Chic & Basic Gravity

Best for / Tips to get it right

Why this one

Chic & Basic Gravity sits at R. Das Oliveiras 48, in the middle of Porto, and that is the single thing guests talk about most. Out of the 48 reviews we read, 29 mention the location. That is 60 percent. It is the kind of placement where you leave the room and you are already walking past restaurants and local bars. The second big signal is the staff, named in 26 reviews, 54 percent. Guests keep repeating the same thing without being asked. A warm welcome. A team that explains things and remembers you. One review puts it plainly: the reception team was a 10 out of 10. The look of the place comes up again and again too. The bathroom is praised in 8 reviews, the restaurant in 7, the bed in 4. Guests describe modern rooms, good showers, a decor where gravity plays tricks on you. Google scores it 4.8 out of 5 across 1085 reviews, which is consistent with what we saw in our sample.

What guests keep saying

The pattern in the 48 reviews we read is consistent. Location first, 29 mentions. Staff second, 26 mentions. Breakfast third, 15 mentions. Guests describe the hotel as beautiful and centrally located, as modern and stylish, as a place with free coffee and water and small touches that stick. Someone talks about a slice of cake in the fridge for a birthday. Someone else mentions a small patio with a waterfall for happy hour. The quieter signals round out the picture. Cleanliness appears in 11 reviews. The bathroom in 8, with the shower singled out more than once. The restaurant in 7, tied to the design of the whole place. The bed and the room size in 4 each. Guests who slept well keep coming back to the same word: quiet. One review from a first-floor room next to the bar says the noise did not disrupt their sleep at all.

• locationpraised 29 / 60%

  “Beautiful, centrally located hotel.”

• staffpraised 26 / 54%

  “The reception team was a 10/10.”

• breakfastpraised 15 / 31%

  “Great location‼️ Very good breakfast.”

• cleanlinesspraised 11 / 23%

  “Clean and well decorated throughout.”

• the bathroompraised 8 / 17%

  “Modern rooms, super comfy bed, great shower, cute balcony.”

• the restaurantpraised 7 / 15%

  “Hotel and restaurant with a really cool design!”

• noiseflagged 5 / 10%

  “It's situated in an area with traditional bars that, although busy, aren't noisy.”

• room sizepraised 4 / 8%

  “The hotel is very well located, the welcome was warm, the rooms were spacious, and the decor was extraordinary.”

• the bedpraised 4 / 8%

  “Modern rooms, super comfy bed, great shower, cute balcony.”

• how quiet it ispraised 4 / 8%

  “The well-appointed, clean, and quiet room, with functional and discreet amenities.”

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The bit the hotel does not tell you

The breakfast room has a practical detail that catches people out. You check in with staff on arrival at the buffet, and the check-in station sits after the food, not before. A couple of guests found this confusing on the first morning. Once you know, it is a two-second stop. The other thing worth knowing is the room position. The hotel sits in a stretch with traditional bars, and reviews say the front-facing rooms pick up more street sound than the interior ones. Guests who asked for a room at the back describe the stay as perfectly quiet.

Who we pictured staying here