Menina Colina Guesthouse

Last year I had the most wonderful stay at Menina Colina, and was excited to return. Unfortunately I now wish I had reserved elsewhere, as it has been nothing but a disappointment. Prices are so much higher than a year ago, but I thought I got what was a good deal on the garden room. Turns out it is greatly overpriced for what is offered, as it has none of the exquisite design or attention to detail that the interior rooms have. It also seems to be neglected in terms of maintenance. The coffee machine was leaking, and after reporting it, it was made out to be my fault as I was using it incorrectly. I had to physically show a member of staff the leaked water for them to agree to replace it. I was really annoyed that they felt that they needed to demonstrate to me how it works rather than just replacing it immediately. The next disappointment was that the room was initially not serviced at all, and no explanation was given. When you are paying $165 for a mediocre room (not even including breakfast), one would at the very least expect the bins to be emptied. The bathroom also had a terrible smell that permeated the room, and mosquitoes were a problem too. Management did offer me lunch or attendance of their fado show, but none of these arrangements fitted into my busy programme. I thought a small financial compensation would have made more sense. That did not happen, and nothing further was mentioned or discussed on check-out. The final issue was the online check-out which they require. When I tried to complete it, my bill was for my entire stay, although 3 of the 4 nights had already been paid months in advance. So my conclusion is unfortunately that Menina Colina’s standards have dropped significantly, and that it is overpriced for the lack of attention to detail that is evident in several areas.

We stayed two nights at Menina Colina and enjoyed our time there. We booked a room with garden view - it was very spatious and had a balcony which we used for the occasional espresso in-between :) The entire house was very nicely renovated, the room was nicely equipped and very clean. The staff was very friendly and helpful ... helping with the luggage upon arrival and departure as well as recommendations in Porto during our stay. We did join a Fado performance which was offered in the hotel - and liked it very much (after two other Fado experiences). It was nicely set up and we did enjoy the entire performance. We did not book breakfast with the room ... but ended up having a small bite and coffee every morning in the hotel; the breakfast host was very friendly and breakfast a la carte had nice small bites on offer. We liked the loacation of Menina Colina - being in walking distance to the city center ... and on the way home in the evening stopping by for a nightcap at one of the restaurants on Passeio das Virtudes with its gorgeous view over the Tejo river. If you travel by car, parking was easy at Estacionamento Palácio de Cristal nearby. For us, Menina Colina is a place to come back to when visiting Porto again.

Menina Colina is a charming, well located property. It has been beautifully renovated, while maintaining its period charm. There was a very warm, genuine welcome on reception which was followed up with good advice on restaurants and things to do and see. The breakfast was also excellent. Everything was freshly prepared. I would heartily recommend a stay here.

All of my family loves this place. It was so lovely to see a beautiful garden from my balcony. Would recommend this house. The breakfast was apparently simple but healthy. Fruit bowl is very nice!

Our stay was perfect! Staff is so sweet, room was so nice and a great location for exploring the city for the first time. Our stay included breakfast which was great. I recommend staying at Menina Colina

We stayed for two nights in this beautifully renovated house in Porto. Our 'Classic' room was on the top floor with a small balcony overlooking the lovely garden (which is great to have a drink in or just read a book etc). The room was very well designed with a lovely bathroom with walk in shower. The bed and other furniture were comfortable and touches such as flasks of water were welcome. The only slight problem is that there is no lift so the walk up the magnificent wooden staircase might be a problem to some people. Breakfast which is included in the room rate is of good quality with generous portions. Possibly the most stand out aspect of the guest house is the staff. We had a number of interactions with people on reception and they were all extremely friendly and helpful. One man called Filipe did some research on restaurants open on Sundays and sent me about five to consider. He made a reservation at one of them called Tabusa Rasa which was great and when we returned in the evening he checked to see if we had been happy with his suggestion. Everyone we had contact with was great. If you are driving, bear in mind that parking outside is almost impossible so you just need to stop to unload and then go to a nearby underground car park. The guesthouse is within easy walking distance (well not that easy as there are so many hills in Porto) of the main sights and about a 15 minute walk to the north quays on the river. All in all a great place to stay in an interesting and friendly city.