Nao Catedral Boutique Hotel

I arrived around 9am, hoping to work in the lobby or leave my bags somewhere before exploring until the 2pm check-in. But there was nobody on site to open the door to the supposed lobby. I had to sit on the floor until a staff member arrived, then learned there isn't actually a lobby. Everything runs through the machine, and the staff member couldn't arrange an early check-in. There are lockers for your things, if you can get through the locked door. At 2pm, the machine asked everyone on the reservation to scan a passport or ID. The second person in my party wasn't there and wouldn't arrive until that night, so I couldn't check in. I called the hotel and was told to open the door using the camera, since they use security cameras instead of staff on site. The auto check-in was more hassle than it was worth. The room was small but decent, and the location is great. This isn't a good choice if everyone on your reservation can't be there at 2pm.

The location was perfect for us, and the room was clean and tidy. But there was no reception, just a machine at the entrance, and our basement room had no window and didn't look like the pictures. Getting into the building required a key and a card. The machine gave us the card but no pin to retrieve the key from the box, which was very annoying.

Room 12, the “suite,” was in the basement with no windows or natural light, and it was damp. There was even a live cockroach as a welcome pack, and the shower water wasn't hot. I paid the same as I did for another suite on the 2nd level, so this was totally unacceptable. I'm still waiting for the hotel to answer about the problems during my stay.

The location is fantastic, and the upstairs patio overlooking the city was amazing to share with a friend over a glass of wine. The bathroom setup is awkward if you're not staying alone, since the toilet is in a fairly small room with no door. Check-in was a problem, as I'd read it had been for other people. Without an international phone and a translator, I wouldn't have known what to do.