Residencial Faria Guimarães

The location is the only good thing about this place. It is worth spending the extra euros on a place with polite management - DO NOT stay here. Initial welcome was a bit harsh, but we have no issues so long the treatment is fair. The next morning, we sat in the stairwell doing our work because the wifi didn’t work in our room. She came up and asked us about it, we told her, didn’t complain, and she seemed to look into it. Then she came back and said that Brazilian and American phones are the problem, so since we’re from the US, we just had to deal with bad phones. We were fine using the hall to work and check emails/messages, but then she became angry and told us we couldn’t stand in the hall with no foot traffic - we weren’t blocking anyone. Even late one night when we quietly opened the door to check our phones and connect to the internet, she came roaring up the stairs and yelled at us to go back into our rooms—like we were children. She said we couldn’t play our music, and late at night no music was allowed, no matter how quiet. And because she insists on taking the keys before you leave, you’d think she’d be used to climbing up and down the stairs, but she still managed to yell at us in Portuguese for leaving and coming back. Sometimes we forgot something we needed, other times we just needed back in. Usually when you rent a place to stay, you have some amount of freedom to come and go as you please. Not here! She treats the patrons like children she never wanted and hates having in the house. I’m not sure if she just manages the property or if she owns it, but I’ve never met someone with so much anger and hatred for life and living. There is no joy here. Staying at the local train station would have been nicer. Give your money to someone else.

I'm very hesitant in general to write a bad review, or complain much at all (especially with independent businesses in general). But I think it's only right to highlight the fact that the receptionist makes you feel unwelcome from the start. You're also not allowed to leave the hotel with your room keys... So if you're out and about, and want to go back to your room, you have to rely on someone opening door for you when you press the buzzer. I've spent a lot of time in Porto, its such a beautiful city and it's worth just spending an extra €20/30 per night and find a more welcoming guest house or hotel. I quickly left and booked another hotel... Again, I really don't like leaving bad reviews but feel like it's only right to say something for others to read. I guess if you're a solo traveler and just need five/six hours sleep one night, then it might be suitable (and okay, location is good and room wasn't too bad for me) but I don't recommend for people booking for 2+ nights purely because of the service you receive.