ZERO Box Lodge Porto

Located near the metro Bolhao 5 mn walk and fruit/ fish/ souvenirs/ craft market uphill , shops and cafes . The main station with beautiful azelujos tiles was downhill 6 mn walk , this was a perfect place to stay overnight. The room was clean and comfortable with great shower. They have lockers across the room to leave cases . A new concept modern hotel to recommend . Great to be welcomed straight with a couple of icy carlsberg beers on arrival at midnight while the summer still manifests in a balmy evening early September. The downside was the noisy music coming from the bar . Even with the bathroom door shut , it was annoying until 2 pm.

What a unique concept of a hotel. I really enjoyed my first experience in a Zero Hotel. The rooms are small, but it’s meant for you to get out of your box and explore the area! Towels were soft, bed was comfortable, and the breakfast is well worth it. My only suggestion would be to address some of the rusting metal in the bathroom — I know the look is rustic, but the parts rusting were not part of the “look.” The location is great—you’re very close to all the touristy things but a little removed from the main streets. Friendly check-in staff.

Amazing concept and fantastic location. I could live like this all the time. The room was cozy and perfect size. The bathroom was MASSIVE - didn’t expect that. The services around the hotel were exactly what you need. We tried the Sauna, the rooftop, the tanks and the cinema room. Bar and restaurant are fun too - with regular DJ night!

Friendly staff, excellent location, comfortable beds, a pool—everything you need for a weekend getaway. I really liked the overall concept of the hotel; we wanted to try something a bit different, and this place delivered.||The only downside was the air conditioning and bathroom ventilation. The room was extremely humid, which made it a bit uncomfortable at times. Other than that, we truly enjoyed our stay.

We had a nice stay overall — the hotel in a great location our room was comfortable. The sauna was definitely a highlight! However, there were a few disappointments. The two small plunge pools on the rooftop weren’t clean, and when we asked for a late check-out, it wasn’t available. We also accidentally booked the room starting a day earlier than our actual arrival and, despite not using the room that night, the hotel didn’t offer any refund or credit. I understand policies exist, but a little flexibility or goodwill would have made the experience feel more welcoming

Interesting concept, small rooms but perfectly fine for 1–2 nights. Lovely rooftop terrace with two small pools, inviting you to relax in the evening, and very friendly service. Nice central area.

Zero Box Lodge is the perfect hybrid of a conventional hotel room, and a Japanese capsule hotel. I loved my stay overall and wish all hotels were designed and run like this "Accommodation by Shigeru Ban" 😁 There was one main negative, discussed further below. Whenever I'm travelling on my own, I consider conventional hotel rooms to be a waste of space and money. I don't need the space, I don't need a TV, I don't need a fridge, and I don't need a view... because I'm out doing stuff! Also, the hostels alternative with a multi-bed shared space are not acceptable beyond your early twenties. What I need is a combination of (in this order of importance): 1) Hygiene (no compromise on this), 2) Price, 3) Service, 4) Quality, 5) Location Positives: 1) Hygiene. No issue other than #1 of the Negatives list. The CLT wooden floors are more hygienic than carpets. Everything was clean and tidy, in the room, bathroom and the building in general. 2) Price. Highly competitive, and the perfect balance between hostel and conventional hotel room. 3) Service. Excellent. All the reception staff were pleasant and helpful. When an issue was raised over email, the response was immediate and proactive. 4) Quality. The building interior was cool, temperature-wise, on arrival in a scorching hot Porto. The room's air conditioning was powerful and works perfectly. Bed was good, pillows were good. The shower was great i.e. strong pressure and temperature control. The in-bathroom ventilation was sufficient. I really like the room's lightning system with multiple configurations. The room is secure. There are lockers in the hallways for additional storage and that you can use AFTER you've checked out (by noon) - this solves a huge problem if you still have the rest of the day in Porto to kill, and is much better than the LuggageHero alternative. This feature of the hotel is so well thought-out from the customer experience perspective! You get a cold beer on arrival with your room key card. 5) Location. The location is amazing, in the middle of bustling streets but secluded in an off street (might be tricky to find first time), round the corner from Bolhao Metro station (can catch light rail from the airport to there, just one change of train at Trindade), next to Bolhao Market, next to Confeitaria do Bolhao, around the corner from A Favorita do Bolhao, a minute from Cafe Santiago, one street from City Hall, Sao Bento station/Time Out Market is just down the road... lots of what you want to visit is easily accessible on foot and within seconds or minutes. Negatives: 1) The bathroom had a general odour of sewage. It's not mildew from lack of ventilation, as indicated by other reviewers - it's actually a sewer smell that hot, developing countries have, because their plumbing systems haven't been designed well enough to developed world standards... think South East Asia in the 90s. I was in Porto to meet a friend who was doing a tour from Lisbon to Porto, and he said that was true of 4 of the 5 places he'd stayed at, and that it was uncorrelated with how fancy the place was. It seems to be a general design problem with Portuguese plumbing standards, so it would be unfair to fault Zero Box Lodge specifically for it. However, I reported a slow-draining sink, which definitely would be caused by a clog somewhere, so maintenance could be a causal factor too. In any case, I think there's a case for the owners bringing in some expertise to sort this out, from a design and maintenance perspective. 2) The sound of other guests does carry through the wooden walls, but I sleep through earthquakes. Also, there wasn't much going on the other rooms while I was there, so I can't really judge. Neither a pro or a con, the rooms have a small portal window at bed height you can open to the corridor, presumably if you want to put on a show! Judging by this design feature and the marketing in general, I'd say the owners are pretty horny. Zero Box Lodge is almost spot on. In fact, my friend regretted not staying there instead of his much more expensive hotel.

The experience was great, really enjoyed the beers at the check in. The room was comfortable with air conditioning and a huge bathroom with the essentials. There is a rooftop and a sauna which can be used and a meat restaurant. Recommend the experience. 10/10