Vera Cruz Porto Downtown Hotel

Poor breakfast Renovation noise from an adjacent building throughout the day. On 8/10/23 I was supposed to arrive to the hotel, in light of the Hamas attack the day before, all flights in Israel were canceled, despite repeated requests and the help of the booking team, the hotel refused to refund cancellation fees and not give credit for another date. I made a mistake and chose this hotel again, one of the days I arrived at the hotel with a friend, the receptionist "jumped" on me and forbade her to enter, presented a document in Portuguese that I do not understand about "law" anyway, all my requests were of no use only after I paid 35 euros extra for the guest, she agreed to let her in, the guest did not stayed to sleep I have never encountered such behavior and demands and I travel a lot.

Fabulous greeting from Lucas, he was so helpful. The room was clean and functional. The location is perfect for the main part of the city. The shower temp could do with being a little warmer but everything else was perfect. Thanks again Lucas you made our stay wonderful and trouble free!

Conveniently situated, comfortable rooms and great reception staff. I was impressed with this hotel and chose to return for a final night at the end of my itinerary. My second stay was in an upgrade to the first. Both rooms had great bathrooms and comfortable beds. The towels were not enormous and not the most luxurious but perfectly adequate. The upgraded room had a kettle which was a massive bonus. The carpets in both bedrooms had seen better days and really need replacing. There is a big jump in quality between the bathroom and the bedroom which was somewhat unusual. The position of the hotel is very good. Walking distance to the metro and to Sao Bento station. There is a great deal of construction of a new metro line going on at the moment which slightly hampers progress but obviously this will end at some point and you will be able to appreciate the architecture and upmarket shops on the Avenida. I found the hotel to be quiet although of course events in the main square can be lively. I was there for the Queima das Fitas which was great fun and finished at a reasonable time a d the whole square and Avenida were cleaned and back to normal very quickly. The really strong point of this hotel is the Reception staff who are multilingual and well travelled. Incredibly helpful, friendly and professional they make this hotel a top choice.

The longer I stayed, the more my opinion of the hotel changed! My first impressions were that this was an average, budget hotel: a small room with a small double bed, old fashioned furniture, tiny shower cubicle, no fridge, kettle or bottled water and a waste bin that still had someone’s trash in it. BUT… the room was otherwise clean and functional and the ladies on reception were amazing and the friendliest people ever. They spoke fantastic English and greeted me by name every time I left or came back (you have to leave your room key with them). They provided a map and advice on where to go and offered to arrange a taxi when I left etc. You are asked what time you want breakfast when you check in which is a bit odd, but the breakfast room on the 9th floor is small so breakfast times have to be staggered. There is a rope cordon across the entrance to stop people going in (not very welcoming). Breakfast was simple but adequate. The hotel is less than 5 minutes’ walk from Trindade station (if you’re coming from the airport) and in a side street opposite the city hall and the Porto sign. It’s 10-15 minutes to walk downhill to most of the sights and down to the river. The main road is noisy with cars and buses rumbling all night so you might have difficulty sleeping with the window open if you have a front facing balcony room. The walls are thin, so you can hear people talking in the next rooms. However, I really enjoyed my stay as a solo traveller and for 90 Euros a night (including breakfast), this was good value for Porto.