The Vintage House - Douro

Beautiful hotel in a wonderful location. Every room had a view. Facilities are a bit dated and our room had a big stain on the carpet. Reception staff were not very knowledgeable but the restaurant staff were great!

Once we found the entrance to the hotel, a harder task than one might imagine, we were swept away by the flawless service and idyllic setting. Checking in was accompanied by a glass of pink (!) port. The rooms overlook the river; our room opened to a private patio that was next to the pool. The breakfast was delicious and had a wide range of choices. The reception staff were particularly helpful in helping us with plans around the area.

Excellent location on the Duoro River. The hotel is very choppy. It was hard finding our room and they don’t have elevators… so be prepared to carry your luggage up stairs and ramps. The service for drinks and food was bad.

Chambre spacieuse et confortable. Vue idyllique et indescriptible ! Hôtel idéalement situé, avec un accès direct aux quais animés du Douro d’un côté, et aux quais de la magnifique gare de Pinhão ainsi qu’au centre du village de l’autre. Personnel aux petits soins. La piscine et le court de tennis permettent de garder la forme après les repas raffinés, préparés par un chef exceptionnel, dans un cadre intérieur et extérieur à la hauteur des assiettes qui nous sont servies. Nous avons également découvert que les vins de Porto ne se limitaient pas à l’apéritif que l’on connaît en France, et avons eu le plaisir de déguster d’excellents vins de cette région au cours de nos repas.

First thing to say is this hotel is in a stunning location. Room had fantastic views and was clean and ready when we arrived at 4pm by train. Those were the highlights. This is a 5 star hotel and cost almost £300 a night. It’s simply not worth the money. Echoing previous reviews, the rooms are tired and pretty small, balcony doors are cracked and peeling, toilet makes a very weird noise when flushed, shower wasn’t great, no bathroom mirror, bar a shaving mirror - away from the sink. This in and of itself is not the end of the world but other stuff also wasn’t great. We arrived at 4pm and asked for an iron and ironing board - we had dinner booked at 7pm. No ironing boards spare despite the staffs best efforts to find one. Eventually at 6.30pm they found one in the kitchen which I am guessing they were pressing table cloths with. Bar had 8 cocktails but the two we asked for could not be made due to missing ingredients. Again the staff did their best to find a work around but it just wasn’t good enough. Breakfast location is lovely but hot food was often cold and staff were a bit hit and miss - some were great and one older chap was a miserable g!t. Pool is much smaller than it looks - €8 for a barely drinkable small glass of Rose and €4.50 for a coke is a bit rich even with the views. Overall this feels like a hotel living on past glories. The staff try but just seem weary and tired - much like the hotel. The management can’t keep sweating this asset. I was stupid enough to ignore a number of the reviews and whilst I loved Douro and Pinhao, this hotel was a poor choice. Don’t make the same mistake.

I first came across Vintage House 7 years ago when on a rally in Portugal and Spain and instantly thought this is a hotel I would like to revisit. It claims to be 5 star but I would say it's not quite but still impressive in many ways. It's a bit of a bygone age hotel with a lot of dignity. The rooms with there fabulous views are very comfortable even though in need of a bit of care. The bathrooms are let down by surprisingly an absence of a bidet and a full size mirror(just a shaving mirror) Breakfast on the terrace is a delightful experience. In a small hotel circa 50 rooms not once did I see the GM and I was there for 4 days. In Portugal the people are very charming and helpful again for a 5* hotel I would expect the staff to be more hospitable and charming. I felt there was a degree of arrogance which I haven't experienced in any other hotel in portugal I can compare the vintage house to an old pair of shoes maybe not looking pristine but so comfortable to wear