Both keep a heated pool and a spa downstairs at similar rates. The One Monumental Palace for a 1923 grand hotel, a Michelin-starred dinner and the Baixa on the flat; Torel Avantgarde for themed rooms and a garden pool above the Douro, if you will walk home uphill.
The grand oneThe grand hotel on Porto's main avenue, a 1923 landmark with a starred dining room and a proper spa, where the address does the work.
€€From about €285 a night
Choose The One Monumental Palace if
The catch
Superior and Deluxe rooms are 29 square metres, which feels tight at the rate.
The design oneThe Porto hotel where design is the reason to stay, with a river-facing balcony and a garden pool doing the rest.
€€From about €215 a night
Choose Torel Avantgarde if
The catch
It is on a hill roughly 1 km from Aliados and about 19 minutes' walk from Ribeira, uphill on the way back.
| Best for | The One Monumental Palace | Torel Avantgarde |
|---|---|---|
| Best design hotels in Porto | Not on the list | On the list |
| Best spa hotels in Porto | On the list | Not on the list |
| Best value hotels in Porto | On the list | On the list |
| Best central hotels in Porto | On the list | On the list |
| Best hotels with a view in Porto | Not on the list | On the list |
| Best hotels for food and drink in Porto | On the list | Not on the list |
The One Monumental PalaceTorel Avantgarde
The One Monumental Palace
Torel Avantgarde
The verdict
Both keep a heated pool and a spa downstairs at similar rates. The One Monumental Palace for a 1923 grand hotel, a Michelin-starred dinner and the Baixa on the flat; Torel Avantgarde for themed rooms and a garden pool above the Douro, if you will walk home uphill.
Questions people ask
Both keep a heated pool and a spa downstairs at similar rates. The One Monumental Palace for a 1923 grand hotel, a Michelin-starred dinner and the Baixa on the flat; Torel Avantgarde for themed rooms and a garden pool above the Douro, if you will walk home uphill.
If you want to stay on Porto's main square in a building that has always been the grand one, this is the address. Pay for City Views, ask for the avenue side, and let the spa and Le Monument carry the evenings. The most central address in this edit and the most classically grand, a polished city hotel you leave every morning and return to for the spa and a starred dinner. Priced for the avenue and the building rather than for space in the rooms.
It has an indoor pool. There is no beach; the nearest is a drive away.
If the room is the point of the trip, this is the Porto hotel that treats it that way. Pay for the balcony and accept the hill. Design is the highest bar on this chart and the reason to book; the location score reflects a hillside a kilometre from the centre rather than anywhere remote. Everything else sits in the middle, which for a 60-room city hotel with a pool is the right place.
It has indoor and outdoor pools. There is no beach; the nearest is a drive away.