Hotel Black Tulip — Hotel in Vila Nova de Gaia

"Would I stay in Black Tulip again?" Answer: "Yes". Detailed comments: We stayed 5 nights on the Gaia side of Porto. It's about a 20 - 30 minutes walk to downtown Porto. It suited us as we normally walk many miles daily. There is a tram across the street but we never used it. Hotel is very clean throughout. Our room was a good size with a decent ensuite and full size bath. Fixtures and fittings sturdy and everything worked; safe in room. Daily maid service excellent. Beds a bit hard for our liking. Dining-room is on 10th floor with brilliant views and nicely set up: white table clothes etc. Friendly attentive staff. Usual buffet type breakfast with good selection. Main downside (and as other reviewers have also mentioned) there are only 2 tiny lifts (hold max of 4 people, or 2 with suitcases). Our room was on the 1st floor and it took forever to wait for an empty lift to the 10th floor for breakfast. There are no stairs... only the fire-escape stairs which we used (we checked and were given permission) when going out/returning to the hotel as it was only 1 flight. But the stairwell is very dimly lit and everything is painted grey: walls, ceiling, concrete steps etc, so it was hard to see the actual steps - needed extra care not to miss a step and fall. I'd be worried what it would be like if there was a real emergency evacuation using the emergency stairs. But yes, overall I would...

This is not a 4 star hotel. The property feels run down with extremely small, slow elevators and dark hallways (lights are on motion sensors that turn off after a few minutes). The stairwell is also a safety hazard because it is not properly lit. Our room had grimy walls and water stained ceilings, a dirty mini fridge and a used toothpick left on the bed side table. It also didn’t seem like the room had any climate control. There are some highlights worth mentioning- like how close this hotel is the D line metro to Porto’s city center. The room window also opened for cooler air flow and the tv is cast enabled. For light packing travelers, the bathroom sink is also quite large for any potential laundry plans. The restaurant does have a lovely view at breakfast, and the food tastes good, but the hot food options were cold several days we were there. The lobby bar has excellent service, but no local draft beer options. As a last note, there was a gentleman who routinely took smoke breaks directly in front of the lobby doors during our stay. I’m not sure if he was a hotel employee or guest, but his presence was very disrespectful to other guests coming and going as he physically blocked the doors in addition to bathing passersby in tobacco smoke. Hopefully the staff can be more attentive of their guests experience...

I WOULD LOVE TO VISIT AGAIN! Everything was perfect. It was my first time travelling to a different country alone. I went around May 2023.

Staff were very great and made sure you were comfortable. I wish I had their names.

The Room was great. It was a room for two. It had dark curtains but I didn't use it and I'm glad I didn't because I loved to see the sun in the morning.

The location was amazing since it was near the train. I don't like Burger King but it was the only walkable place to get food at the time that I arrived. A lot of options to eat for breakfast and the view of the restaurant is beautiful. It's the top floor and it's all glass walls so you can look at the city as you eat.

This is not really related to the hotel but I felt very safe there because most of the guests at that time were...