Castelo Santa Catarina

The castle building is absolutely beautiful inside and out. You can tell that the owner and his son truly care about their guests. Great service. The breakfast was very nice and it takes place inside an amazing dining room. We especially enjoyed the Fado night.

From Excitement to Disappointment. We were very disappointed with this hotel, which was supposed to be one of the highlights of our stay in Porto. Fortunately, the city itself made up for the poor experience. Upon arrival, we discovered that the hotel was partially under renovation (which is understandable — maintenance is necessary). However, the welcome was surprisingly cold; we almost felt like we were bothering the staff. For a hotel of this level, that’s quite unexpected. When we asked if we could visit the facilities, the answer was simply: “There’s no need, they’re just rooms.” At night, a strong smell of dampness and mustiness filled our room (number 204). When we mentioned it to reception, we were told to “turn on the air conditioning” — which didn’t help at all. To top it off, a ceiling light kept turning on by itself during the night. No need to go back to reception… we probably would have been told again to “use the AC”! Overall, it was a very disappointing experience in what is otherwise a beautiful and well-located hotel. Maybe we were just unlucky, but the staff should definitely be more welcoming, empathetic, and at least a little more friendly. Such a shame.

The hotel was close to the metro station. It is really a pretty little castle. Cleaning is done every day. Breakfast was good, but every day the same. Except the cakes. We had 106 Family room, with 2 bedrooms. One of the rooms doesn’t have window. The bathroom is nice with shower and bathtub also.

This hotel is every bit as beautiful as it looks in the photos. We were lucky enough to be in the main castle with a room that had its very own courtyard with 180 degree views of the city, which made the whole experience even more memorable. The room was clean, spacious and well laid out. The staff were all very helpful, accommodating and incredibly friendly. We had an early departure so would miss breakfast and they made us a lunch bag to take with to the airport. Breakfast included a good selection of hot and cold items as well and was all very well cooked and tasty. The bar was also a welcoming area with good value and well cooked food. Wouldn’t want to stay anywhere else if we returned to Porto.

Joana at the hotel gets 10/5⭐ from me. We scraped our rental car entering the hotel (for those booking, please be very careful entering through the gate) and Joana was SO kind and helpful helping me navigate what to do. From phone calls in Portuguese, reassuring me that she would be available to talk to the rental company if needed since she saw the whole (very embarrassing) incident, to writing out step by step instructions for me to get a hold of the right person, etc. She was so patient and kind and made a very stressful accident much easier. OBRIGADA JOANA! Hotel review: This castle is even better than the pictures. Plan to stay at least 2 nights to really take advantage of the lounging atmosphere, this is not a "we'll just sleep here" spot, you want to enjoy what they have it's so relaxing. It is far from area attractions and the water front, like a 20-30min walk, downhill (so up hill back!) They have on site parking which is great (just don't expect to get a large car through the gate). Our room was very clean and well appointed and had a mini fridge which our other hotels in Portugal didn't. We didn't stay "in the castle". Breakfast is served in the castle and it's like being in a museum, it's amazing. Would absolutely stay again and for longer to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere they've designed.

Such a beautiful place to stay! The staff are so kind and could not do enough for us. Fab room. Breakfast room was gorgeous we really felt as if we were in a castle. 10/10

Arriving in the early hours of the morning we certainly got the wow factor of this stunning Castle hotel. We stayed in the Romantic suite which was a spacious modern room in the annexe overlooking the garden but had no real atmosphere as “romantic” apart from the super king size bed which at first we found rather uncomfortable but which improved after a couple of glasses of wine! My husband found the pillows to be a bit lumpy. |The breakfast was average, with weak orange juice, no variety in the fruit selection all week and was very disappointing that there was only one day when there were pastel de natas. The hot buffet was tasty.|The hotel’s location was in a residential area and was lovely and peaceful apart from the emergency vehicle sirens and it was just a short walk to the Marques Metro station.|Despite these few criticisms we did enjoy our stay at this hotel.

Absolutely fabulous! The breakfast room is stunning, and the breakfast is good. The grounds and the castle are amazing to look at and there are plenty of places to sit out. The rooms are spotlessly clean and very comfortable. The staff are friendly and efficient. The centre of Porto is within walking distance.

Castelo Santa Catarina turned out to be a wonderful place to stay in Porto. They had gated parking for our rental car, and the location was perfect for never moving it while we were there. The hotel is within easy walking distance of both local restaurants, and an easy downhill stroll to all the things you come to Porto to see. The subway gets you back to the nearby Marques metro station when you've had enough walking. The hotel itself is delightfully quirky - the 'castle' is wonderfully decorated, as are the grounds and gardens. Most guest rooms are scattered around the property. We had a spacious, comfortable, modern room in a 2 story motel-like addition at the back of the property. In addition to the beautiful gardens that you pass through to get anywhere, be sure to seek out the lawn and stairway to a patio full of trees at the southwestern corner of the grounds - the views of the city from there are wonderful. The staff here was terrific - taking their time to instruct guests on what should be seen in the city. A fantastic touch was, when it rained overnight, they left golf umbrellas outside every room, in case they were needed to get to breakfast. A variety of tilework puts the perfect finishing touch on this lovely place to stay.