Reviews of Property: Apartment Located in UNESCO area, in front of Port Wine 'Caves'

Wonderful location for a holiday apartment. Gorgeous views from the lounge across the river to the port wine houses. 1 minutes walk from good restaurants, the bridge and the funicular.
Well equipped apartment and kept in good order.
Fernando is a fantastic host - sent lots of friendly emails before we arrived and was in contact throughout the holiday to make sure we were ok. definitely goes beyond what you'd expect to make sure you are comfortable, a pleasure to deal with.
We had a problem with one of the beds and he came round and dealt with it the same day, leaving us some special bread from the countryside while he was there.
Only potential downsides are the number of steps up to the apartment - not good if you have poor mobility. We have a 2 yr old and left the pushchair downstairs in the hall which no one seemed to mind.
Other possible issue is the noise. The bedrooms have been double glazed so noise is fine with them shut, but i imagine if you were there when it was very hot that would be a problem. We were there in October. With them open, you can hear noise from the street as as there are restaurants and bars nearby (not in the same building). Wasn't too much of an issue for us.
Overall I would recommend it and will consider staying there again on the way to touring the Douro region.
Porto has a lot of interesting things to see and do and is good for families too - lots of parks and beaches.
For restaurants, we actually ended up preferring the more modern ones on the Villa De Gaia side for more varied and less expensive food so do try those too - it's only 5 mins across the bridge from the apartment.
You don't need a car at all to tour the city from this apartment.

A lovely flat in the ideal position to vist Porto (unless stairs are a problem). The best views available (we noticed the front windows of the flat appear on many pictures & postcards of the city). Fernando was extremely helpful and came to find us when we couldn't find the parking.

We stayed here for 4 nights in the beginning of August. This is a great property that sits right on the water with a fantastic third floor view, surrounded by restaurants and shops and has everything you need. Fernando works hard to make sure you are happy and was easy to communicate with during the booking process. I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again.

Hi
My family and I stayed in this wonderful apartment mid July and we had a great week in Porto.
The description was pretty accurate and the apartment and the location looked just like on the webpage.
Excellent service provided by Fernando Almeida.
And yes we would like to recommend the apartment.
4 stars instead of 5 is because of the location with a lot of party noise during the night from the bars just below the apartment.
And be careful when you get the bill at diners and restaurants. Several times there were miscalculations so the prices were 4-5€ higher than it should have been.
5 stars to the apartment and 3 to the location with tourist traps. That must be 4 stars from here.
Karl-Erik

Nous avons passe un excellent sejour dans votre agreable appartement.il est merveilleusement bien situe en face du port de porto ou nous avions une tres belle vue sur le Douro et sur les bateauxanciens transportant ce delicieux breuvage.nous conseillons la visite des caves Taylor's ou l accueil est formidable .viva Porto .Jean Marc

This apartment is located directly on the Duoro River and has a fantastic view with constant boat activity. It is very spacious and plenty of room for 4 adults. The kitchen is well equipped and we prepared several meals there after finding a small grocery just a block away near the Pestana Hotel. We would definitely stay here again if we visit Porto. The only drawback may be the number of steps to reach the apartment. This could be difficult for elderly or disabled as there are two flights of stairs before you get to the door and the apartment is on the third level of the building. Once you get there though it is beautifully decorated and has everything you need. We were even able to get on our laptop with signals from nearby businesses. All in all a wonderful week in Porto.

Just like to say what a really nice time we had in Porto thanks to your hospitality and your fabulous apartment.

I would thoroughly recommend your apartment to anyone who was thinking of visiting Porto. The location was perfect and even better than I had hoped for. The apartment was very clean, tidy and tastefully furnished. Your welcome present of cheese and a nice bottle of Port was really appreciated.

We always managed to walk into the town, but there is a funicular very close to the apartment which may aid older or people less inclined to walk. The food in Porto was very good and we particularly liked the grilled chicken available in many of the restaurants. Everywhere was clean and tidy and the local authorities where always out making sure there was no rubbish lying around.

Another plus point for me was the effective communication between Fernando and ourselves. His emails were always friendly and very informative with a good understanding of the English language.

Thanks again Fernando for a lovely welcome and perfect weekend break.

Like you said, “a weekend isn’t long enough, you need to stay for a week next time”

I would have no hesitation in recommending this apartment.

We just got back from a three night stay at this apartment at the end of March and we wanted to say what a good time we had there. Fernando met us at the airport and showed us around and couldn't have been more helpful, especially when we couldn't work the apartment door lock -ask him to make sure he shows you how to do it. The surrounding views are wonderful and the apartment certainly is in the heart of the beautiful old area of Ribeira. This does mean it's very noisy at times and we didn't have an unbroken night's sleep due to the bars and cafes nearby, but we understand the owners are going to replace the windows and this will certainly improve things! The apartment is spacious, light and airy and was very clean with every convenience. Access up the steps is a little steep so not for those with mobility problems perhaps but this applies to the walks up to the city from the riverfront too which are often across cobbled streets so leave the high-heels at home! The riverfront is busy during the day with a good selection of restaurants, and the bars in the nearby square are good for a quick drink or snack. The nearby funicular railway gets you up to the town in double quick time and is well worth the few euros it costs. The newer restaurants and bars on the other side of the river were very disappointing although we were visiting out of season so were on some occasions the only people looking for somewhere to eat or drink. However, there was a great flea market there on the Sunday morning which was well worth a browse and on the way back we accepted an invitation into one of the many small bars that are located there to try a port wine at 10 am with the locals! This side of the river is dominated by the many Port wine cellars but we didn't take a tour simply because we couldn't carry it back on the plane and didn't want to feel uncomfortable when we didn't buy after tasting. The weather was also a little chilly for a river cruise at this time as the prevailing wind had a bit of a bite coming off the sea but it is something we would do if we returned in the summer season. The faded grandeur of much of the city is attractive whilst also a little melancholy when everything is closed on a Sunday but it certainly came alive on our last day - Monday - and don't forget to take your camera to capture the fantastic period architectural features, especially some great Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings.