Armazém Luxury Housing- Architectural & Design Hotel

I booked a 4 day stay at Armazém after having completed a Camino de Santiago hike. I was looking for luxury & comfort at a centrally located hotel within walking distance of the historical district of Porto. The hotel is gorgeous. A beautiful combination of old/new/rustic/contemporary decor, design & architecture in calming colors & paint palettes. My room was on the 2nd floor, accessible via elevator. I had 2 step out balconies which faced the extremely busy plaza below. The room facilities were lovely, a comfortable platform bed & a large shower that actually contained the water within the shower stall. Breakfast, which was described to me as "continental", was actually a full meal complete with custom made omelettes, cheeses, pastries, breads, fruits & drinks all served on vintage linen place mats with linen napkins. The location is perfect, so centrally located to shops, churches, restaurants, the river...anywhere you'd want to go was essentially walking distance. Numerous restaurants in the plaza, all incredibly delicious. I dined at every one. I didn't have much interaction with the staff but when I did, everyone was kind & helpful. A few did not speak English well but language barriers aren't an issue for me. There's always a way to communicate. I would stay here again in a heartbeat. Seemed less hotel & more a lovely Portugal apartment. I'd easily give this hotel 5 stars but for the few minor issues that may or may not bother other guests.

The lighting is bad, dim, dark in some areas. In the evening, can barely read small print. Don't count on reading a book in bed at night unless you use the light from your cell phone. My bed was platform style. Comfortable with great linens but the wooden platform corners stuck out. Watch out for banging your shins on the corner...which I did numerous times. No closets for hanging clothing, just a small rod by the bed with only a few hangers. Breakfast starts at 8 AM. If you are planning early excursions (which I did) you will miss the breakfast. Out of the 4 days I stayed, was only able to dine once, the morning I was departing. There is only a handful of rooms so the hotel is quiet. The front door stays locked & one must ring a doorbell for access. If you don't want to hear the noise from the plaza, & it stays noisy until 1 1 AM, request a room in the back. I hired an Uber to take me to the Armazén after arriving in Porto. The area is closed to traffic so I was dropped off about 1 block away & had to carry my luggage uphill. Make sure you are capable of this. A bottle of complimentary water was available in the room on check in but never replenished. For the cost of the room, I think a new bottle every day is in order.

Amazing breakfast

Breakfast was good. There could be a wider selection of fruit.

No dressing gown. I was charged for drinking a bottle of water which I thought was unnecessary given that I was staying for 2 nights and it was not clear that I had to pay extra.

Beautiful hotel in the best location; staff were welcoming, courteous and obliging and the room was extremely comfortable and very nicely presented. The breakfast was good. The would have liked the following (but this not meant as a criticism, I had a wonderful stay). A dressing gown, brighter bathroom lighting, black teabags and milk.