Dom Henrique Hotel - Porto, Portugal     

My husband and I spent 2 nights here in May, and found the hotel to be great overall, but definitely not a 4 star hotel in the usual way of thinking. We walked in off the street and were given a great room for 68 euro, which we thought was great value. That night though the reason for the discount was quite apparent - we were right next to the elevator shaft and directly under the kitchen area of the 17th floor restaurant/bar - which equalled shocking noise all night. I had to sleep with my i-pod on to block out the air con noise, lift mechanical noise and wait staff banging and clashing upstairs until 2am. We had dinner one night in the hotel and it was OK - food was very nice but service left alot to be desired. Breakfast was disappointing - on both mornings we arrived to no coffee, juice, eggs, bacon, spoons, cups, bowls, and we had to ask for all. We did try different times for breakfast 8am and 9am, so it wasnt as if we arrived as they were trying to pack up, so that was a bit average. Reception staff were good, spoke good english. One computer was available with intrnet access, however it didn't work, so that was a bit disappointing. Location wise, this hotel is close to the shopping areas, and easy walk to the Ribiera (although uphill all the way back again!). All in all, we loved Porto, it is a fabulous place, but this hotel could do with some smartening up in a few areas.

We stayed for two nights and loved the quiet. We enjoy fresh air and could leave the ample window open and still sleep. As others have noted, this hotel is not in the center of tourist activity, nor would I wander around at night but it is close enough to the Ribeiro and Metro lines to be adequately located. Our concerns had to do with the dining facilities and attitudes of the staff. While we found breakfast quite adequate (and don't understand others' comments about the size of the dining room), dinner was lousy and expensive. Service was bordering on rude and the food was just plain bad. The attitude of those at the front desk was similar: indifferent and uninterested in providing any service. We never even SAW a bellman, and since we were on the road for three weeks, we could have used a bellman's services. Additionally, there are no ice machines on the floors and we had to call the front desk for ice. The woman they sent up was from housekeeping and gave us shower gel! We couldn't make her understand that we wanted ice and when we showed her the portugese word for ice (gelos) from the small pocket guide we had, she insisted she had brought us the proper item: shower gel. We finally got our ice but given the amount, barely a cup full, I'm not sure it was worth the trouble. Given all that, the room was large and clean, though a bit worn and dated, the beds comfortable and the bath clean and nicely appointed.