Santa Catarina Apartments — Hotel in Porto

We booked 3 nights in October, 2021.||||Liked · This property is absolutely stunning. We spent a lovely 4 days in Porto and this place had a big part to play in it. We stayed in flat 22, on the first floor, and we loved it: it was spacious for two people, the kitchen was well equipped with all the utensils you would need, beautifully decorated, it's just like it's shown in the pictures. It doesn't get more central than this: every must see is within 10 to 20 min walk from the apartment. It's worth mentioning that the apartment is very well insulated: despite being on the main shopping street, you could barely hear the hordes of people outside. We have to warn you though (and Rebecca did warn us too!): you will hear the musician's speaker down the street blasting music for most of the afternoon (not the property's fault, of course, but just something to be aware of should you need peace and quiet). Rebecca, the host, is just a very nice individual: she welcomed us with a smile, and provided very good advice on places to visit, restaurant options around the area (we tried 3 and we loved them!). Rebecca also let us into the property early so we could drop off our luggage while we waited for the apartment to be cleaned. We were also allowed to store our luggage there on our last day, since we had a late flight, and wanted to continue enjoying Porto without dragging our suitcases up pebbled streets all day. Oh, and yes: there are stairs. Lots of them: but this is a Historical building, and regulations (and lack of space as well!) won't allow for the installation of an elevator. Again, this is Porto: if you find an elevator anywhere, please let us know! ;) We read a few complains about noise from upstairs, cleaning not up to standards... We truly don't get them: this place is a gem. We would recommend it to anyone visiting Porto.||||||Disliked · We felt that the mattress was a bit uncomfortable and the shower doors would not close completely so we had to be careful not make a little mess. This is such an easy fix, so we are sure the hosts will take care of it! We are very aware that this is a rental property, wear and tear is expected. Having said this, the rest of the apartment is...

These are very comfortable apartments, and extremely quiet all of the time. Make sure, if you are getting a taxi or uber from the airport that they drop you off at Calcada do Combro, otherwise you have to treck up a massive hill with your bags. Getting off at Calcada do Combro, means that you only have a very short walk to the apartment. Only residential traffic is allowed outside the apartment, this is why they are so peaceful and also why it is important to get dropped off at the right spot. The location is very good. About 30 minutes will get you to most places in Lisbon. Although some are a lot shorter distance. There are some fantastic small restaurants within a 5-10 minute walk from the apartment. For a wonderful breakfast go to "Breakfast Lovers Misericordia", Calcada do Combro. only less than 5 minutes walk from apartment. For an authentic portuguese tasty and very reasonable dinner go to O'Caracol, which is 8 minutes walk from the apartment. Here the very friendly owner will happily reccommend some gorgeous dishes to try, if you would like. Also, just a 10 minute walk from the apartment, is another gem of a authentic restaurant, called Tasca Bos Poiais. When I go back for another visit I will not hesitate to...

Had the misfortune to book an apartment at Santa Catarina apartments at a cost of £365.00||Be very wary of booking here as there is a long non refund period. I booked in August 2019 to stay March 2020 really looking forward to my stay. There is a 2 month non refund period much longer than almost all others on booking.com||Unfortunately Europe was hit with Covid 19, so travelling to Porto was no longer an option as everything in Europe was shutting down.||Asked Santa Catarina apartments for a partial refund thinking they would understand and refund some of the money as they will have an empty apartment that required no cleaning with no utility bills to pay, the answer was a flat NO.||They had absolutely no empathy for the situation and are only interested in taking money.||I had a reply from Rebecca actually calling me selfish for asking for a partial refund, unbelievable.||I would seriously advise anyone thinking of booking at Santa Catarina apartments to look elsewhere as other places have longer free cancellation periods.||They will show you no sympathy and are ruthless if you have the misfortune to have to cancel your trip. Looks like money is the only important thing to...