Apartment Bolhão Market by Sweet Porto — Hotel in Porto

We spent five nights in this apartment, which offered us everything we needed for our stay. Logistically it was ideally located, as we were arriving and departing from Porto-Campanhã railway station, which is just three Metro stops away. Metro access also means easy connections to Porto Airport and, of course, the rest of the city, although being centrally located, the apartment is within easy walking distance of everything in the city centre.||The apartment itself (101) had plenty of space for two people and felt roomier still because of the high ceilings. The kitchenette had everything we needed for self-catering during our stay - although a toaster would have been nice - and the bedroom had plenty of pillows and different bedding options. The bedroom itself is separated off by a sort of half-wall from the living area, offering a certain amount of privacy if more than two people are staying in the apartment (the living area featuring a sofa bed). Personally I found the main bed a little firmer than I would have liked, but otherwise we managed five decent nights' sleep.||There were a few downsides to the apartment. Like I said, the location is logistically excellent - but fronting onto the road as it does, the noise levels (traffic and the general background noise from the city centre) were very high with the windows open, and for the first night at least, until we got used to them, also at night (even with the windows and shutters closed). There is also a butcher's shop directly beneath the apartment, and the butcher there sets to work with his cleaver very early in the morning. In a word: if you're a light sleeper, bring some ear-plugs.||The sofa bed in the living area was more bed than sofa and therefore quite uncomfortable to sit on for any length of time, at one point leading to one of us getting rather a sore back for a time. The living space could do with a side table or two as well. The bedroom area comes with plenty of wardrobe storage space, but there is only enough room for a bedside table on one side of the bed, although there are power points for recharging on both (still only one, however, by the bedside table, which has a lamp on it you therefore can't use if you do want to recharge). The bedroom area is separated from the living area by a half-wall, as I mentioned, which is extended by a sliding door - this necessitates a metal runner on the floor, which we stubbed our toes on or hurt our feet by standing on a few times at first. If you're not going to use the sliding door, we suggest putting something over the runner on the floor to avoid discomfort.||The bathroom was fine, if a little bit pokey. The shower was a good size (and didn't leak - the only one that didn't in the half-a-dozen places we stayed in Portugal during our two weeks in the country!) but the shower head was just a mounted hand-held shower, so produced rather a narrow jet of water. It got the job done but was a little odd. NOTE: in both the bathroom and kitchen sinks and the shower, the hot water gets incredibly hot very quickly, so you don't need to turn the taps very far to the left. Check before sticking your hands or face in the water - the threat of burns is real. This is something the property managers ought to address.||Communication with the owners/managers was easy and friendly throughout, and the representative we were met by on our arrival (Sophia) was very helpful both then and thereafter on WhatsApp. WiFi in the apartment...

Our condo unit was on the 3rd floor (European 2nd floor) with no elevators, which is normal with historical buildings in Europe. We were able to get our luggage up with no problem (albeit we're still a bit out of breath once we reached the top). We got Suite 201 that is facing the Bolhao Market directly, but unfortunately the market was (and still is) undergoing a construction so the view was nonexistent. There's a lot of noise during the day, but it stopped at night when we're ready for bed and it didn't start again until around 7:30 in the morning, so we're able to get a good night sleep every night during our stay.||||The apartment was spacious & renovated, great space for 2 people. It could even hold 2 more people with the sofa bed in the living room. Wifi worked continuously throughout our stay, the smart TV could play regular channels, netflix, and youtube. The kitchen was equipped with utensils, pots and pans, although we didn't end up cooking during our stay. We also got 2 50ml bottles of port as a welcome drink. My only disappointment with the apartment is the bathroom. It smelled bad, like sewage water. We couldn't get rid of it. We thought it came from inside the toilet so we kept the lid on when we're not using it and the smell just wouldn't go away. Another disappointment was the mildewed caulk inside the shower box. This is one of my pet peeves, because it's something that can easily be prevented with regular cleaning & scrubbing. It's obvious that those spots did not get a good scrub for a very long time. Although the bathroom appeared to be clean & renovated, it was not as pleasant as it looked.||||Check-in was done at their Bloom House location, which I believe is Sweet Porto's hotel property. The receptionist was young, friendly, efficient and spoke great English. She showed us how to get around Porto on the city map with clear directions. Our booking also came with a free porto cellar tour at Churchill's, which we took an advantage of the next day (great experience!). Check out was super easy and convenient, we just had to leave the keys inside the unit by the check-out time.||||Overall, judging from our stay at the Sweet Porto's apartment property, I do wish I booked a room at the Bloom House instead. The location of the Bloom House is better (on a street without car access) and I just had a better first impression of it versus the Apartment Bolhao Market. Perhaps next time when we're...

This apartment was a real find in the beautiful city of Porto! It was so easy to find from Sao Bento Railway Station and I was met right on time by one of their greeters, Nina. She was fantastic, took me up to the 2nd floor (no elevator, but she helped me carry my bag), and showed me around the apartment, then sat down with me and explained a few things, and answered any questions I had. The apartment was lovely, very clean and well supplied with everything you could need, with a great kitchen & fridge/freezer. As I was travelling on my own, the apartment space was luxurious, but even with 2 people it would have been a good size. It was very light, with huge doors that opened right out onto the little 'Juliette" balcony if you wanted them open. The air conditioning worked great & was very quiet. The windows were double glazed, but didn't manage to keep out all the street noise at night, but I coped ok. Comfortable bed & pillows, with extra blankets in case you were cold. Nice little bathroom, but there was a very unpleasant smell from the drains all the time (I guess 'old building' syndrome) I boiled the jug & tipped boiling water down the shower & sink drains periodically, which seemed to help. A nice surprise was Netflix on the tv, and the WIFI was great.The apartment was directly opposite the Bolhao market, but unfortunately it is under renovation, so has been moved, although just along the road a bit, so still really close. There are a couple of supermarkets just a couple of minutes walk away, and a lovely patisserie downstairs. to is easy walking distance to so much, and there is a metro station opposite, so easy to get anywhere you can't walk to. Overall I would highly recommend this apartment & would happily...