Praça da Liberdade / Aliados

InterContinental Porto - Palacio das Cardosas

★★★★★

If location were the only criterion, the InterContinental would win most arguments about where to stay in Porto. It occupies the Palácio das Cardosas, an eighteenth-century palace classified as a national monument, on the Praça da Liberdade at the foot of the Avenida dos Aliados. Step out of the front door and São Bento station is two minutes away, the Clérigos Tower five, Rua das Flores leads straight down to the Ribeira, and the shopping streets of the Baixa begin around the corner. The palace has a long and colourful history: it was built for a religious order, later became the grand residence of a wealthy merchant family, the Cardosas, from whom it takes its name, and spent the twentieth century as offices and shops before its conversion into the first InterContinental in Portugal. The restoration kept the long neoclassical facade and the sense of arrival, and inside, the public spaces are elegant and calm, with the Bar das Cardosas serving afternoon tea and cocktails and a covered patio for al fresco dining. The Astória restaurant offers locally inspired cooking. Rooms range from classic doubles to two-storey and panoramic suites, decorated in a classic, understated style with rich fabrics and good beds, and many look out over the square and the avenue. There is a wellness centre for treatments, while fitness is offered through a partnership rather than an on-site gym. The trade-off is that this is a city-centre palace rather than a resort: there is no pool, the square outside is lively, and rooms facing it see some street life. For first-time visitors who want to walk everywhere and come back to a polished, five-star base, it is one of the safest choices in Porto.

Choosing a room: classic rooms are comfortable but the most compact; premium rooms and junior suites add space and are worth the step up for longer stays. The two-storey and panoramic suites are the showpieces, with views along the Avenida dos Aliados to the City Hall. Rooms on the square side have the views and some evening noise; rooms facing inwards are quieter. Ask at booking which you are getting.

Living in it: afternoon tea in the Bar das Cardosas is a Porto institution in its own right and a lovely way to recover from the hills. Breakfast is generous, and the concierge team is well used to booking port lodge tours, Douro day trips and dinner reservations. Because the hotel sits on the main square, it is also the ideal base for the São João festival in June and for the Christmas lights on the avenue, both of which play out right outside.

Base math: rates are at the upper end of the city, though often below the most expensive boutique palaces, and IHG loyalty members get the usual benefits. It suits first-time visitors, couples, business travellers and anyone who values location and reliable five-star service over a spa or pool. Travellers who want a pool should look at PortoBay Flores or the Vila Foz instead.