For me this is the best hotel in Porto. Which is kind of ironic – because it’s not in Porto but Vila Nova de Gaia. But to appreciate the timeless beauty of Porto there is no better place than this hotel. It’s build in the heart of all the Port Wine lodges – located towards the top of the hill that leads down to the river – which means that the view is quite stunning. Every room has a panoramic view that is nearly indescribable. I don’t want to know how many hours I have spent on the terrace, trying to take the perfect photo of the illuminated Porto by night. And also during the day your eye can not rest when you look over the river towards Porto with all it’s beautiful old buildings.
I can’t even remember how Porto/Gaia were before this hotel opened… It has become so important in just a few years.
The hotel is all about wine… and what better place to be than here, in the center of the Port trade. The hotel has 82 rooms – and each hotel room is sponsored by a different Portuguese wine producer. Next to the room door is the name of the producer – which makes it already a special feeling… Everything is top notch – I don’t know any other hotel in Porto that would give me so much pleasure of staying there as the Yeatman does.
From the moment you are greeted by the doorman till the moment you drive of the property you feel just great. The staff is exceptional and very eager to help. Very polite. Be it that you just want to stop by to enjoy an old Port Wine while sitting on the terrace overlooking the Douro and Porto; be it that you want to enjoy a marvelous dinner in the 2-Michelin-star-restaurant; be it that you are celebrating a special day with friends and family; be it that you want to enjoy a fantastic spa-treatment; be it that you need a room to sleep – you will find it all here in this hotel…
Everything in this hotel screams “Wine” and “Port Wine”. It starts with the name “Yeatman”. In 1826 Morgan Yeatman founded – together with John Fladgate – die company Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman, which still exists, being famous for brands like Taylor’s, Croft and Fonseca. The hotel is located right next to the lodge of Taylor’s. The”Chief Executive Officer” of the hotel is Adrian Bridge – who is also the CEO of Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman.
The hotel opened in August 2010 and received already the Michelin-Star for its restaurant in November 2011 – and by now it has already achieved its second star! It’s a member of the Relais & Châteaux chain of boutique hotels. But, much more important for us: The hotel calls itself the Wine Hotel. And this is definitely true. You can clearly see it in many details in the hotel.
The wine cellar contains more than 1000 different Portuguese wines – of course also nearly all of the best Port and Douro Wines.
It’s a 5-star-hotel, not inexpensive – but it’s a great experience, fantastic service, nice staff. However, the best feature of this hotel is the view towards Porto. While all other hotels that I recommend here are located in Porto and look towards Gaia, the Yeatman-Hotel is the only place where you have a perfect view towards the skyline of Porto and the colorful houses of medieval Ribeira. I have spent many hours during the night on the terrace in front of my room, trying to take the perfect photo of the illuminated Porto. When I looked for a place to celebrate my 50th birthday, it was a no-brainer to do it in this hotel, which is so closely associated with my beloved Port Wine. And, what can I say – it was an amazing event.
However, as always, nothing is perfect… every Rose has it’s thorn, as my mother always says. One thing we should remember: Gaia consists of hills, hills and more hills. Down by the river you find all the tourist-attractions and most of the wine lodges – and the way back to your hotel is not necessary a walk in the park. In the summer, Porto and Gaia can be quite hot – and if you try to get back to the hotel when it’s 35 degrees in the shadow, the walk suddenly turns into a cardio training. Luckily I have always my camera with me – so I can stop easily from time to time and pretend that I’m taking photos, while in reality I just wait for the imminent heart-attack to go away and for my pulse to go back to a survivable level, while sweat flows like a river into my eyes.
If you had dinner in one of the many restaurants at the waterfront in Gaia (which I wouldn’t really recommend, as they are of course a little bit of tourist traps and Porto has so many nicer restaurants) and you decide to walk back uphill to the hotel… well, it’s of course nice to walk in the cooler air of the night, but… Gaia can be a very lonesome place in the night. You can hear the echo of your steps on the cobblestone; high walls on the right and on the left; dark small alleys on the right and on the left… this all can make you feel quite uncomfortable. Memories of Orson Welles and “The Third Man” go through my mind. I must confess that I have never heard about attacks against tourists in Gaia, but I can imagine that especially single ladies on their own will not like this walk very much.
As there are no many social or cultural actives in the close vicinity of the Yeatman-Hotel (other than of course within the hotel) – you will be anyhow be quickly the best friend of the taxi-drivers, as you will need them constantly to go back between Porto and the hotel. Luckily are the taxi-fares in Portugal quite reasonable.
To learn more about this hotel and to book it, please follow this link: The Yeatman