Descobertas Boutique Hotel
The bustling Cais da Ribeira district of Porto is one of our favourite spots in the city, with its abundance family-run restaurants and alfresco riverfront bars. One street back from the riverbank, the narrow Rua Fonte Taurina is one of the districts streets and the old HQ of Porto’s Mercantile Industrial Society has been meticulously converted into the Descobertas Boutique Hotel.
Functionality is at the core of industrial design, and the raw stone of the ground floor guest lounge and the imposing wrought-iron pillars which support the breakfast mezzanine both help to evoke the minimal look synonymous with the building’s 19th century commercial origins. The décor in the eighteen guest bedrooms swings in the opposite direction – the rooms are softened by the introduction of comfortable furnishing, and a warmer palette of cedar and mottled shades of grey.
As a base for exploring the city on foot and by tram, the Palacio da Bolsa, Casa do Infante and the Ferreira Borges Market, and of course of Ponte Dom Luis II are all close by. Parking can be tricky due to the pedestrianisation of the Cais da Ribeira – when you’re ready to leave Porto, we’ll usually arrange for a taxi to transfer you to the collection point for your hire car.
