Special day, looking for a special experience, locations Amazing, Room Top Notch, service for Dinner at Valentines day really a disappointment, for a 5 stars Hotel they should be better organized, the service enexistent, they forgot us, toke nearly 2 hour and half to get served, full house, more staff was needed, they forgot us to serve after dinner drink, the main meal was poorly served, really poor service, we were the last ones to leave together with another couple that was 2nd time and they were disappointed too, later they offer us a cocktail by 11:30 really, we spoke with manager for dining ,he was arguing with us for almost 400 euros was bad, we wrote an email to the Hotel we never heard from them another poor way to manage a complain.

The location and design of the hotel are quite impressive. The views from the room, pool and restaurant are beautiful and relaxing. The rooms are spacious and clean, with large balconies overlooking the river. The breakfast at a good variety of bread, pastries, cereals, fruits and cheeses, as well as some hot plates. It serves Nespresso coffee, a plus for me!
Nonetheless, the common spaces (restaurants, toilets, corridors, etc.) were not thoroughly clean.

This hotel is truly beautiful and, in contrast to another reviewer here, we did not find it cold or impersonal. The staff is incredibly warm and friendly and the decor is clean and modern which is our preference. We stayed in a spacious suite and it was perfection. We loved the "yard" as our daughter called it and the beautiful views from there. The breakfasts were lovely and I can't think of a thing that was missing!

Two areas of improvement do exist, however:

On our last night, we ordered room service at around 8:30pm after coming in from the pool exhausted and hungry. We were told that it would be delivered in 20 minutes. After about an hour, we called and were told that the restaurant patrons took priority so our food would get to us as soon as reasonable. Our eight year old did not like this answer. Finally, the food arrived a bit later with the chef's apologies, but why the orders wouldn't be placed in the order received and delivered accordingly should be reviewed.

The other item is purely my personal preference, but I like to get up early in the morning (yes even on vacation) and drink my coffee on the balcony before the chaos of the day begins. The balcony is perfect for this at Douro Royal Valley Hotel except the sprinklers were on every morning from around 7-7:45, just as I'd prepared my coffee. I realize it is necessary in maintaining the lawn, but it makes the space unusable during the time it's on and for an hour or more after as the chairs are all wet. Would be great if we could've been warned about this and if the timing could be adjusted to the needs of the guests.

Overall, we loved the hotel and would stay there again!