CASA CAMÉLIA0

How fortunate my daughter, granddaughter, and myself happened upon the Casa Camelia on our visit to Porto. Visit the website to discover the 18th century home and gardens that have been meticulously renovated and personalized by Corrine and Raphael. The views from our suite of the gardens, Camelia trees, the River Douro and city were magnificent. Evident in every space are wall murals created by a local artist of the city you are touring. The hosts and staff are present to act as your personal concierge, if needed, for restaurant recommendations, reservations, easy access and directions to the sites, etc. Thank you to Corrine and Raphael for creating a place of peace and tranquillity, Karen, Jennifer and Emily

First of all the hosts are exceptionally kind, helpful, and loving people. The accommodation is outstanding in its comfort and location with a great view over the river and city. A short walk and I was in the old town or down at the river. A longer walk brought me all the way to the sea and a beach! The water was cold though :-) The inviting garden in front of the hotel to play boules or have a drink at sunset add to its marvels. It's a truly heart filled place from the furniture to the details of the buildings and even the breakfast in a special surrounding is an experience.

Thinking for a while, but there is nothing I did not like!

What a gem….I am almost reluctant to tell you how great this place is for fear I will never be able to get a reservation again. The rooms and grounds are beautiful. The view is to-die for but the biggest differentiator is the staff. They truly understand hospitality. When we first arrived we weren’t sure we were at a hotel….but you walk through the unobtrusive door onto the street and the back opens up onto amazing gardens and a view of the city. Spectacular! Our room was large and comfortable and perfectly equipped. It opened up onto the terrace. When we arrived, Nadia gave us a full explanation of the things to see and helped us get a last minute dinner reservation. She then accommodated us for parking despite the fact that I hadn’t booked correctly. Breakfast is in a beautiful greenhouse and is simple but delicious. This may be my favorite hotel that I have ever stayed in….and I have stayed in a lot of hotels

A wonderful place, made with love and attention to detail. Excellent management. Rafael, the owner of the hotel, met us, explained everything, showed us around, gave recommendations where it is better to go, what to visit in Porto. The rooms are clean and beautiful. There is everything you need. The garden and the beautiful view deserve special attention - this is something unique. The hotel is within walking distance from the center. Great place to stay in Porto.

We took the cheapest room, its windows face the street. If you like to sleep with the windows open, then it will be quite noisy in the morning. If you close the windows, you can't hear the noise. And looking back, I would gladly have paid more to have a room overlooking the garden. Because the view is beautiful and that's what makes this place so special. So it is more like an advice from our experience if you can afford, take a room with garden view.

The property was well located for access to the historic part of town. The rooms are beautifully appointed and decorated. The staff were exceptional. Welcoming, friendly and helpful. Great advice and always have time to talk.

It should not be advertised as tea/coffee making facilities in room if that is not available. Coffee (first thing) is very important to us. I don't want to go across the garden to fetch coffee in the morning. There is no milk to go with tea. On booking.com breakfast is advertised as 12 euro extra but at the hotel it is 16 euro but you can have tea/coffee in the garden in the afternoon. Unfortunately, if you want to enjoy the gardens in the afternoon it is not peaceful because of the noise from schools on either side of the property. I found breakfast very limited with no pastries.

This is a charming traditional Portuguese manor house that has been converted into a bed and breakfast. The renovation done 3-4 years ago was top notch. They kept the traditional architecture throughout, but outfitted the rooms with all modern amenities and tasteful decor. The staff is super friendly and helpful. They do offer a very good full breakfast in the conservatory and have a small parking garage, but both must be reserved in advance and there is a charge. There is no air conditioning, but it is not needed as there are constant breezes from the river since there are no buildings blocking it and the fan keeps the room cool. We were there around the 16th and 17th of June and were very comfortable. I particularly loved the large tile patio with fountain in center, the lush gardens, and the beautiful scenic views of the Douro River and the city from our room and from the garden verandas. I highly recommend this bed and breakfast. It was every bit as charming as Porto.

The Rua Banderinho is rather narrow so if you are driving a car plan accordingly.

Detailed points given below, but in short, Casa Camelia made our stay in Porto! 1) Check-in - Check-in was warm and welcoming. We were given a map and detailed recommendation of places to visit. We were also granted an exceptionally early check-in due to arriving from our flight at 12.00. 2) Room - We had a garden-room view with small kitchenette area. The kitchenette had a nice seating area overlooking the garden. It included a well-stocked (and reasonably priced) mini-fridge, safe, facilities for making tea, and free bottled water provided each day. The bedroom was huge and exceptionally comfortable. It included a separate seating area and a super-king size bed. The bathroom was also large and exceptionally well-finished; the walk-in shower was particularly good. 3) Gardens etc. - The garden area is beautiful as you can see from our pictures. The water fountain was incredibly relaxing. There are also various terrace areas to take in some of the best views you will find of Porto/Gaia. 4) Breakfast - Breakfast is served in the beautiful pavilion area. This was 14 Euros per person. This was good value for money for everything that was provided and access to free coffee for the remainder of the day. Alternative breakfast options in the area seemed fairly limited also. The service was also exceptionally friendly. 5) Location - Good location no more than a 20-25 minute relaxed walk from everywhere we wanted to visit in Porto and the Gaia river-front area. The hills of Porto are unavoidable so the escalators from the river-front level up towards Casa Camelia were really helpful. I think they only operate as late as 20.00. 6) Check-out - Straightforward. Check-out as standard was 11.00. There was a secure location to store our luggage for the rest of the day and we continued to have access to the gardens and pavilion until we left.

Nothing to dislike.

This absolutely beautifully renovated property provided the perfect oasis of calm and serenity for our trip to wonderful Porto. Finished to a superb standard, the rooms were comfortable, well equipped and restful. The garden and terraces, with stunning views from the terrace over the rooftops and down to the Douro, were absolutely beautiful. Full of flowers, it was a tranquil setting and the perfect place to pause. Staff were amazing...friendly, helpful and efficient. Will definitely stay here again...

Nothing to say here. Everything was perfect.

The location was wonderful, being slightly outside the city center but still within walking distance to everything. The grounds of Casa Camelia are so beautifully kept. We stayed in one of the lower level rooms that opens out to the garden terrace, which we really enjoyed having our coffee there in the morning and reading in the afternoon sun. Our room was very spacious and tastefully decorated. The bed was comfortable (although we should have asked for more pillows). The bathroom was also well sized, no bathtub though. Raffael was so attentive and he helped make out first time in Porto very memorable. He directed us on where to go in the city and helped us map out of wine tasting road trip (which we highly recommend). We had a car with us for the entire trip and being able to park it in the hotel garage was extremely convenient (but it is an extra €18 per day for parking).

The location of breakfast was wonderful, but the breakfast itself was not worth the €16pp price. For bread, yogurt, simple scrambled eggs, and coffee from a machine, we felt this could have been included in the room rate. However, the staff and location were both wonderful.

The garden and its view was the best thing about our trip to Porto. The breakfast was great. The room was spacious and very clean. Super nice and helpful staff (Nadia). We will come back for sure just to experience the peace of its garden.

It would be great to have an afternoon tea option (the glass house used for breakfast open in the evening with some basic stuff, like drinks, tea, cookies and fruit) in order to enjoy the sunset from the garden/terrace with a nice cold beverage. That is the only thing that was missing.