Charming House Marquês — Hotel in Porto

As it turned out, this light and airy B&B was perfectly located, not just because it’s three minutes walk from the metro but because it’s opposite a dentist. Not just any dentist, the B&B owner’s dentist. Perfect as just as our plane was landing in Porto, my tooth fell out, or so it seemed, There was no pain so after a couple hours of distress, I realise it’s just broke and life goes on. Or that’s what my dentist told me when I desperately called them to book an urgent appointment upon our return.||||So in the end, despite our fantastic host taking us across to the dentist, doing all the translations enabling me to register, I decided to wait until I come back home, especially as when we called our insurance company, we’re informed we can’t make a claim as it’s not deemed an emergency if there’s no pain. So I had to enjoy 6 days in Portugal with no smiling.||||This was tough from the start as apart from the warm welcome - we’d already sat down to have a detailed 5 minute intro to the city over a tea and cake - the room is magnificent, homely and yet luxurious. ||||The bed had 4 glittering chocolates waiting for us on the bed and heating was turned on upon arrival and came on each evening for us to control as needed. We were on the 2nd floor and were happy to walk up as the stairway is stunning. The whole place is decorated in a french regency and/or shabby chic style and our room had three windows with shutters and was amply furnished complete with a large hallway providing most of the storage. ||||Room (Superior deluxe suite)||||Our room looked out to the front with plenty of light coming in from the tall windows.||||Large bed||||One bedside table (another hotel with a table on just the one side!)||||Large sofa||||Desk with drawers and comfortable chair||||TV on storage unit||||2 bedside lamps||||Storage||||Hallway has room for a suitcase or two||||Plus it has two, double wardrobes with integrated automatic lights with drawers underneath (half filled with ample spare pillows and blankets)||||Drawer on the TV stand||||10 wooden hotel style hangers||||Clothes airer (fold-up)||||Bathroom||||I’m delighted with the double sink situation here. After all, the way to a happy living situation is separate bathrooms and this takes us one step closer. Also the bath had a jacuzzi which is always a fun extra.||||Good sized bath with over-head, detachable shower. ||||Two branded bath towels along with the two hand towels and a bath mat.||||Bidet & an extra towel||||Ample storage with some space under the sink but a tall cupboard in which we could spread out our toiletries rather than leave them messily around the sinks.||||Towel shelf plus a self-controlled radiator to dry the towels so we never needed them changed.||||Full-size toiletries: shower gel, shampoo and body lotion (although that ran out on the first day I managed to keep scooping it out for two more mornings!)||||Food and drink||||Jug of water and glasses in room||||Complimentary tea/coffee/cakes/water available in the lounge each afternoon||||Buffet breakfast ||||Fruit bowl and chocolates in room||||Delightfully, the excellent breakfast was served at a civilised time (I think from 9am). The smiley staff offered crepes with Nutella, coffee tea, juice, fruit, cereals, pastries with a fair few handmade Portuguese goodies including of course the Nata tarts. We found throughout our travels in the country, anytime something was exclusively Portuguese, it was proudly pointed out by restaurant and hotel staff alike.||||Amenities||||Small fridge||||Small fan||||Hairdryer||||There was an issue with the front door keypad on one night and as a last resort, we had to call the owner. Thankfully it wasn’t too late into the night and next day, the code was duly changed.||||Otherwise, the superb service continued with the attention of detail that it started with, as staff bought a cake and candles with ‘39’ on for the boyfriend’s birthday breakfast. I hadn’t said a word so this is just through noticing details on passport etc.Truly outstanding and again, if...

Charming House Marques is a mixed bag. It is not 4 star but a 2 star house without air conditioning that is staffed infrequently (e.g., had to carry suitcases down 4 flights at 8:40 am). The clerk was not knowledgeable, e.g., recommended a taxi while Uber in Porto is cheap, couldn't get us a tour reservation easily made at a tour kiosk. If you don’t believe our 2 star rating, see our pictures of the mold in the bath tub, the knicks on the vanity, etc.||||We used the 15 Euro extra late check-in (after 8 pm). We were not greeted with a glass of port and pastries as others claim but with a complaint that we had arrived a few minutes early and an immediate request to pay the late check-in fee and city tax in cash.||||Favorable was that the place was clean and the room spacious with high ceilings. We had the 2nd floor suite but were warned not to use the 2nd bedroom. The balcony overlooking the garden was picturesque. ||||The continental breakfast was good with fresh fruit and orange juice but no eggs. The waitress was nice and helpful. The breakfast started at 9 am—If you want to take an 8 am tour to the Douro valley as we did, you’re out of luck. They did reluctantly let us eat the last day at 8:40 am. The evening pastries were limited with only instant coffee or tea available.||||The location was remote from the old city. However, it is a block to a Metro station a few stops from the old city. There are restaurants nearby including a Chinese restaurant popular with the locals. I'd recommend the crispy duck with oranges.||||So, if you want a clean 2 star room in an accessible location, it may be right for you. For a couple I’d call it a 4 star price. For a family using the full suite it...

Lovely deluxe room on the top floor. Loved the style of the room. As it was our honeymoon, the staff provided a gorgeous bouquet of flowers and a silver gift that we really appreciated. |The breakfast is lovely. Lots is laid out and you feel guilty leaving bits! All the staff we met were very friendly and helpful. Carla booked us onto a boat tour when we asked for help and Marta sat down with us and highlighted all the places on the tourist map that she thought we might like to see.|We walked into the city centre on most days, though there is a Metro stop around the corner.|There are cakes out every day to eat in the lounge. We would have perhaps liked some milk in the lounge too to add to hot drinks.|Regardless of what time of day we went out, the room was always cleaned when we returned.|Theres a lovely bakery across from the Metro that we can recommend. |I've noticed some other reviews complain of mould on the blinds, bit of painting needed here and there - I only really remembered this once I read the reviews. Really tiny details when everything else suited us so well and we enjoyed everything about our stay.|If you're looking for a hotel with a cooked breakfast and a porter to carry your luggage upstairs then this isn't the right hotel for you. If you're looking for a small scale guest house with a good cold continental buffet, nice rooms at a reasonable price with a straightforward walking route to town or good metro links then this is a good hotel.|Thank you Carla...