Vila Gale Porto Ribeira

The hotel is right on the river and has the best views in Porto! Located in a beautiful renovated building in the old town, it was a comfortable base to explore beautiful Porto and venture to Douro Valley. There are several restaurants right next to the hotel from which to enjoy the magical river sunset views. Great shower, great breakfast. Though our standard room did not have river views, it was facing a cute inner courtyard. Street parking was available next to the hotel, but required some skill and maneuvering to fit in.

With almost no toiletries and no coffee set in the room, this did not feel like a 4-star hotel. Bathroom could have been cleaner. The room was a bit small.

Excellent breakfast with order your own eggs option was appreciated. Front desk staff were helpful with transportation arrangements. The location was beautiful with a view of the Douro from the lobby. They were family friendly and our daughter liked that the staff gave her a welcome juice. Tourist tram was nearby and the buses were convenient.

Firm mattresses, but that could be my personal taste. Our room needed some maintenance in the bathroom in particular. If you took more than a 5 minute shower, you would experience at least 1 surge suddenly to ice cold followed by scalding water. Far from metro but easy to get to busses.

The hotel was very nice with excellent decor and a quality room. Staff was helpful and the breakfast was delicious. This is an attractive hotel to walk through and to experience. Thank You

There is a trolley that stops close to hotel, However, this stops running at 7pm. so if you are in town after 7, you must either walk 20 minutes back to hotel or call a car. Maybe there are longer hours in the summer months for the trolley. not sure. I had a great room with french doors and a balcony that overlooked the front entrance with a river view. The downside was the fact that all the smokers congregate by front door and the stench of cigarette smoke billows into the room when the doors are open.

Being on the River. The staff was friendly and very helpful.

It was a very good value but that’s because they didn’t offer extra things like tissues in the room. If you wanted to blow your nose you had to use toilet paper. Also, in the shower, there was a shampoo/bodywash that came out of one pump. But that didn’t bother me because I brought my own shampoo. The one extra thing the hotel does provide are shower caps. That’s great because in the USA, many hotels stopped providing them.

Breakfast was ok, not the best. Not a great choice of either fruit or hot dishes. Tea, coffee very difficult, having to go up to central table to fill your cup. Not even any milk on the table.

Nespresso machine in room, only 2 capsules on arrival. If you wanted more, you had to pay for them! Absolutely ridiculous in a 4 star hotel. Also nothing to say that the soft drinks in the fridge had to be payed for! I was charged over €12 for 2 waters and a bottle of orange. No price list in room or notice to say that all drinks would be charged for. We thought they were complimentary as in many 4 star hotels.

It's the perfect location to explore Porto. Several lovely restaurants and bars outside the hotel. Only 15mins walk into the centre. Room was very comfortable. Air con, and comfy beds. Staff are lovely. A nice breakfast and reasonably priced drinks at the bar. We spent our honeymoon here, and they kindly put a bottle of wine and chocolate cake in our room. Highly recommend

Only thing I didn't like, which is a very small thing.There is a Nespresso machine in the room, and you only get two complimentary pods, so if you like a cuppa in your room, you need to go buy some in the supermarket.

Clean, beautiful, and wonderful staff. Everything was superb. The air conditioning perfect, the sheets very soft and they had 2 types of pillows big and small both not too high it too hard , just perfect. Also a very thing duvet as it was hot but with air conditioning on you need something more than just a sheet. The corridor full of art. The pictures on the website don’t do any justice to the hotel. Staff friendly and very helpful. I interacted with few but I just remember 2 names lovely and cheerful and beautiful Margarita and the wonderful and helpful Gonçalo.

I liked everything about this hotel, the only thing I could think of is that the restaurant wasn’t very popular. I think that if they provided nice food for lunch and evening would’ve been fantastic as after a hot day I would have fancied to stay there as the vie outside the hotel is fantastic.

There was a good choice for breakfast for us. We go for the continental breakfast. They had really nice mini croissants, and some days fresh Pineapple. The staff were excellent and were happy to make my other half a Decaffeinated coffee. The Hotel has the main tram line between Porto to Foz do Porto on the coast going right past the front. The hotel was in a quiet location, but this made access very easy. There is a very good local Restaurant just around the corner (O Caseirinho) that does excellent food at good value for money.

As the hotel is fairly small the dining room is also the corridor between the front door/lobby area to the room access. So on a busy day there can be a bit more noise. This is being very picky!

All the staff were exceptionally friendly, polite, helpful and welcoming. Whenever we were sitting in the courtyard we would be asked if we needed anything. Late on Sunday evening, my sister had been unwell and missed dinner. She asked in reception if they could possibly find her a banana to eat. A few minutes later, a young man from the catering staff brought her a fruit salad and cake, he said he was there to help us and was so kind. We were also helped with local transport and taxi booking. Everyone was pleased to help.

There was a coffee machine in our room but no facility for making tea. We had to go into reception for a cup of tea, but staff were very helpful. The restaurant could benefit from a wider choice.

love where it is. we have a car and has been easy to find parks so Havnt needed to use the hotel park. we were upgraded to the 4th floor with a deck and lovely views of the river. we actually stayed an extra night. All the staff r amazing and nothing to much trouble. breakfast is great. The hotel is very comfortable and quiet. we will definitely be back

being picky probably a smokers smell in the room. not a big problem