The Secret Garden near Porto: Our stay at the Boeira Garden Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton (Review)
In recent years, Hilton has opened three hotels in and around Porto. Besides the Tapestry and the Hilton Porto Gaia, the Boeira Garden Hotel Porto Gaia, a member of Hilton's Curio Collection (external link), was the first hotel to open to the public in the small city in early 2020. We were able to visit the hotel in spring 2022 and get an impression.
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LOCATION
Compared to the other two options in and around Porto within the Hilton group, the Boeira Garden Hotel Porto Gaia is a bit out of the way and away from the tourist highlights of the city of Porto. Like the Hilton Porto Gaia, this hotel is located in the town of Vila Nova de Gaia, so it's on the south side of the Douro River that separates the two towns. However, it is a good bit uphill, a walk to the river and neighboring Porto requires quite a bit of enthusiasm and some training, a good 30 minutes is needed to get to the river bank. The airport, however, can be reached by cab in about 20-30 minutes, depending on traffic. Those who prefer to escape the hustle and bustle of the city center will certainly feel quite comfortable here. Especially those who are traveling by car can find good accommodation here due to the free underground parking or set off from the hotel for further excursions.
ARRIVAL, LOBBY & CHECK-IN
Since we were already in Porto and the temperature was very pleasant on this spring day, we arrived at the hotel by foot. Both Google and Apple Maps led us to the entrance of the hotel, but unfortunately it was blocked by a large gate. Through the fence, we were able to ask a staff member on the grounds for the correct entrance, which was on the east side of the complex (on Rua de Teixeira Lopes). A few minutes later, we arrived there too and strolled across the beautiful grounds to the main building. As the name suggests, the hotel is in the middle of a garden, this makes the rooms very quiet and the view very nice.
From the street, we first passed the hotel's own port wine warehouse before reaching the hotel itself. On the right side we saw the outdoor pool, right next to the historic palace, on the left we went into the main building, the entrance led us directly into the simple hotel lobby and we were welcomed right away in a warm and welcoming way. From the lobby you could also reach the bar and the restaurant. On the property itself you can take a good walk, in the warm months you can also celebrate nice events in an idyllic atmosphere. Another building in the form of a large wine bottle can be used as an event room.
Check-in was comfortably seated and we were served an in-house port wine as a welcome. Due to our Diamond status with the Hilton chain, we were given a simple upgrade by one room category. Since we later encountered hardly any other guests in the entire hotel, meaning the hotel didn't seem very booked, we weren't overly excited about it.
As we always follow the rule, and recommend this to anyone traveling, to always book the category we want to stay in at least, hence any upgrade is a pleasure.
We were also given a voucher for a free port wine tasting and 20% off sale at the port wine factory located on the premises (external link), which we used on the day of departure.
ROOM
Our room was a King Superior Room with Balcony. The room immediately made a very luxurious impression on us. It was painted in a warm color, together with the dark wood look of the furniture, this made a very pleasant and classy impression. Entering the room led into a short hallway, the very spacious bathroom was located on the left side, equipped with shower, toilet and two sinks and really lots of space. High quality personal care products from a local supplier rounded out the experience.
The room is equipped with a large king bed, a small desk with chair and a cozy lounge chair in the corner. The highlight it is the large balcony with seating for two. Apart from a small rug in front of the bed, the whole room has wooden flooring. The large TV opposite the bed doubles as a wall mirror when turned off. One thing we found to be a disadvantage was that the king bed unfortunately had two single mattresses, which meant you could feel the gap in the middle when lying down. This could definitely be improved.
WIFI SPEED
The internet was good and we were able to use it to stream videos and make video calls without any problems.
ROOM TEMPERATURE
Of course there was air conditioning, but it didn't cool the room as much as we are normally used to. For most people certainly perfectly adequate, those who like it very cold in the room especially in the summer months may not be completely satisfied here.
HOUSEKEEPING
Our room was very clean and tidy and even the cleaning in between was unobtrusive and professional. Once we ordered extra towels, which were delivered quickly and friendly. We were very satisfied.
See our reviews of other Hilton hotels in the Porto area:
BREAKFAST
The hotel breakfast was an absolute highlight in terms of the selection and quality of the food. The buffet was very nicely arranged, the breakfast room offered a pleasant atmosphere. Hot egg dishes could be ordered at the table.
Unfortunately, the experience was dragged down slightly by an extremely poorly motivated team. We were the only guests in the room immediately after the breakfast restaurant opened, there were about three employees in the restaurant on both days. Although there was nothing going on, or probably because of that, the staff preferred to stand in the entrance area and talk to each other. We were served almost reluctantly only after we approached the staff and addressed them directly.
Unfortunately, some orders were forgotten and other requests were rejected unusually abruptly for a five-star hotel (for example, the question for a fresh plain omelet was settled with the short statement "scrambled eggs are at the buffet"). There was also a lack of friendly tone; greetings, farewells and a general welcoming atmosphere were not evident. We were particularly surprised, in addition to the fact that we experienced exactly the same thing on both days, that the staff member responsible for the restaurant was one of the employees on the floor who did not take any interest in us.
We very much hope that in the team the concept of service will be developed and the next time we visit we will have an impression that matches the rest of the experience.
LOUNGE
Unfortunately, there is no lounge at Boeira Garden Hotel Porto Gaia.
LUNCH/DINNER OPTIONS/BAR
RAIZES
After breakfast, the hotel restaurant turns into the Raizes Restaurant, where you can find traditional dishes with a modern touch. You can especially enjoy the dishes on the restaurant's large roof terrace, with a view of the surrounding garden or the sunset.
1850
In addition, there is also the Bar 1850, where the focus is on port wine. Of course, you can also get all the cocktails and other drinks, as well as light snacks for the smaller appetite. The bar's name is a nod to the year the manor house was originally built.
ROOM SERVICE
Unfortunately, we could not test the room service during our two-day stay. However, we once ordered cutlery and plates for a lunch we had brought with us on the balcony and received a call back after a few minutes that this would only be delivered if we paid the ten euro room service fee. Alternatively, we could pick up the dishes at the restaurant. We found this unnecessary, in our experience, additional equipment items in a five-star hotel are gladly, quickly and usually delivered to the room complimentary.
GYM
The gym offers a good selection of cardio equipment and a small exercise area. Overall, the room is large enough and offers a good selection to exercise. Unfortunately, the room is located in the basement and only offers a view of the indoor pool.
POOL & SPA
The Boeira Garden Hotel Porto Gaia offers a great spa area. The large indoor pool is long enough to swim a few laps. It is equipped with various jets, showers and loungers to use it also as a wellness pool. There are sunbeds set up next to the pool, so you can also rest while watching others swim. Additionally, there is a small separate whirlpool, which unfortunately was closed and being serviced without notice during our visit. The indoor area also has a large relaxation room with loungers, a sauna and steam room, and a large changing room with spacious lockers.
In addition to the indoor pool, there is also an outdoor pool in the middle of the hotel grounds directly across from the main entrance. Unfortunately, this was still closed when we visited, although most hotels already have the outdoor pools open at this time of year.
OVERALL SERVICE
Unfortunately, the service in this hotel did not convince us. Often, it's the hard-working staff that inspires us so much that we are happy to overlook some things, but here it's rather the other way around. The hardware of the hotel and the offers are on a high level, but we are still looking for the spirit in the staff. At no point did we notice any great enthusiasm, everyone is just doing their job. When we asked in the spa why the whirlpool was closed, we only got the harsh answer that it was being serviced, no apology or even a recommendation of an alternative. We had already reported about our experiences at breakfast and also the delivery fee for plates and cutlery followed by the request to please pick up the things ourselves - this does not correspond to the extra service that we are used to from five-star hotels. There is still a lot of potential here.
STAY DETAILS
We stayed at the hotel for two nights around mid-April 2022, we had booked two standard rooms for a total of three guests. The rates per room for this hotel are roughly between 120 and 220€, depending on the season.
STATUS RECOGNITION
Despite the hotel being empty, we only received an upgrade to one category higher than booked, which was quite low considering the circumstances. The other benefits were free breakfast and an amazing welcome gift, consisting of a good bottle of the hotel's own port wine and a few chocolates. This pleased us very much.
It should be noted that we had booked two rooms in our name and the benefits were granted only for one of the two rooms. This is in accordance with the conditions and is also absolutely fine, but we have experienced many hotels that extend the benefits to another room, including the Hilton Porto Gaia just around the corner. However, we were able to get the breakfast benefit for the second room through our second membership with Hilton (Gold) instead.
If you are traveling in a larger group, it is always worth a short email to the hotel in advance to ask whether you get the advantage for both rooms. Depending on the hotel, you can save additional money.
SUMMARY
Boeira Garden Hotel Porto Gaia, a member of Hilton's Curio Collection, is a very classy five-star hotel set in a beautiful garden away from the tourist hustle and bustle of Porto. If you want to enjoy the tranquility and accept longer distances to the city center for that, you are in good hands here. In return, the hotel offers plenty of greenery, an outdoor pool, and free underground parking. The hotel's team is professional, but lacks a bit of enthusiasm. If you can do without a lounge, this hotel is a fair compromise between the price and performance of a five-star hotel.
