Porto and Lisbon hotels
 

Has anyone stayed at the Sheraton in Porto or the one in Lisbon? Wondering about location of each. Are they more business hotels than tourist? Using SPG/ Marriott hotels gives us access to the club lounges which are a nice perk. Also considering the Intercontinentals in each city. Thanks

The Lisbon one is too far north for me. I like to stay at the south end of the Av. da Liberdade.

Have you looked at Booking.com? Gives locations and loads of reviews.

In Lisbon, we loved the Hotel Avenida Palace.

We're staying there! Glad to hear you liked it!!! Any good restaurant recommendations nearby?

My Story Hotel
 

This is a nice hotel in a great location. Around the corner from Avenida Palace but much more economical. More no frills but there is a hotel room and another room with a 2nd TV and couch.

I stayed near the Sheraton Lisbon. Easy to use public transport and Uber to anywhere in central Lisbon which is compact. 10 minute walk to Corte Ingles which has a collection of restaurants in floor 7 and a supermarket. So I wouldn't stress over location. And my preference would NOT be to stay in party central.

Caught bus to Belem right outside Sheraton and saw the Aerobus stop in front.

No Intel on hotel itself but know that Lisbon is a noisy city do try to get a high floor.

I stayed at the north end of Avenida close to the park...worked for me
easy to use the metro to Chado, taxi - 6-7 euros

The Sheraton in Porto is a bit removed from the historic center and riverfront attractions but not in a bad neighborhood. Easy to uber to wherever you want to go. I have stayed at the Crowne Plaza n the same area and it was a nice property but preferred the Hotel Vila Galé Porto Ribeira for its location.

We have just booked your hotel for June!

We just booked for June. Looks beautiful. Thanks

That should have been "We just booked the Avenida Palace for June." Thanks MoBro

Yay! I think you'll love the Hotel Avenida Palace, like we did. Their breakfast buffet is amazing. As is their customer service.

We were arriving around 10:00a.m. from the States, and were prepared to wait until the afternoon for our room to be ready. I had emailed the hotel in advance about our early arrival, and we were so surprised when they had our room ready! What a treat. We really appreciated being able to settle in and relax.

Also, there's a free lending library on the second floor landing, where you can usually find travel books.

Here is my trip report, from August 2012:

1. Sintra was our first day-trip, by train from Lisbon. We enjoyed its atmosphere and views, but it was pretty busy and touristy. We stopped for refreshments at a nice café, sitting outdoors on the main square. I didn’t get its name, but we only had drinks. It seemed to have a lot of business, and plates of lunch looked appealing, but we were not hungry yet.

2. We also took the train to Cascais, which we liked a lot. Very small town, lots of beach activity, and small shops. While there, we found a classy and expensive-looking beachside hotel with a café overlooking the water. We stopped for lunch there. It is pricey, with very disginguished-looking hotel clientele. Looked like a great place for a honeymoon:

The Albatroz Hotel in Cascai
Rua Frederico Arouca
100- 2750- 353 Cascais
www.thealbatrozcollection.com

3. Our third day-trip by train was to Estoril, which is just two stops before Cascais. We had enjoyed the Atlantic seaside, so we returned to that area. We ate at a very simple seaside fresh fish restaurant. I am not a die-hard fish fan like DH, so I wasn’t as wild about my swordfish choice, as it was different than I expected. But they had free wi-fi and DH liked his salmon and my dish, too. The diner next to me had the squid, which looked good.

“Baiuka Bar Restaurante”
Praia das Moitas
2765 Monte Estoril
www.baiukabar.com

Restaurants in Lisbon we liked:

1. “Duval”-- DH had walked by this very nice-looking restaurant on a tiny street up the hill, across from an historic convent. We returned to it for dinner, and were very happy with it. It has a more contemporary feel, with excellent service and an inventive menu.

The chef was short-handed, because her husband/chef was in the hospital for surgery, but she still made time to come to our table and help us choose wines with our orders. Our waiter was actually from their other restaurant in the Algarve, who had been pressed into service, and he could not have been more friendly and helpful. We enjoyed picking his brain about his hometown Lisbon.

The chef sent a complimentary garlic sardine appetizer to us, to tide us over because our order was behind a huge party of 30.

“Duval”, Rue Nova da Trinidade No 11 H/K
1200- 301 Lisboa
www.fazgostoslx.com

2. "Sancho"-- This place was very near our hotel, and looked good, so we stopped in for dinner. Service was excellent and fish was fresh and good. I had prawns and DH had salmon.

“Restaurante Sancho”,
Travessa da Gloria n.o. 14
1250- 118 Lisboa
www.restaurantesancho.com.pt

3. We did NOT like “Restaurante Valentino”, although it is a lovely restaurant, outside seating, on a charming narrow cobblestoned street directly down from our hotel. It had been recommended by our concierge.

Our experience was not good—service took forever, and both our orders were delivered wrong. We had to wait a while for the new orders to be delivered. The manager apologized, but offered no comp drink while we waited. The food was mediocre, shrimp was scarce in our sauce, pasta was too al dente. We noticed other diners were also drumming their fingers on the tables, waiting for their food. Maybe it was an off-night, as our waiter seemed to be new, didn’t speak English, and required the assistance of the manager several times. The restaurant was full, outside and in.
http://grupovalentinorestaurantes.co...auradores.aspx

BTW I would recommend spending a night in Sintra..it's too nice for just a day trip. And rooms are a better value than Lisbon.

I stayed at Casa de Pendoa, which came with a small kitchen and complementary goodies. Instead of breakfast, you get a bag of two loaves of fresh bread hanging on your doorknob. You can book whichever room you prefer directly or on booking.com etc ( stayed in the deluxe double studio with mountain view). It's possible to reach this room by taxi if necessary. Just around the corner from the main squareand the Sintra Palace. Their reception is open from 9:30 to 7pm, dropping your bag is fine. In Sintra I liked Quinta da Regaleira best, followed by Pena, the National Palace, and then I would have skipped Montserrate.

Thanks everyone. MoBro we are staying at the Hotel Albatros in Caiscas!

Jealous!

Now we are deciding on hotels in Porto. The Intercontinental is on the Amex Fine Hotels program which we like . Also the Infante de Sagres has been recommended.

The Intercontinental in Porto is superbly well located - go for it!

We loved the Infante des Sagres. Beautiful dining room and staff was so helpful.