Review: Se Catedral Hotel Porto, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
This hotel had just celebrated its opening in March 2022, and we were able to visit it just a few weeks later. Moreover, this is only the third Tapestry ever in Europe, the brand is still very young on this continent.
LOCATION
The hotel is very centrally located in the upper part of Porto, everything is within walking distance. Distance to the airport was about 30 minutes by cab, São Bento train station is five minutes walk away.
ARRIVAL & CHECK-IN
We arrived at Porto's Se Catedral Hotel, a member of Hilton's Tapestry Collection, which had opened a few weeks earlier, at noon on a sunny Monday.
The check-in process was generally very friendly, we got a very personal and detailed explanation of the city and its highlights. We got there about 1.5 hours before the regular check-in time and our room was not ready yet, but it was supposed to be ready within the next hour. We were not offered an upgrade as a Diamond member, but the hotel was also completely booked at that time. We were promised that we would receive a call as soon as the room was available. This unfortunately never happened and in fact 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 annoying for the day's schedule, but since the hotel had actually opened only three weeks earlier, we assume that these were really initial difficulties that have certainly been resolved in the meantime.
Now that we finally got the keys we had a little trouble finding the room. In fact, there are two areas in the building that can be reached by different elevators. However, we had not received any information about this, nor was this clearly marked on the elevators. This led to the fact that we actually just could not find our room on the right floor. Back at the check-in desk, we were then shown the second elevator.
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LOBBY
The lobby is very playful and colorfully decorated, there are various different types of chairs and seats, a foosball table. Among other things, there was even a small car in the room.
ROOM
The room itself was not quite as extravagant as the lobby but you could see a similar young and fresh style. Above the bed was a large glowing "Let's stay in Bed" sign. The bed itself was a very comfortable box spring bed. The air conditioning worked great. We had a nice view, unfortunately our window did not open wide. Otherwise, the room was equipped with a coffee maker, a safe, a refrigerator, and a large TV. The room we stayed in is listed as a Queen Guest Room (18 sqm/193 sqft).
The bathroom was also very spacious and had a large shower - understandably, there was no bathtub in this hotel category.
BREAKFAST
The breakfast surprised us positively, the Tapestry Collection is rather one of the cheaper hotels, but the selection at breakfast was very good. This describes the concept of the brand in a way, the focus on some details is very high, but other not so frequently needed amenities are completely absent. In addition to a quite diverse buffet, including many local specialties, there are various egg dishes available a la carte.
GYM & POOL
Unfortunately, there is neither a gym nor a pool.
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OVERALL SERVICE
We met a very dedicated young and friendly team that came across as a bit unexperienced. However, this is perfectly acceptable three weeks after opening and we are sure to see much more routine on our next visit. There was one actual problem during our stay: drinking water is bottled by the hotel with its own bottling system and sold either carbonated or still. We unfortunately had some bottles that were not completely clean and therefore had residue floating in the water. All bottles were removed from our bill, but no one in the hotel was able to organize 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 secured. The water itself is offered for just 1.50€ and, by the way, there is no room service fee for all orders, which is very pleasant and adds a bit of luxury to the budget price range.
STAY DETAILS
Our stay was only for one night and took place in April 2022. The hotel tends to be in a more affordable price range, with standard rooms rates starting at 100€, depending in the season.
STATUS RECOGNITION
Due to our affiliation with the Hilton chain, we have the highest status at this hotel, Hilton Diamond. Benefits we received as a consequence were limited to only a local Welcome Gift (Pastel de nata) in this case. According to our information, the hotel was fully booked at this time, whether there would have been an upgrade in quieter times, we can unfortunately not say.
SUMMARY
If you want to stay in a central location, don't have too many demands on the hotel's 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. Also, since it's part of Hilton hotels this is a great option to enjoy your status benefits and earn extra points. We attribute the small things that did not run smoothly during our stay to the recent opening and are sure that the team will continue to make great efforts to make your stay pleasant. The devotion was clearly noticeable to us.
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