Hotel NH Collection Porto Batalha
The Baixa district has been attracting the great and the good of Porto society for almost two-hundred years. The Praca da Batalha, its focal point, was chosen by the Melo Correia family as the location to build their grand neoclassical Casa dos Guedes palace at the end of the 18th century – their coat of arms remains front-and-centre above the hotel’s main entrance.
The Fonseca family took ownership just before on the onset of the Liberal Wars – Portugal’s civil war which ran from 1828 to 1834. Head of the family, Jose Anastacio da Silva da Fonseca, saw himself on the losing, absolutionist side – the palace became government property and with given a number of roles – a hospital, post office, and telephone exchange – until it’s conversion into the four-star Hotel NH Collection Porto Batalha in 2009. The original Casa dos Guedes certainly was palatial – today’s hotel has over one-hundred rooms, divided across five floors. A simple palette of whites and greys make the most of the natural light, contrasted with the vibrant splashes of colour – fourth floor rooms are our favourites, with their city view terraces.
Location-wise, the hotel shares Praca da Batalha with the National Theatre and the Igreja De Santo Ildefonso, Sao Bento train Station and the Rua de Santa Catarina and a short walk away, and the Funicular dos Guindais is the gentlest way down to Cais da Ribeira and the iconic Ponte Luis I bridge.
