Hotel Torel Avantgarde

Breakfast was included, and what a spread it was, with mimosas and plenty more. Dinner was just as memorable: the Arroz De Pato was divine. Everyone, from the concierge to the wait staff, was friendly, gave us great local recommendations, and even helped us work on our Portuguese. Our stay came about because AirBnB royally screwed up, and we never would have had this experience otherwise. André and Danielly at the front desk made it special right from check-in. We got an upgraded room with an amazing view of Porto and a tour of the property. André even helped us book a top tier Port wine tasting at Ferreira. This is our spot whenever we’re in Porto from now on!

The restaurant views are incredible, and the service was amazing. It’s fairly central, but tucked away from the main streets so it stays quiet. I loved the hotel. The design was a bit too funky for my taste, and the bathroom, especially the shower, was small. Still, I’d stay here again.

The views from the hotel are fantastic. We could see the Douro River and Porto’s lovely architecture while dining, and breakfast came with a generous, appetizing buffet. We also ate at Digby, where both the main and dessert were wonderful, as was the service. The staff were very pleasant, and the Royal Suite was spacious and comfortable, with its Leonardo DaVinci inspired decor still charming even though it wasn’t very new. A couple of problems spoiled things. The balcony door wouldn’t shut, and after maintenance came, we thought it had been fixed. At 5 in the morning, wind threw it open with a thud and woke us. When I mentioned it at the front desk as we left, they said they’d fix it after we were gone, but offered no other recourse. The toilet flush also stopped working. Someone from reception came and seemed to know the fix, since this had clearly happened before. He tapped and then banged on the wall until it worked. I would have liked to give five stars for the pleasant staff and high quality food, but those glitches made the stay less than ideal.

We ended up staying twice recently, and both rooms were lovely. The Leonardo da Vinci room was larger, with a terrace and jacuzzi. Before that, we had the Coco Channel room, which was smaller but had a huge bath overlooking the city and river, with a great view. We hadn’t booked the first stay because we planned to go up the Douro valley, but our plane was late. I called at short notice to ask about a room, and Erika told us to come in and gave us the coco channel room. Super helpful. Everyone was friendly, young, and dynamic, and the service was excellent. We’ll certainly stay again next time we’re in Porto. Highly recommend.