Review: Se Catedral Hotel Porto, Tapestry Collection by Hilton — 30views (2023)

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LOCATION

The hotel has a very central location in the upper part of Porto, everything is within walking distance. Distance to the airport was about 30 minutes by taxi, São Bento train station is a five minute walk away.

ARRIVAL AND REGISTRATION

We arrived at the Se Catedral hotel, in Porto, a member of the Hilton's Tapestry Collection, inaugurated weeks earlier, at noon on a sunny Monday.

The check-in process was generally very friendly, we received a very personal and detailed explanation of the city and its highlights. We arrived about 1.5 hours before the normal check-in time and our room was not ready yet, but it was supposed to be ready in the next hour. We were not offered an upgrade as a Diamond member, but the hotel was fully booked at the time as well. They promised us that we would get a call as soon as the room became available. Unfortunately this never happened and indeed our room was finally ready for us about an hour after the actual check-in time. The fact that false commitments were made is, of course, always very inconvenient for the day's agenda, but as the hotel had only opened three weeks before, we assume that these were really initial difficulties that have undoubtedly been resolved in the meantime.

Now that we finally got the keys we had some trouble finding the room. There are actually two areas in the building that can be accessed by different elevators. However, we were not given any information about this, nor was it clearly marked in the elevators. This led to the fact that we were unable to find our room on the correct floor. Back at the check-in counter, we were taken to the second elevator.

HALL

The lobby is very fun and colorfully decorated, there are several different types of chairs and seats, a foosball table. Among other things, there was even a small car in the room.

SALA

The room itself was not as sophisticated as the lobby, but a similar fresh youthful style could be seen. Above the bed was a big shiny sign that said "Let's stay in bed". The bed itself was a very comfortable box spring bed. The air conditioning worked really well. We had a nice view, unfortunately our window wasn't fully open. Otherwise, the room was equipped with a coffee maker, safe, fridge and large TV. The room we stayed in is listed as a Queen room (18 square meters/193 square feet).

The bathroom was also very spacious and had a large shower; Understandably, there was no bathtub in this category of hotel.

BREAKFAST

We were positively surprised by the breakfast, the Tapestry Collection is more like one of the cheaper hotels, but the selection at breakfast was really good. This describes the concept of the brand in a way, the focus on some details is very high, but other amenities that are not so necessary are completely absent. In addition to a very varied buffet, with many local specialties, various à la carte egg dishes.

GYM AND POOL

Unfortunately, there's no gym or pool.

GENERAL SERVICE

We met a very dedicated young and friendly team who seemed a bit inexperienced. However, this is perfectly acceptable three weeks after opening and we're sure to see a lot more routine on our next visit. There was a real problem during our stay: the hotel bottles drinking water with its own bottling system and sells it with or without gas. Unfortunately, we had a few bottles that weren't completely clean and therefore had residue floating in the water. All bottles were taken off our bill but no one at the hotel could arrange an alternative. We then used a delivery service and ordered water. By the way, due to the central location of the house, the choice of external delivery services is overwhelming. Again, we assume that the purity of the bottles is now guaranteed. The water itself is offered for just €1.50 and, by the way, there is no room service charge for all orders, which is really nice and adds a bit of luxury to the budget price range.

STAY DETAILS

Our stay was for just one night and took place in April 2022. The hotel tends to be in a more affordable price range, with standard rates starting at €100 depending on the season.

STATE RECOGNITION

Due to our affiliation with the Hilton network, we have the highest status at this hotel, the Hilton Diamond. The benefits we received as a consequence were limited to just a local welcome gift (Pastel de nata) in this case. According to our information the hotel was fully booked at the time, whether there would have been an upgrade at quieter times unfortunately we cannot say.

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SUMMARY

If you want to stay in a central location, don't have many requirements in terms of hotel facilities and would like to save a few euros, this is the perfect place for you. Sights and restaurants are within walking distance, and the train station is also within walking distance. Plus, being part of Hilton hotels, this is a great option to take advantage of your status and earn extra points. We attribute the little things that went wrong during our stay to the recent opening and are sure the team will continue to do their best to make your stay as pleasant as possible. The devotion was clearly noticeable to us.