Luxury bespoke holidays to Pestana Vintage Porto, Portugal
Facts in brief
Official star rating 5
Location In Porto, overlooking the river Douro
Annual opening All year
Closest airport Porto
Distance from airport 20 minutes by car
Hotel facilities and services
Restaurant, bar, spa, room service, WiFi, babysitting, parking, concierge.
Out and about nearby
Guided tours and river cruises can be booked through the hotel, as well as visits to local wine cellars and tastings of regional cuisine. Walk the length of the bank of the Douro river and explore its narrow offshoots, where there are numerous lively cafes, restaurants and shops to discover. Perhaps cross the Luis I Bridge, a metal arch bridge dating from 1886, whose 172 metres connect Porto with Vila Nova de Gaia across the Douro. Here, on the banks of Gaia, magnificent views of Porto can be enjoyed. Vila Nova de Gaia is also famous for its port wine cellars, where tastings can also be arranged. Back in Porto, sites such as the seventeenth century cathedral and the Igreja de Sao Francisco with exquisite gilt work as well as several museums are places where visitors can discover the city’s rich history.
What particularly impresses us each time we use your services is that ‘what we expect we get’ eg car hire, rooms selected, all with no hassle. Not sure how you do it!!Mr W, July 2022
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Classic double room for 3 nights, with breakfast and flights from London with British Airways.
From about
£870
Holiday Code EXH46064
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke holidays to Pestana Vintage Porto, Portugal
The Pestana Vintage Porto expertly blends its historic features with the modern luxuries expected of a five-star hotel. Features of the building dating from the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries have been carefully preserved, with contemporary, sumptuous décor bringing the building into the twenty-first century. The RIB Beef and Wine restaurant serves locally sourced food and drink, with a focus on local beef dishes. Decorated in rich blues and dark wooden floors, views over the river make this a light, bright space. The Heritage Bistro and Bar is more contemporary in style, with a vibrant wall mural setting off the pared down pine furniture and bar. A selection of snacks and local wines are served here. Guestrooms are modern in style, decorated in light, warm tones. Many of the higher category rooms benefit from large windows which fill the space with light and give great views over the city and the river.
Room descriptions
Pestana Vintage Porto has 101 rooms and 8 suites all with minibar, safe, air conditioning, WiFi access and room service.
What particularly impresses us each time we use your services is that ‘what we expect we get’ eg car hire, rooms selected, all with no hassle. Not sure how you do it!!Mr W, July 2022
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Classic double room for 3 nights, with breakfast and flights from London with British Airways.
From about
£870
Holiday Code EXH46064
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke holidays to Pestana Vintage Porto, Portugal
The journey and how you get there
For a holiday to Pestana Vintage Porto, Expressions Holidays includes scheduled flights with British Airways from London to Porto. The hotel is about 25 minutes’ drive from the airport.
Additional information
Children: Babysitting is available for a charge.
What particularly impresses us each time we use your services is that ‘what we expect we get’ eg car hire, rooms selected, all with no hassle. Not sure how you do it!!Mr W, July 2022
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Classic double room for 3 nights, with breakfast and flights from London with British Airways.
From about
£870
Holiday Code EXH46064
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke holidays to Pestana Vintage Porto, Portugal
About Portugal
An Expressions tailor-made holiday to Portugal's countryside bursts with pretty villages, glitters with historical treasures and World Heritage sites, as well as converted mediaeval monasteries, and elegant manor houses now hosting some of the finest hotels in Europe. Though Portugal's spirit is undoubtedly rural, its big towns Porto and Lisbon are lively, magical places making full use of their waterside setting, offering rich picking for those that like to wander, with colourful waterside cafes and boutiques, leafy boulevards and old-fashioned trams still rattling through the streets. Smaller towns offer their own enchantment, with well-preserved medieval quarters that invite exploring in towns like Évora, Coimbra, Guimarães and Braga. Outside the cities, travellers can enjoy Portugal's warm sunny weather, exploring centuries-old vineyards, visiting stone villages in the mountains or soaking up rays on the magnificent southern shoreline. Dramatic scenery lies all along the coast from windswept cliffs with edge-of-the-world views to wild dune-covered beaches. More than just a static backdrop, the scenery sets the stage for outdoor adventure. Hiking, surfing, windsurfing, horse-riding, big game fishing, kayaking, diving, golfing, and mountain biking are a few ways to spend a sun-drenched afternoon. 600 miles southwest of Portugal lies the island of Madeira, home to Reid's Palace Hotel, an elegant and glamorous five star hotel in a superb location, ideal for holidays all year round, due to the mild winter climate, and on an island renowned for its beautiful vegetation.
Highlights of Lisbon
The area close to the city of Lisbon is known for its variety of attractions. Moorish architecture left over from Arabic rule can be seen in the Castelo de Sao Jorge in the Alfama. Collections of Portuguese art are on display in the Museu Gulbenkian, the Museu de Arte Antiga, and the Berardo Collection. For a taste of Portugal's maritime history, visit the Monasteiro dos Jeronimos. Sintra, the favourite haunt of Lord Byron, is home to twin-peak-top castles and royal palaces. Beautiful, golden sandy beaches can be found in Cascais to the west of Lisbon, or on the Costa da Caparica to the south; particularly idyllic are the coves between Setubal and Sesimbra. Peniche is a picturesque seaside town renowned for being one of Europe's best surfing spots. You can explore all that the area around the city of Lisbon has to offer with our Tour of the City and Countryside of the Lisboa Region.
Highlights of the Algarve
Known for having some of Portugal's most scenic beaches, the Algarve is a popular destination for those looking for a beach or water sports holiday enjoying the Portuguese sunshine. Sagres and Tavira are recognised as the best places for this. In Albufeira, Armacao de Pera, and Lagos you will find an abundance of the light-catching rocky outcrops and peaceful coves that the Algarve is so well known for. Salema, Burgau, and Sagres were once busy little fishing villages, and now still stand as testament to this important aspect of Portuguese culture. The Reserva Natural da Ria Formosa lies just off the southern coastline, the islands of which can be accessed from many towns, including Faro, Olhao, Fuseta, Cabanas, and Tavira; most of which are also ideal starting points from which to try a little surfing. White-washed and serene Alcoutim is an example of the less-developed Portuguese towns, with a hint of Andalucia in its appearance, and Loule is the perfect place to wander around a bustling market. You may also wish to visit the Roman ruins at Milreu, the Moorish town of Silves, or the Spa town of Caldas de Monchique. For outdoor pursuits, head into the Serra de Monchique Mountain Range.
Highlights of Porto and the Douro Valley
At the mouth of the Rio Douro lies Porto, an atmospheric town with a dramatic aspect and almost Parisian lifestyle. Its streets are lined with historic buildings and wine lodges serving the best of Portuguese wines. The nearby wine towns of Penafiel, Peso da Regua, Pinhao, and Amarante are also recommended for wine-tasting, but have a much more rural location. Amarante, in particular, is believed to be the most attractive wine town in the area, with a central triple-arched bridge, tall stone red-roofed houses interspersed with verdant trees, and a gently flowing river. To witness a sample of Portuguese Baroque architecture, visit the pilgrimage town of Lamego. The main attraction of this town, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedios, lies at the top of an elaborate and intricately decorated set of zig-zagged stairways that pass through archways and across viewing balconies. In Porto, some of the greatest artistic triumphs of 17th century Portugal reside, the Se Cathedral in particular, in which every inch of the columns, archways, and altar have been adorned in golden floral and religious motifs, in true Baroque style. For something even more historic, visit the Palaeolithic rock formations of Vila Nova de Foz Coa, the largest outdoor gallery of stone age remains in the world, which have since been neighboured by flourishing vineyards. Along the rocky gorges of the river, you will find a number of castle-towns, including the Medieval walled town of Trancoso and the fortress town of Almeida.
Highlights of Madeira
A green and fertile island in the Atlantic Ocean, Madeira is situated off the coast of Morocco. Its coastline combines beautiful sandy beaches with rocky cliffs, the latter of which can be best appreciated at Cabo Girao. The island's capital, Funchal, is packed full with historic buildings, including 15th century churches and convents and a Se Cathedral as ornate as the one in Porto. Enjoy the relentless joviality of the street markets, or visit more peaceful attractions, such as the basalt cave of Capela de Sao Vicente or the island's protected nature reserves. Rare Laurissilva forests can be walked, trekked, or hiked through, affording guests sensational views; and the crystal clear waters off the coast can be swam through, perhaps below the water's surface so the ecosystems that live in the reefs can be appreciated. One of the greatest pleasures of Madeira, however, is wandering over the beaches, surveying the rock pools, and taking in the sights from the clifftops. Aside from the key regions that our Portuguese programme focuses on, there is much to find and see in Portugal. Those willing to drive a little further during the day will enjoy a much more diverse touring holiday.
Facts in brief
Capital LisbonAirport There are international airports at Lisbon, Porto and Faro, served by a variety of airlines from the UK, including British Airways, EasyJet, bmibaby, TAP, Jet2.
Size 35,000 sq. miles
Population 10 million
