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Portugal - 2011 |
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PORTO |
Hotel Peninsular
Rua Sa Bandeira 21 P-4000-433 Porto |
Tel: (+351) 222 003 012
www.hotel-peninsular.net |
| A somber 2-star run by unpleasant and dishonest people, chosen mostly for its unique location: in the hyper center of everything you want to see, and only meters from the train station. The rooms are all different, to the point of being worth touring, and some are surprisingly spacious for a city hotel (don’t feel put out if someone else got the bridal suite: we made no effort to assign, it’s luck of the draw). There is a wonderful atrium / public area on the 4th floor, a curious elevator, and pretty azulejos (tile work) in the entry hallway. Very 1930's, in a good way. Very Portugal, in a neutral way. But you are here to see Portugal, and there is no denying: this is it. No Wifi: there is a computer for public use at the reception. |
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LUSO |
Grand Hotel Rua Dr. Cid de Oliveira, 86 3050-210 Luso |
Tel: (+351) 231 937 937
www.hoteluso.com |
| Salazar’s Portugal, a neo-Art Deco palace dominating a spa town. Places that look like this have nearly disappeared, or are in ruins. This is what they used to look like, when they dotted Portugal, but also Eastern Europe. The artwork and furnishings have roughly kept pace with the modern era, but there is nothing to be done about the building itself: the height of latin fascist taste. Wifi: supposedly works throughout the hotel, including in the rooms. Normally charged for, but the hotel has spontaneously offered to gift it to our group. Be sure to log out when you are not using the connection, as connection time can be interrupted and re-started, and we don't know how much time they are giving each of us (normal price is 12€ for 24 hours' connection time). |
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COIMBRA Fado Dinner Option |
Hotel Astoria
Av.Emídio Navarro , 21 3000-150 Coimbra |
Tel: (+351) 239 853 020
www.almeidahotels.com |
The Astoria was certainly once Coimbra’s best hotel. It still is, in our book. Lacks modern convenience, many old things too young to really be precious (but they are to us)... but what glorious public spaces! And so many of them! And a fun elevator, and a reading room, and a breakfast room reminiscent of the bow of a boat, or maybe a lighthouse... Old enough to seem “English money.” |
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| LEIRIA Independent Night |
Pensao Residencial Leiriense
Rua Afonso de Albuquerque, 8 P-2400 Leiria |
Tel: (+351) 244 823 054
hotelleiriense.com |
A simple pensão in a mid-sized market town. Best “Portuguese” place in town (there are a couple of Holiday Inn-type modern hotels that charge more, and you might have even preferred them, but you know who you’re dealing with, or at least most of you do). Small rooms, but well-kept, and on a quiet, pedestrian street. |
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Friday & Saturday, October 7 & 8 |
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NAZARE 2 nights Dinner Reserved 1st Night |
Hotel Adega Oceano Avenida da Republica P-2450 Nazaré |
Tel: (+351) 262 561 161 www.adegaoceano.com |
| There are 4 or 5 hotels right on the water,
and this is our favorite of the bunch. For starters, these people are reasonably honest. Secondly, the restaurant is good: professionally run, good waitstaff. The rooms are still very much shoe boxes with plywood wall , there is sand everywhere, “vista do mar” means you can see it by craning your neck out the window... but when you set foot out the front door, you are some place pretty special. Wifi: in the bar / restaurant, and downstairs in the TV room. Maybe a weak signal in some rooms on the first floor. No password needed, the name of the network is obvious. |
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Sunday & Monday, October 9 & 10 |
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| OBIDOS 2 nights Dinner Reserved 2nd Night |
Albergaria Rainha Santa Isabel
Rua Direita, 63 P-2510 Obidos |
Tel: (+351) 262 959 323
www.obidoshotel.com/ |
What to say about the Rainha Saint Isabel? This, we suppose: lots of promise, but follow-through is lacking. Sometimes announced to be a 3-star, somtimes a 4-star... in reality, nothing is quite right. The shower doesn't drain properly. The toilet seat is broken. The wifi connection cuts in and out. The lighting in the room is so dim, you‘d think it was mood lighting for a piano bar. The minibar is empty, and the fridge is not on. Etc. |
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Tuesday, October 11, plus extra nights (if any) |
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| LISBOA Fado Dinner Option |
Hotel Tejo
Rua dos Condes de Monsanto 1100-159 Lisboa |
Tel: (+351) 218 866 182
www.evidenciahoteis.com |
| You could see our Lisbon hotel as a manifestation of our sense of humor, or a compare / contrast between life in the country and life in the city, or as a change of pace... lots of ways to interpret it. Suffice it to say, it is a suitable end to the trip. A nice place, superbly located. But you can tell you are in a new place: bright lights, big city.... Wifi: in the public spaces, but not in the rooms. No password necessary. |
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Revised on September 29th, 2011 |
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