived at 10am, I decided to take my available club room, rather than pushing for a suite, which undoubtedly would have necessitated a wait until normal check-in time.
Lounge opening hours are now 11am - 9pm, with wine and beer available throughout, plus snacks from 11am-6pm. From 6pm-8pm, sparkling wine and red/white port are available, along with four hot items and three small plates (salads and the like). The hot items are pretty tasty and with a local touch, veal stew, squid, and so forth, but some fried junk like spring rolls is also available. Staff are mostly absent and disinterested, nobody clears tables and the lounge looks rather messy. The balcony is a nice place to watch the sunset, although it can be rather chilly out there on a windy day.
Breakfast is pretty unexciting. You have the basic European and American items (including an egg station), but the food wasn't very tasty or high quality.
Because of my middling experiences in 2022 and the Sheraton's reputation for stinginess, I had thought of staying at the IC near Sao Bento, or the new IHG Vignette Collection (Casa da Companhia) instead. But at €300 a night, these were well more than twice my rate at the Sheraton, and I didn't want to be right in the tourist core (plus, in case of the IC, next to a major construction site). Would have liked to check out the Renaissance, but missed the boat on cheap rates (sub-€120 or 20k points/night) bookable right after opening; by the time I was considering switching from the Sheraton, the Renaissance was close to €200. Bolt is extremely cheap in Portugal, and trips to Sao Bento or the beach would often be in the €5 range from the Sheraton. Thus, no need to reject the Sheraton based on the location alone.
Finally, to shed light on this mystery:
This is related to the info I linked in the thread above. Even if the Sheraton upgrades you to the "Club and Spa Access Level," you do not get free access to the pool. We checked out the pool area; given a tour by a very friendly staff member -- there was no mention of having to pay, but we didn't actually go back and try to gain access. But as Plat/Tit/Amb, you will get access to the lounge no matter what.
Was assigned the same room I had in 2022, 11th floor club room. Pretty unimpressive and worn, but now equipped with a Nespresso machine and water. Gilchrist and Soames toiletries. As mmodgan reported above, all suite types were showing available for booking. Because the hotel is known for its stingy policies (Should an upgraded room type include the room benefits?), I decided to ask for a suite (even though haggling for upgrades is not something I usually do). Basically, the suggestion was, need to use SNA if you want a suite. Because we arrived at 10am, I decided to take my available club room, rather than pushing for a suite, which undoubtedly would have necessitated a wait until normal check-in time.
Lounge opening hours are now 11am - 9pm, with wine and beer available throughout, plus snacks from 11am-6pm. From 6pm-8pm, sparkling wine and red/white port are available, along with four hot items and three small plates (salads and the like). The hot items are pretty tasty and with a local touch, veal stew, squid, and so forth, but some fried junk like spring rolls is also available. Staff are mostly absent and disinterested, nobody clears tables and the lounge looks rather messy. The balcony is a nice place to watch the sunset, although it can be rather chilly out there on a windy day.
Breakfast is pretty unexciting. You have the basic European and American items (including an egg station), but the food wasn't very tasty or high quality.
Because of my middling experiences in 2022 and the Sheraton's reputation for stinginess, I had thought of staying at the IC near Sao Bento, or the new IHG Vignette Collection (Casa da Companhia) instead. But at €300 a night, these were well more than twice my rate at the Sheraton, and I didn't want to be right in the tourist core (plus, in case of the IC, next to a major construction site). Would have liked to check out the Renaissance, but missed the boat on cheap rates (sub-€120 or 20k points/night) bookable right after opening; by the time I was considering switching from the Sheraton, the Renaissance was close to €200. Bolt is extremely cheap in Portugal, and trips to Sao Bento or the beach would often be in the €5 range from the Sheraton. Thus, no need to reject the Sheraton based on the location alone.
Finally, to shed light on this mystery:
Question to FTers : I am Titanium and was trying to decide booking a points reservation between Sheraton Porto and newly opened Renaissance. Was told by Sheraton that the Sheraton Club is only available to those who book a Club level room and Titaniums are not upgraded to Club level rooms. Is this legit ? TIA !