Alojamento Local Monte Sinai

The hostel is an old building that's poorly cared for, with worn furniture, appliances and walls. The bathroom sink and bathtub have been patched with plaster in a very amateurish way. It looks as if whoever owns it doesn't care, letting things slowly deteriorate and making cheap quick fixes for each problem. The smoke was what made the stay horrible, whatever the price. Our room smelled strongly of cigarettes when we were shown in. The cleaning lady said it was probably left by previous guests, suggested opening the window and said she'd replace the mattress. Later that evening, we realized the smell came from the doorman smoking in his cabin inside the hostel. It was intense whenever he opened the door. In the morning, the same cleaner first blamed the people next door, then admitted the doorman regularly smoked indoors and that she sometimes did too. We couldn't sleep properly. My girlfriend has mild asthma, and I'm someone who prefers being outdoors. We couldn't keep the window open because it faced one of Porto's busiest streets, even at night, leading to the bridge across to Gaia on the other side of the river. The blinds' closing mechanism was broken, so we were left with just a curtain and couldn't make the room dark.

I arrived close to midnight, tired and confused when the older receptionist opened the door and tried to explain the 4€ tax. I spoke to him a little angrily, saying I'd already paid everything on the website because I didn't understand what he meant. Later I booked another hotel and they also charged a tax, over 14€, so I feel really sorry for speaking to him that way. He was very gentle and explained it kindly. The hotel was good overall. It's not that clean, but okay for the price, and being in the city makes it hard to find somewhere this affordable and safe. The service was good, and the morning receptionist was gentle too. There are older people working there. When I left, I gave him money along with another man, though I'm not sure if he was the boss. I hope he gets the money 💕❤️

We booked two nights. The entrance has steep stairs, and our room itself was very clean with fresh towels and bedding. Still, we barely slept because the French people next door were extremely rude, leaving their phones and alarms ringing loudly throughout the night and early mornings. Cigarette smoke also filled our room from theirs. Staff seemed friendly enough and tried to sort things out as much as they could during our short stay.

The location worked well, with a supermarket and restaurants about a five-minute walk away, plus the bridge nearby for pleasant walks. The staff helped when we needed them, and brought fans when it got very hot since there was no air conditioning. The building had strong Wi-Fi, but it didn't reach our room, which made a real difference to our stay.