Almada 333

When looking at booking your accommodation in Porto, it quickly becomes quite obvious that Airbnbs and short-term rental flats dominate the scene in terms of quantity and appeal, compared to hotels. These flats are often rented out by their owners or by (semi)professional rental companies who have renovated flats or whole apartment buildings, often in close vicinity to the Douro river.

You really are spoiled for choice and there are many Instagrammable apartments available with balconies or terraces, overlooking Porto or the Douro. During our trip to Porto, we stayed in several apartments and were mostly disappointed. There were a number of reasons, like the host being difficult to communicate with, the apartment not being the cleanest, the TV and Wi-Fi not working or the furniture being really cheap. Considering the price we paid per night for these apartments, we weren't really satisfied. Not even the stunning views could fix that and as we were out and about pretty much all day in the city, we didn't really get the chance to make good use out of it, except maybe for taking a couple of pictures for Instagram.

To our surprise, it was the apartment without "the" view that we enjoyed the most. One of our criteria was to find a place which was in close vicinity to the city as well as Catraio - Porto's best craft beer bar, and we settled on Apartment #7 at Almada 333, located in Rua do Almada in downtown Porto.

It's very centrally located but in a quiet side street and in easy walking distance from the centre (10 min), Catraio (8 min), our favorite Porto restaurant Cumplice (12 min) and even the river (15 min). Rua do Almada used to be famous for its many hardware stores; now you can find a lot of different restaurants and cafés around. BaoBab, a craft beer bar is located just up the road and One Two Tea, a bubble tea place is just a couple of houses down.

We found the apartment on Airbnb, and it is rented out by LovelyStay, which is a property rental company for short term rentals. We stayed for a couple of nights and paid 196 Euros per night, including taxes and the cleaning fee. The host was readily available via the Airbnb platform and provided us with all the arrival and check in details ahead of time. They even messaged us as soon as the apartment was ready, so we could check in two hours early. Usually check in is at 4 pm, and you have to check out until 11. Something to note is that Almada 333 is actually located in the house with the number 339, so don't be surprised that number 333 is not the apartment building you were looking for.

You get a code for the front door as well as your room, so this is not an in-person check-in, but there is a concierge available during the day for any questions you might have. An elevator takes you up to your floor and the whole house is adorned with bourgeois architectural elements, high ceiling and a sprawling stone staircase. Tap in your room code, and you'll enter a beautifully decorated apartment with high ceilings, an open kitchen and living room space. There is a wine fridge (without any wine), a coffee machine, two coffee capsules and two tea bags to get you through the first day, and basic kitchen equipment such as plates, cups and cutlery as well as some cleaning supplies. The small dining table with chairs was functional and sufficient for our purposes. The couch and armchair in the living room area were very comfy, and the TV was actually working...and even boasted several international and English-speaking channels. There were two small balconies which you could technically use to sit outside, but we did not make use out of them.

The bedroom was separated by a glass wall, giving the whole apartment a light and airy feel. The large queen-size bed was very comfy and there was air-conditioning installed throughout the apartment. The sink and bathroom area were minimalistic but very functional and well maintained, and the water pressure in the overhead shower was great. Even bathroom amenities were provided, making it almost feel like a hotel. Overall, the apartment was very clean and the pictures you can find on Airbnb or Booking.com are accurate.

Funny story - we stayed in Porto during the São João festival - a festival which mixes religious and pagan traditions and celebrates one of the patrons of Porto - St. John. The festival starts on the night of June 23rd, and it's a crazy night where the whole city is out celebrating in the street, enjoying the fireworks, dancing, BBQing sardines, drinking Superbock and most importantly, hitting each other over the head with squeaky plastic hammers - for good luck.

Experiencing Porto during the São João festival should definitely be on your bucket list. The city is filled with the sounds of music, the squeaking of the hammers and the smoke of the sardine grills. An incredibly fun night - but it is also incredibly loud. Many Airbnb apartments are located right in the centre of all the celebrations, and the party was going strong until the early hours of the morning. Downtown was a bit quieter and in our apartment at Almada 333 we actually could not hear any noise coming in from the street, which meant a restful night after a fun but exhausting day.

Starting with the responsiveness of the host, how accommodating they were during our trip, the beautiful building and apartment and how comfortable we felt staying at this place definitely contributed to making this one of our all-time favourite trips. We really recommend you check out the different apartments they have available. To be honest, they all look great, and we would probably stay here again during our next trip to Porto.