Roaming Numeral

When I’m in the mood to stay at a hotel, nothing does it for me quite like a boutique hotel.

Boutique hotels by definition are designed to feel small, intimate, and unique. Our stay at Torel Avantgarde in Porto, Portugal went above and beyond our expectations and to this day remains one of my favorite hotels!

With only 60 rooms, the hotel was free to get creative with their designs. Each room is named after an Avantgarde artist, and styled after the personality and vision of each specific artist.

Although we had originally booked a Classic Deluxe room, upon check-in, we were upgraded several room categories into the Almada Negreiros suite. The huge suite was sleek and modern with two comfortable twin beds pushed together in a sleeping area (common for Europe), and a separate lounge area with a couch that could fold into a third bed. A TV was built into either end of dividing wall so it could be viewed from either the bed or the lounge, and the bathroom was luxurious and spacious. There was also a great view of Porto out of the windows.

We had been offered free welcome drinks at the bar, so that was our first stop after getting settled in our room. The bar area is covered with an explosion of flowers- on the wall, draped from the ceiling; basically an Instagrammer’s dream. We enjoyed a lovely glass of wine as our welcome drink and pestered the bar staff for dinner suggestions, which they were happy to supply.

I highly recommend booking the hotel with included breakfast since the selection is extensive. Breakfast is served in the Digby Restaurant at the hotel, and includes several types of fresh pastries, cold meats, fresh juices, omelettes made to order- even mimosas if desired! It was great to start the day with a delicious meal overlooking the Duomo River from the glass-walled restaurant. We also made sure to have dinner at the Digby and it lived up to our already high expectations! While it does specialize in meat, I was able to order an amazing vegan meal here, so there are options for everyone.

We had a pretty action packed stay in Porto, so we didn’t have a chance to make use of the Calla Wellness & Spa, but I did make sure to take a quick peek inside and it looked so beautiful! In additional to massages, it also offered, manicures, hair and makeup serves, personal training and more! We did do some relaxing (with a cheeky bottle of wine) on some of the lounge chairs next to the pool that overlooks the Duomo River, though it was a bit too cold to take a dip.

The service at this hotel was phenomenal- not only did we have our room upgraded for free, but the staff was incredibly attentive and always made a point to ask us how our day was going! They offered to help us book taxis or to make restaurant reservations for us when we asked them for suggestions. Since COVID tests were required to return to the US at the time of travel, the staff even made a testing appointment for me at a nearby pharmacy! One time, we left the hotel during a slight drizzle, and the staff ran out of us with umbrellas! They really made us feel seen and appreciated.

Though I’ve traveled quite a bit, I tend to travel fairly cheaply, so this was one of my first times experiencing a truly five star hotel and- you know what? I think I’m spoiled now- how am I meant to go back to hostels? They’re even pet-friendly! This hotel group has a few more options located in Lisbon, and they’ll be my first choice when I return to the city.