The Central House Porto Ribeira

I stayed in a 6-bed dorm. The layout was good—offering enough privacy to each of the guests. The view from the balcony was also quite nice with a view to the Douro. Location is great for exploring Porto for the first time. The staff is kind and helpful. Only downside is that I wish there were showers outside of the room too (not sure if there actually were because on our floor there were just two rooms and the elevator), but it was a minor inconvenience. All in all—great stay, chill vibe, and good value for money.

I got sick during a planned trip in October and the hostel was so kind to let me change my Booking to November - thank you so much from that. Apart from that the hostel is great as well - amazing location, clean, a lot of space to hangout and very nice staff. It’s also possible to store your luggage for free if you don’t want to put it in the (paid) lockers! Highly recommended hostel

Great hostel! Good value for money, all was very clean, the bed was comfy, the showers worked well. The location was superb, very close to the waterline. Great and friendly service. Good WiFi. Got lucky and my neighbours at the dorm were quiet and kept to themselves. Storing luggage costs money by the hour.

Location was good. HOWEVER, An incident happened during my stay and I felt the incident management and service recovery process was bad. Some pipe in my room burst at around 10pm and a few of my clothes and brand new duffel bag was soiled. I went to the reception to explain the situation immediately. The staff couldn’t move me to a new room as they were fully booked. Was told that I had to wait till the next day when the manager report for work to talk about the matter. They offered free breakfast which I rejected as I was not interested. Did not offer any laundry services regarding my affected clothing and bag and I was expected to wash it on my own?The next day around 430pm, I went to the reception counter to speak to the manager and was told to wait for awhile (not sure for what?). Waited for ~10 minutes and asked what was I waiting for, and was told to wait further and she will speak to us. Shortly after, she explained the situation and offered a free breakfast again which I rejected. I informed her that the stains on my brand new and unused bag were still visible. She then mentioned that I could bring my bag for dry cleaning and they will compensate me if I showed them the receipt. Felt that they should be the one to bring my bag to the dry cleaning services and bring it back to me instead of getting me to go on my own as I’m supposed to be a guest exploring the city while I’m here for vacation? And it was due to the pipe issues which they should have been responsible for? Anyway, I explained that I was going to leave the city the next night and queried if the dry cleaning services would be completed by then to which I understand this is something none of us can guarantee. Hence this option wasn’t that feasible. With that, she offered to refund me for one night stay which I agreed. Thereafter I asked her to locate the nearest dry cleaning services for me and she provided me the address of a self service laundry services near the hotel. I went to wash and dry the bag and went back with the receipts to ask for the compensation but was informed that it is an “either or”option. She said that since I have already accepted the one night refund, I have to pay for the cleaning services myself. I was too tired to argue and my mood was already ruined by the entire incident. Felt so dissatisfied with the entire service recovery process.

Great hospitality and customer service from Ines, Lily and Maria. Good breakfast buffet and room facilities. Property is also in a prime location and approx 200 m from the Ribeira dock and walking distance to all the attractions. Overall, good value for money and would highly recommend it!

Really clean and luxurious hostel with super friendly staff, soft beds, and excellent facilities. The location is perfect, just a 1-minute walk to the river. It’s more of a chill hostel than a social one, but there’s a bar downstairs that organizes some activities. It can get a little noisy at night due to the traffic, but that’s to be expected when Portuguese drive like Italians 😉. I’ll definitely come back when I want some alone time!

The location is right in the center so everything can be reached in a short while, and the rooms were immaculate, without a spec of dust in sight. I only removed a point from the amenities because the elevator for the even floors was broken, and while it was barely an inconvenience for me I felt a bit bad for the staff for having to let me go up. Also, be sure to bring your own lock for your drawer.

NEVER BOOK THERE A ROOM! The worst experience in my life, and I even didn't stay there. I was scared of my safety due to horrible contact from the property. Unprofessional behavior of the staff was scandalous. They have been lying to me over 3 months, clamming that I cannot change my reservation because Booking was not agreeing to do so. I wrote to Booking a few messages asking about the change and the upcharge I was willing to pay, but I found out that it is not up to Booking regarding the changes, but the property was having issues. The property was not replying to my messages, and after I made a complaint to Booking they wrote to me a message offering a room for extra 300 euros even though the price on Booking during the same dates, the same room was around 180 euros. I already have paid around 120 euros for my reservation. I tried to keep the same room but change the dates still available on the website, but the property was denying them like 6 times, but the room was always available on the website. The property was not willing to corporate but blaming Booking. Booking made a clear statement that the changes are either accepted or denied by the property and they feel sorry for such unprofessional service. have never been treated like that... I have literally no words. I lost money and had to make a new reservation in another property. It is not a matter of money but unethical and childish behavior of the property staff.