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Reviews of Casa Melo Alvim by Unlock Hotels

4 out of 5
Casa Melo Alvim by Unlock Hotels
Av. Conde da Carreira, 28, Viana do Castelo

Reviews

9.2

Wonderful

Rating 10 - Excellent. 146 out of 221 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 60 out of 221 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 10 out of 221 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 1 out of 221 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 4 out of 221 reviews" "

9.4/10

Cleanliness

9.4/10

Staff & service

9.0/10

Amenities

9.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

9.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

8/10 Good

Nick

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

2/10 Terrible

Vicente

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
I booked one of the top tier accommodation in this “hotel” - the Prestige Apartment- for a comfortable and upscale 4 night stay and what a got was the opposite - an awful nightmare. The hotel has an amazing location in the city of Viana but the positives end here. My room was located in an adjacent building and it was a run down apartment as far as it can be from a “prestige apartment” with worn out tacky furniture and no internet service. I had to work remotely during my stay so I told the reception employee, Sr Rui Braga, about the internet issue and night after night I was unable to work because there was no internet at all in my room or very weak and inconsistent internet. So for the first 2 nights I ended sitting in the hotel lobby, that was empty like most rooms in the hotel, and worked until late using the WiFi available in that area. In the third night I was to tired to argue and request them to fix this issue that I just didn’t work and in the next morning, I decided to leave and spend my final night in another hotel that could provide decent internet service. I left early in the morning and no one was available to check me out, so I left my information and later got an email letting me know that I would have to pay for the last night (the fourth night) since my reservation was no refundable. What?! I didn’t leave because I wanted to, I left because the hotel is a dump that can’t even provide basic internet to guests. I had no choice.

10/10 Excellent

Nancy

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We loved staying here. Great location and helpful staff
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Jeanna

Traveled with group
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This is a wonderful hotel in a historic building. The hotel has a beer garden and a pool, and is walking distance from many dining options. The staff was friendly and helpful. I wish we had more time there!
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Michael

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Jacinda

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The best customer service.
This is such a beautiful hotel but what made it so great was definitely the excellent customer service from Rui and the team.They went above and beyond and it really does make a difference. I stayed the next night at another hotel the next town over and it really wasn't the same at all. I highly recommend this hotel and a service it provided.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023

6/10 Okay

Wanda

Liked: Staff & service
Very spartan accomodations
The hotel is very well located on the main avenue in the historic center of the city. It is a very old building that was converted into a hotel preserving much of its original structure. The room I stayed in was spacious, but I cannot define it as comfortable. The bed mattress was hard. The room does not have air conditioning (which is common in Europe), so you have to leave the window open for the room to cool down. That normally is not a problem for us, but the noise and the traffic on the avenue make it difficult to rest unless you close the window, which we could not close until midnight. Breakfast is included and has a good variety, but it is served by only one employee, who did her best to diligently serve customers, but was not enough to serve all the needs. During our stay we got the impression that the hotel operates with the minimum staff. I can't say it was an unpleasant experience, but I don't think I will stay at this hotel again in the future.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

Karel

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
A friend and I stayed in Casa Melo Alvim for one night. It was right by the bus station, about a 2 min walk, and therefore super convenient to our needs. The front desk was super helpful and very welcoming. A gentleman with a ponytail hair style, served us. Unfortunately, we did not get his name on arrival or the following day when he was again super helpful, He went way beyond the norm to help us get to the bus station in a hurry as we had made a mistake with the departing time of the bus. He welcomed us to Casa Melo Alvim and invited us to regard the hotel as our home from home for our stay. We were very impressed by this individual who made our stay memorable and enjoyable. We cannot but recommend this hotel as a great stop in beautiful Viana do Castelo

10/10 Excellent

Christina

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
What a charming place! Right next to the train station, the breakfast was good and so pretty! Loved the unique touches like the stone seats by the windows
One of the living areas by our room
Stayed 1 night in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

David

Business traveler
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great location
This is a well positioned hotel, close to the railway station. The staff were friendly and very helpful. Usually when staying in an apartment there is the ability to make coffee and a free coffee sachet, but neither were available here, which was disappointing.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Mar 2023

10/10 Excellent

Keith

Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2023

10/10 Excellent

Lori

Stayed 4 nights in Nov 2022

10/10 Excellent

maria

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

8/10 Good

John

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Characterful centrally located hotel
Easy to find; central, near station. Historic building. Friendly check in. Lovely spacious room with plenty of character. Comfy bed Excellent breakfast Wished we coukd have stayed longer
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

Christopher

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

Christopher

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

Jeffrey

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great location and comfortable room for an overnight stay. Next to the train station so some noise.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2022

8/10 Good

Carol-Anne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 6 nights in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Anne

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Paulo D V

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great stay in lovely historic building
Beautiful 16th century building, handsomely renovated, clean, spacious and interesting. Lovely secluded pool too. Amazing staff, super friendly and attentive. Had a great stay and happy to recommend.
Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Nils

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

2/10 Terrible

Andre

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Complete disaster
Due to the reduced number of characters I will try to be succinct. Lack of information during Check-in. The guests before us got a long and detailed conversation, we got the most basic talk. Old-fashioned utilities (some understandably, given the nature of the building, others like the bathtub, not so much.) Impossible to take a bath due to a malfunction in the bathtub. Also, no slip resistant mat, and a dirty shower curtain. Air conditioning duct full of dust. Minibar wasn't even on. Thick layer of dirt behind furniture. Rich fauna of spiders and insects. Dirty windows in the bedroom and at the restaurant. Expensive microwaved food at the restaurant (Confirmed by staff) Icing on top of the cake was, knowing my wife is pregnant, the bedroom phone wasn't even connected and there were no instructions to call the reception. The only person who was really attentive and helpful was Fabiana, that works at the restaurant. I complained about all of this at check-out and didn't even get a discount. The person simply tried to justify everything with the most idiotic excuses.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2022
Response from Daniela Ribeiro on Jun 15, 2022
Dear Andre, First of all let me thank you for taking your time reviewing our hotel. We are very sorry that your experience with us was less positive. We always try to be the most complete and to give the best information possible at check-in but it is true that on your check-in day our customers arrived all at the same time which leads to a greater movement at reception and we try to manage the check-ins the best way possible to not increase queues but we are always at your disposal for any other question or for any assistance you may need. About the bad function in the bathtub I'm very sorry for the inconvenience we did not have this information, and during the weekend it was not possible to fix it, but let me inform you that it is now. About the cleaning we are taking measures about that, the hotel is undergoing works on the facade which causes a greater accumulation of dirt, I am sorry for any inconvenience measures are being taken to avoid any inconvenience. About the restaurant we are very happy that you have enjoyed the service of Fabianna our menu is a small menu for our guests with a combination of Portuguese flavors and orient flavors inspired by the Chef, although let me inform you that we are currently changing the all the concept and menu for traditional Portuguese food cuisine. Once again thank you very much for your feedback that it is very important for us to know and to improve day by day. We will be happy to see you again in the near future and offer a nice discount on a future stay. Best wishes, Daniela Ribeiro

10/10 Excellent

Christine

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
I wish I was able to stay for more than one night. The hotel is beautiful and enchanting. With part of it built in 1509, it has it quirks that would come with the age, but that was part of the experience. The staff was incredibly helpful providing maps of the city, suggestions for sights and food, and overall so friendly.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

Kris

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

Roger

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Can't go wrong with this hotel
This was an extremely nice hotel with very friendly staff and well located for visiting the site of Viana do Castelo
Stayed 3 nights in May 2022

10/10 Excellent

Borbala

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2022
Response from Daniela Ribeiro on Mar 23, 2022
Dear Borbala, Thank you very much for your feedback it is very important to us to know each experience of our guests and we are very happy that you have enjoyed your stay with us! We really hope to see you again. Kind regards, Daniela Ribeiro

10/10 Excellent

Nurcan

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing place, in the central and friendly receptionist. Nice rooms.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2021

10/10 Excellent

Kerry

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Best hotel out of seven on my ten day road trip!
Beautiful building. Spacious room. Sustainable solutions in place. Fantastic variety of breakfast options. Great location. Friendly service. Good amenities. Reasonably priced.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2021

8/10 Good

Lília Maria

Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2021

10/10 Excellent

Bernard

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great spot. Needs more comfortable beds.
The bed was rock hard in room 204. Other than that everything was excellent. The staff were wonderful. The building is beautiful and the location is unbeatable.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great location, quick and easy check in, lovely property. Will stay again.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2021
Response from Daniela Ribeiro on Apr 16, 2021
Dear customer, Thank you very much for your feedback! We are very happy that you have enjoyed your stay at our Casa :)! We really hope to see you again very soon. Kind regards, Daniela Ribeiro

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A must-stay
Lovingly preserved historic building, impeccable service, wonderful breakfast, a lovely welcome after a long day on the road.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2020

8/10 Good

Maurice

Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

10/10 Excellent

John

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Gem!
Beautiful property in a lovely little town. Rooms are old, quaint and gorgeous. Staff and service are top notch! The dining recommendations they gave were outstanding. Only quibble would be the quality of the pillows and the breakfast buffet could use a little work. Overall, I would definitely stay here again.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2019

10/10 Excellent

ERIK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great staff and beautiful old building
This hotel was great, the staff was always welcoming and very nice. I enjoyed speaking with Daniela, who was professional and very helpful with questions. The breakfast was good, room clean and bed very nice. Just behind the hotel is a small mall and I went to a movie. The main tourist street starts at the hotel, beautiful vibe with old building.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2019

10/10 Excellent

Amy

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The place to stay
Gorgeously renovated centrally located ancient mansion, close to train and funicular and in historic district. The staff were incredibly helpful and always professional. Delicious breakfast and pretty little pool. This is a superb value!
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019

10/10 Excellent

Rae

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful building and the staff were very friendly and helpful. Great spot to wander down to the water from. Really relaxing court yard with lounge chairs and clean pool.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Disliked: Cleanliness
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2019

8/10 Good

Bernard

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Wonderful location. Staff super friendly. Air conditioning could have been more efficient.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great location Good restaurant A little noisy at times (near train station, electrical humming)
Stayed 4 nights in May 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Highly recommend
The place was clean, simple, and the service made the experience very positive. The front desk workers were very friendly and helpful and went above and beyond to accommodate us.
Stayed 1 night in May 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great location, right next to the train station. Excellent staff, very friendly and helpful. They changed our room immediately when we pointed out that our window was facing a building site. Breakfast was lovely. We would have felt more comfortable if there were cushions on the sofa and kettle, tea/coffee available in the room. An advice for the travelers who stay in this hotel - try to be light footed when walking on the wooden floor as the sound of movement can be heard by other people who stay next or below you.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2018
Response from Daniela Ribeiro on Nov 20, 2018
Dear Customer, Thank you very much for your feedback! It is very important to us to know each experience of our guests and we are very glad to know that you enjoyed your stay with us specially our location, our service and our upgrad for other room. About the confort we will definitively study a better solution. Once again thank you very much for your words! We hope to see you again very soon! Kind regards, Daniela Ribeiro

10/10 Excellent

Paul

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
What’s not to like ?
Lovely 20-room boutique hotel in centre of city with extremely helpful staff, parking possible right outside the front door, and a thoroughly nutritious and interesting buffet breakfast. The hotel building is 500 years old, yet close to shops, restaurants and sightseeing opportunities. Would definitely stay here again if in the area.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2018
Response from Ribeiro on Oct 27, 2018
Dear Paul, Thank you very much for your feedback, it is very important for us to know the experiences of our guests and we are very glad that you enjoyed your stay with us. Indeed it is the oldest urban manor house in the town, having been built in 1509 in the Manueline style. Our breakfast is constituted with fresh and local products to start the day on the best way. We look forward to see you again, Kind regards, Daniela Ribeiro

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Location near train station and walking street and river was excellent. The large public areas, bar, restaurant were lovely and our room with marvelous wood decor and headboard yet open and modern decor was the tops!
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2018
Response from Daniela Ribeiro on Oct 18, 2018
Dear customer, Thank you very much for your feedback! It is very important for us to know the experiences of each client and we are very happy to know that you have enjoyed your stay with us, indeed we have an unique decoration ranging from neoclassical to baroque and rustic. We're hoping to see you again! Kind regards, Daniela Ribeiro

8/10 Good

Marilyn

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The hotel was very good. Small and personal with all the amenities. The one down fall was the parking. Not very handy to the hotel. We would recommend this hotel
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2018
Response from Daniela Ribeiro on Oct 18, 2018
Dear Marilyn, Thank you very much for taking your time reviewing our hotel! We are very glad to know you found our hotel good, personal and with all the amenities. About the experience less positive we are very sorry for the inconvenience, we do have 4 free places in front of the hotel plus a public parking at 60 meters and costs 8€ per 24hours. It would be a delight for us to welcome you again and once again thank you very much for your feedback. Kind regards, Daniela Ribeiro

8/10 Good

Sarah, Norfolk

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great building to stay in
Really beautiful old building, very stylishly renovated. An experience to stay in esp after visiting Portugal and seeing the old buildings from the outside to stay in one is very charming. Grand stone staircase in reception is very cool. Staff super helpful. Only negative is bathroom a bit dated and Bath and shower a bit small.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great location with atmosphere
Recommended by a friend for the atmosphere of hotel with relatively reasonable price. Though it wasn’t so reasonable due to the peak season, we enjoyed it overall.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018
Response from Rita Alves on Aug 25, 2018
Thank you for giving us your opinion about your stay at Casa Melo Alvim. Best wishes!

10/10 Excellent

Adam, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Old world charm
Amazing 16th century former mansion near the town centre. Everything within easy reach and the staff cannot do too much for you. Only real criticisms are that the rooms could maybe benefit from some modernising - for example our room was lacking in the number of electric sockets needed these days for re-charging phones, tablets, etc and the hotel is on a busy road which might put some off. But the good hugely outweighs the bad and overall highlight recommeded.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2018
Response from Rita Alves on Aug 25, 2018
Thank you for giving us your opinion about your stay at Casa Melo Alvim. Best wishes!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Beautiful old stonework
The Hotel Owners were really helpful and friendly which makes for a good impression!
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2018
Response from Alves on Jun 30, 2018
Thanks for your kind words about the staff of Casa Melo Alvim. Rita