Porto: idyllic, unmissable and full of history. This wonderful city that gave Portugal its name is one of the favorite destinations and on the bucket list of many people, who seek it out for the hotels with wonderful views, for the abundant culture, and of course, for the wine, which nicely waters meals and completes the wonderful and colorful sunsets.
Whether you are looking for a quaint boutique hotel, or somewhere to relax overlooking the Douro River, this is our selection of the best hotels in Porto. Take notes, and if you need to, talk to us, we are here to help you.
PortoBay Flores
It’s possible to live in the same city for more than three decades and still be occasionally surprised, even by postcards you already know exist. It is one of those surprises that you unwrap when you pull back the curtains of the rooms on the upper floors of the PortoBay Flores: a brilliant 180 degree view of the houses that spill over to the banks of the Douro. In prominence, the imposing Cathedral, high up on the hill. And no matter how many times we see it, there’s always a tightening in the Porto heart.
Open since 2019, it took a building with over 500 years of history and renovated it into a two-area construction. On the street face, the old facade has brightened up and stands out on the pedestrian street. Inside, huge granite columns, vaulted ceilings and an elegant, welcoming atmosphere serve as the first experience.
Hidden at the back is a secluded, green courtyard that serves as a refuge from the movement and noise coming from the street – and where the 18th-century Baroque chapel is also hidden. Today, there is an interior connection to the new area, a seven-story block, the result of a project by architect Samuel Torres de Carvalho. A combination of styles and eras that doesn’t clash and enhances the building’s old history.
In contrast, the spaces of the spacious Bistrô Flores take full advantage of the palace’s halls, with warm decoration, from the wainscoting to the wallpaper and textured furniture. Lunches, dinners, and, of course, breakfasts are served there.
Vignette Collection Casa da Companhia (Casa da Companhia Hotel)
For two centuries it was part of the history of Port wine, now it is part of the elite of luxury hotels in the city. Right in the historic center, Casa da Companhia maintains its ties to the past. With an immaculately white exterior, edged by the appropriate stonework, what first surprises us at Casa da Companhia is the terracotta color of its interior. It looks more like an exterior – and it would be, were it not for the glass skylight that encloses the patio of this first floor in Porto’s Rua das Flores.
Casa da Companhia is synonymous with history and tradition in the city of Porto. With a strong connection to wine, conviviality and high-quality standards.Casa da Companhia is synonymous with history and tradition in the city of Porto. With a strong connection to wine, conviviality and high-quality standards.
The Editory Boulevard Aliados Porto Hotel
Enter the Ilícito bar at door 224, Rua do Almada, in Porto – which we are promised will be one of the liveliest of Porto’s nightlife – and look up at the ceiling. If you accept the suggestion, you will be surprised and, certainly, you will let out a laugh. It may not look it, but you are in a hotel. Divided between this Bohemian street and the privileged Avenida dos Aliados, the Editory Boulevard Aliados wants to provoke, between burlesque and circus, without losing the comfort and service of a five star hotel.
Part of The Editory Collection group, this new luxury hotel offers a total of 68 rooms – each of which has its own image -, a heated outdoor pool, a gym open 24 hours a day, as well as two meeting rooms that together can accommodate a total of 30 people. In addition, this hotel has a bar with 30 seats. There is also a restaurant with capacity for 50 people, with an entrance to Rua do Almada, whose menu is designed by Chef André Silva.
The Yeatman Hotel
Porto is considered one of the most passionate cities in Portugal. Add this to a whimsical hotel and, then, we have a complete experience. But it is in Vila Nova de Gaia, a city on the other side of the Douro that has the best views of Porto, that one of the most incredible hotels in the region is located: The Yeatman.
Whether for its views of the Douro river and the Porto waterfront, for the wine aspect that fills every corner or for its two Michelin star restaurant, the hotel is like an oasis in one of the most populated cities in Portugal.
Opened in 2010, The Yeatman is like an urban resort and occupies an area of over 30,000 square meters in a waterfall construction. This means that the lobby is on the top floor and the accommodations are spread out over the lower floors.
Vila Foz Hotel & Spa
Most people who come from afar to visit Porto stay in the historic center, with its atmospheric narrow streets and colorful buildings. But many forget about the preciousness that is the seaside area, where the sea kisses the land: the Foz do Douro area.
Vila Foz is a gem for those who want to see the slower side of Portugal’s second city. It has a beautiful waterfront location in an iconic neighborhood of the city, west of the city center and facing the Atlantic. Many of the 68 rooms and suites have stunning ocean views from their floor-to-ceiling windows.
M.Ou.Co
Music and Other Things is the motto that gives the name to M.Ou.Co. It is not just a hotel, but a House where Culture and Arts go hand in hand. This space is located in the city of Porto, more precisely in the parish of Bonfim. Here, one can live and breathe music in a more private or more social environment.
It was in the summer of 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, that M.Ou.Co. opened its doors and, since then, interest, and curiosity in getting to know the space has increased significantly: “Although the initial months were very atypical, communication, acceptance, and the surprise factor always worked very well, and, initially, the concerts were held in the hotel’s outdoor space, with sold out capacity”, recalls the person responsible. Added to this is the fact that it is a “multifaceted space” that easily pleases guests and visitors, who are driven to know the cultural and social offer of the M.Ou. Co: “The bar and restaurant are spaces that are very popular for lunches or even for telecommuting, as well as the performance room that has 240 square meters, and is prepared to host not only the concerts planned in a cultural agenda with its own schedule, which is designed on a monthly basis, but also seminars, as a place to share knowledge and expertise.
In an ode to the arts, culture and music, M.Ou.Co. clients can also enjoy the terrace and outdoor pool, where they can listen to an album or read a book while enjoying a drink or a snack. Here, four-legged friends are welcome and M.Ou.Co is a pet friendly hotel.
Torel Palace Porto
Walls lined with frescoes and an imposing skylight are part of this hotel that Pandemic closed shortly after it debuted. Fully renovated, it awaits better days to reopen.
Upon entering Torel Palace Porto, our eyes immediately go up to the ceiling where countless books are suspended, we feel we are in a special place. We take a step forward, and the delicate scenery with which everything is decorated, making it seem like we’ve entered a palace, proves it. The latest of the group’s hotels to open (it was supposed to be the first, but the restoration work was delayed), Torel Palace Porto joins Torel Palace Lisbon, Torel Avantgarde and Torel 1884 Suites & Apartments, the latter two also located in Porto.
Built in a romantic 19th-century palace (the former Palacete Campos Navarro) it has been transformed into a 5-star boutique hotel inspired by Portuguese literature, and is undoubtedly a place that thrives on details. For example, the hotel’s 24 rooms and suites borrow names from some of Portugal’s writers and poets: Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Alexandre Herculano, Almeida Garrett, Antero de Quental, Bocage, Camilo Castelo, Eugénio de Andrade, Fernando Pessoa or Florbela Espanca are some names honored. There are eight versions of rooms and suites, ranging from classic to deluxe classic, from superior suite to royal suite, but all of them have a plaque, on the outside, marking the name of the Portuguese author they remember.
The interior design was entrusted to Isabel Sá Nogueira, who has already worked on others of the group’s hotels, including the Torel Palace Lisboa project, as well as the common areas of Torel Avantgarde. Among them, the fabulous Blind, the hotel restaurant, a dark and enigmatic space that is a tribute to José Saramago’s Blindness, and that has a word in braille written on the walls (a challenge for the visitors, who, if they guess, will choose a free cocktail).
Torel Avantgarde
The Torel Avantgarde, a five-star unit in Porto, was considered the “Hotel with the Best View” in Portugal in the Haute Grandeur Global Awards, a prestigious global initiative that distinguishes excellence in hotels, villas, resorts, retreats, spas, and restaurants around the world.
The Torel Avantgarde is a five-star city resort, offering breathtaking views over the city of Porto and the Douro River, and featuring 60 rooms and suites, swimming pools, a spa, and the Maisonette, an exclusive space with private and Jacuzzi, which is dedicated to film director Alfred Hitchcock.
Don’t miss these wonderful hotels, and the city of Porto. We are waiting for you in Portugal.