Hotels in Porto: eight places to stay on both banks of the Douro

The row of houses on Praça da Ribeira

Pestana Vintage Porto is made up of a row of old houses right on Praça da Ribeira, the quayside square at the heart of the Ribeira, so river-facing rooms look straight across to the port lodges of Gaia and along to the Dom Luís bridge. The houses are linked inside by stairs and corridors on different levels, so no two rooms are alike.

This is the hotel for travellers who want to sleep inside the postcard, with the quay below the window and the sound of the river and the restaurants in the evening. It is made for couples and first-time visitors who do not mind a climb. The square is busy until late, and rooms vary a great deal in size and light, so ask for a river view and be ready for stairs.

The artists' rooms above Miragaia

Torel Avantgarde sits on a slope in Miragaia, some way west of the Ribeira, and every floor and every room is decorated after an artist or writer of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The terrace with its pool and the restaurant, Digby, sit on the edge of the slope with the river and the Arrábida bridge below.

This is our pick for design: bold, colourful and personal, with a view from almost every room. It is ideal for couples who want something different and an evening by the pool with the river in sight. The hillside position means you climb or descend wherever you are going, and the Ribeira is a quarter of an hour away along the river, so skip it if you want the city on the doorstep.

The palace on Praça da Liberdade

The hotel occupies an old palace that fills the whole short side of Praça da Liberdade, where Avenida dos Aliados ends and the streets down to the Ribeira begin, with São Bento station and the Aliados metro stop a couple of minutes away. The façade is long and classical, and rooms facing the square look up the full length of the avenue to the town hall.

We recommend it for a first visit because it makes everything simple: you arrive by metro from the airport, walk down to the Ribeira in ten minutes and to the Clérigos in five, and have the city's largest square in front of the entrance. Service and rooms are what you expect from a big chain hotel at its best, and breakfast is substantial. It is large and formal, so it does not suit anyone who wants small and personal.

Art Deco on the Aliados

The One Monumental Palace stands directly on Avenida dos Aliados in a building that was once a grand café, and the old café on the ground floor has been reopened with mirrors, marble and high ceilings. The hotel has a spa with an indoor pool in the basement and rooms facing either the avenue or a quiet inner courtyard.

This is the hotel for travellers who want French elegance and Art Deco on the most central street in the city, with a spa for the rainy days. It is right for couples who want classic luxury without staying in an eighteenth-century palace. The avenue is busy and the cobbles are loud at night, so ask for the courtyard if you sleep lightly, and know that the view from the rooms is city, not river.

The spice rooms on Rua do Almada

Torel 1884 occupies an old town house on Rua do Almada, a quiet street a couple of blocks from the Aliados and the Clérigos, and the rooms are themed on the goods of the Portuguese voyages of discovery: cinnamon, silk, porcelain and tea among them. There is a small bar and a restaurant on the ground floor, and the roof terrace looks over the rooftops of the Baixa.

This is our pick for value: thorough design, high ceilings, personal service and a location in the middle of the centre at a rate well below the big hotels on the Aliados. It is a strong pick for travellers who like small hotels where you greet the same faces every morning. Street-facing rooms hear the city, and there is no spa or pool, so pass on it if you want facilities.

The old grand hotel behind the Clérigos

The Infante Sagres stands on a quiet street beside Praça de Lisboa and the Clérigos tower, a couple of minutes from the Aliados, and has been the city's classic luxury hotel for decades. Inside it mixes the old, such as the stained glass on the staircase, with newer design in the rooms and the bar.

It appeals to travellers who want tradition and calm in the middle of town, with the Lello bookshop, the university and the bars of the Galerias de Paris round the corner. Rooms are generous, and the bar is somewhere Porto locals go too. There is no river view and no terrace with an outlook, so it does not suit anyone who is in Porto for the photographs from the balcony.

The pool with the city behind it

The Yeatman sits at the top of the slope in Gaia, above the Taylor's port cellars, and is built in terraces so that every room has a balcony facing Porto across the river. The outdoor pool is shaped like a decanter and hangs on the edge with the whole city behind it, and the wine cellar holds Portuguese wines from across the country.

This is our pick for romance: dinner in the restaurant with the view, wine tastings, a spa with grape-based treatments and a balcony where the sun sets behind the Ribeira. It is well suited to couples who want calm and plan to spend an evening at the hotel. The drawback is that you are in Gaia, with a bridge and a hill between you and Porto's bars, so look elsewhere if you want to pop in and out of the city several times a day.

The mansion on the seafront

Vila Foz occupies an old mansion right by the seafront promenade in Foz, with the Atlantic across the road and a modern wing behind holding the spa and an indoor pool. Rooms in the main house have stucco ceilings and tall windows onto the sea, and the restaurant is among the most talked about in the city.

We recommend it to families and to anyone who wants to combine city and ocean: a morning swim in the sea or the pool, the tram into the Ribeira for lunch, and an evening of seafood by the promenade. It also suits couples who want calm and design. You are half an hour from the centre, and the tram runs rarely in the evening, so you will need a taxi home after dinner in town.