Hilton Porto Gaia, Portugal

Set on the Gaia side of Porto’s Douro River and housed in a refurbished wine warehouse, the Hilton Porto Gaia is a true five-star hotel, with excellent staff and amenities.

The hotel corridors are the widest I’ve seen for a long time.

We were upgraded to a large room (135) with a terrace as part of HHonors Diamond benefits.

A welcome gift of water and classic Portuguese pasteis de nata (custard puff pastry tarts).

Kettle plus pod coffee maker.

Bathrobes, slippers and safe.

Terrace – well more like a garden really.

The bathroom was modern – through another door was the largest walk-in shower I’ve ever seen.

Separate toilet.

We headed up to the Executive Lounge on the third floor.

There was a small selection of hot food items, such as chicken wings, during happy hour, which I think was 5 – 8pm. The only issue was the food wasn’t kept hot, nor replenished and so it was usually cold.

The executive lounge is next door to the panoramic bar/restaurant ‘Magma’, but the lounge doesn’t have any windows. We went next door to have a look at the spectacular view. It’s amazing to think this is just the third floor of the Hilton as it feels higher.

We discovered a room that used to be part of the lounge and was now part of the bar.

Let’s hope this room is returned to the lounge so guests can enjoy free drinks with this view.

Breakfast was in a huge room on the ground floor. A really excellent breakfast with everything you could want, including cooked-to-order poached eggs, an omelette station and complimentary sparkling wine.

The pool/spa was truly luxurious.

The main pool water was warm, but still suitable for swimming.

A much warmer spa pool had multiple hydrotherapy jets.

There was also a wet and dry sauna, plus an interesting shower that replicated a tropical rainstorm together with rainforest sound effects.

Every member of staff with whom we interacted was friendly, helpful and professional.

The Hilton Porto Gaia is in a great location for visiting local Port wine cellars and just a short walk to the Douro River where you can cross the bridge to the old town. There isn’t an easy way to get to the hotel from/to the airport – expect to pay €30 in a taxi.

If you plan to visit Porto, I’d highly recommend the Hilton Porto Gaia.