Holiday Inn Porto - Gaia

Large hotel with spacious and comfortable common areas. The room and bathroom were also large and comfortable. However, the carpet was quite stained, the bathroom ventilation wasn’t working, and the TV had poor signal. The elevators were extremely slow, which meant long waits during peak hours. Also, the elevator in the reception area, although visually impressive, made a rather frightening noise. Overall, the hotel is in need of renovation.

Not far from the Douro river and the famous Luis I bridge. Rooms are comfortable, quite spacious, clean and well organized, yet still standard hotel quality. Could not find an option to lower the room temperature, so it was quite warm (more than we expected). Windows could not be opened to get some fresh air inside. Good breakfast available with a bunch of options, from 07:00 to 10:00, usually included in the stay. Private parking options available at request for a small charge, but also possible to park in the streets around. Receptionist wanted to charge tourism tax from us during the checkout, but fortunately was advised by another staff member that it had already been paid. Not sure who is looking after reviews here, but does not seem legit.

The room was huge and included a kitchen. The bed was very comfortable and had a good view. I wish there were more utensils for the kitchen. I rated service low because it took a long time for us to get our food in the restaurant. I'm all about being patient but it took 45 minutes just to get the bottle of water we ordered. Although there is not much to do around the hotel, it's very close to the old city and a metro station is being built across the street.