EUROSTARS DAS ARTES, IN PORTO

Getting to Porto from Lisbon was easy. Getting to the Eurostar Das Artes Hotel was a bit of a nightmare. I didn’t have a GPS with me, so there I was like in the old times… with a map in hand… and following signs. I have to say that from the ring road, the signs were clear and without any mistake, so you could reach the hotel easily… but the traffic around the hospital that is near the hotel was chaotic, extremely slow and clearly, the traffic lights didn’t allow enough cars to avoid congestion. But… eventually, I got there.

The hotel is inside a historic building, near the centre but not quite in there. The metro stop is within walking distance. To start with, you need to climb a few steps to get to the reception. Staff was nice and gave me all sorts of indications. I had to pay for my car parking space in the back yard. Outside, in the neighbouring streets, carparking may be complicated... and expensive, as it is blue area of pay and display.

The room I got, was on the 2nd floor of the module that was next the the street, but it was an inside room, therefore, it was very quiet. The room was huge, with a big comfortable bed and sufficient space for a sitting watching the flat screen TV.

The bathroom was huge too. Very long, with a bath and a shower, and plenty of soaps.

In the morning, on the lower ground floor, a massive buffet is waiting for you. Wide choice that surely will meet your expectations.

EUROSTARS DAS ARTES
RUA DO ROSARIO, 160-164
Porto
Portugal
Telephone: (+34) 902 93 24 24
Fax: (+34) 93 268 19 45

NH CAMPO GRANDE, IN LISBON

The NH hotels can be of two types. Old buildings refurbished and new buildings. The NH Campo Grande is a relatively new building but the hotel itself looks as if it was an old one... that had not been touch for a long time... except for the common areas.

The Reception area is ok. When I got there, it was rather quiet, so I checked it relatively fast. The lifts were just next to the reception, but one of them was not working well. So thank God there was not that many people.

The room was ok. I got 403 that offered a "nice" view to the main road. Fortunately, it was well isolated. Bed was comfortable, rather small for a new hotel. A little living room area, with a pair of chairs and a table, with a Nespresso Coffee Machine and some tablets to make a coffee.

The bathroom with much less toiletries than in the good times... Logical if they want to reduce costs... but... do you go to a hotel that has an attractive price but you don't find half of the things you find a similar status hotel? Very poor.

Internet has also a cost. 15 Euro for the basic connection and 18 for the business. Nowadays, there are hotels that are offering it for free, for god sake, and this hotel not only asks you to pay for it, but it has two types. I am not sure what the business rate was like, but the basic one was constantly offline, and took a couple of minutes to get you back online.

Breakfast was also... simple. A buffet was available with some cold meats, cheese, fruit (very scarce) and some bakery products. Coffee was prepared (not that bad) and so was the orange juice. The restaurant was overlooking the main road too and traffic was intense, so... definitely, was not a relaxing experience, especially for me, who had a car hired.

Checking out was fast too. I had my car in the car park... which according to them is payable, but they didn't charge me for it, even when I remarked I had my car there... So... good point there for the hotel.

I think that the 4 stars they claim to have... should be more like 3... But it's ok...

NH CAMPO GRANDE

Campo Grande, 7.

1700-087 Lisboa (Portugal)

Tel. +35.121.7917600

Fax: +35.121.7957500

E-mail: nhcampogrande@nh-hotels.com