"In Porto, a city whose jumble of architectural wonders takes in everything from Palladian villas and Gothic churches to works by Gustave Eiffel and Rem Koolhaas, it’s only natural that Pestana Palácio do Freixo’s sleek, contemporary guest rooms should be housed in a salmon-pink flour factory adjoining an 18th-century Baroque palace. One minute you’re watching your LCD television in quiet, air-conditioned comfort, the next you’re taking tea in a gilded hall of mirrors — perhaps with a dip, in between, in that stunning pool on a terrace above the banks of the Douro River. And why not? Portugal’s laid-back second city is so relentlessly pleasant, sunny and breezy and pretty at every turn, that the inconsistencies quickly wash together into a sea of eccentric charm." - Tablet Hotels