PORTO - Portugal - page 354

$$ Hotel Internacional fits 35 super-modern rooms into the heavy granite-and-tile
shell of an old monastery just two blocks off the Avenida dos Aliados. It offers hotel form-
ality, typical amenities, and a good location at a reasonable price (Sb-€50-65, Db-€60-75,
third bed-€20, prices depend on day and season, air-con, elevator, Wi-Fi, Rua do Almada
131, tel. [phone], fax [phone], www.hi-porto.com , [e-mail] ).
$$ Grande Hotel de Paris Residencial brags it was the first hotel in Porto with run-
ning water in its rooms. Its 45 faded but fine rooms—all with antique furniture—are
spread out over three interconnected buildings, each with a grand atrium and sloping
floors. This proudly run place has big, classy public spaces strewn across its treehouse-
style floor plan (Sb-€65, Db-€70, higher prices in Aug, extra bed-€20, free glass of port
with this topic, elevator, Internet access, relaxing garden, one block up from Avenida dos
Aliados at Rua da Fábrica 27-29, tel. [phone], fax [phone], www.hotelparis.pt ,
[e-mail] , David).
$$ Pensão Avenida is stark but functional, renting 16 simple rooms on the fourth
and fifth floors above a grand boulevard (Sb-€25-30, Db-€40-45, Tb-€55-65, higher
rates are for May-Sept, Avenida dos Aliados 141, tel. [phone], fax [phone], ht-
tp://pensaoavenida.planetaclix.pt , [e-mail] ).
$ Duas Nações Guest House is a well-run backpacker place with 19 dumpy
rooms—as comfy as such a cheap place can be. It overlooks a square straight up Rua
da Fábrica, a few blocks from Avenida dos Aliados. The “two nations” are Portugal and
Brazil, still friends after all these years (bed in dorm-€10-13, S-€15, Sb-€25, D-€26, Db-
€37, T-€40, Tb-€42, Q-€50, Qb-€52, cash only, Wi-Fi, no breakfast but adjacent to handy
café, Praça Guilherme Gomes Fernandes 59, tel. [phone], www.duasnacoes.com.pt ,
[e-mail] , Paolo). Paolo also rents several apartments—all recently remodeled
with small kitchens, washing machines, air-con, double-pane windows, and Wi-Fi
(2-person studio-€55-65/night, apartment for up to 8-€110-115).
$ Pensão Residencial Belo Sonho is well-maintained and family-run (no English
spoken), and just up the street from Café Majestic and the main shopping drag, Rua de
Santa Catarina. Its 15 rooms are a good value (Sb-€20-30, Db-€30-40, Tb-€40-45, higher
prices June-Sept, noisy on Fri and Sat nights, Rua Passos Manuel 186, tel. [phone],
fax [phone]).
$ Pensão Grande Oceano, a good value in a central location, has 15 clean, basic
rooms on four floors. All but two of the rooms have private baths and air-con (S/D-
€20-30, Sb-€25-30, Db-€35-40, Tb-€45-50, Qb-€65-75, no breakfast, no elevator, free
Wi-Fi, Rua da Fábrica 45, just a few doors up the hill from Hotel Paris, tel. [phone],
fax [phone], www.pensaograndeoceano.com , [e-mail] ) .