The Rebello, Porto, Portugal

A hotel for hot-desking? A haven for long-term stays catering to digital nomads? Often, what sounds good on paper struggles to take shape in reality. Yet Porto’s latest hotel offering, slick and stylish The Rebello, defies the odds. Tucked into a series of old industrial warehouses in Vila Nova de Gaia, the neighbourhood located across the Douro from Porto proper – but only half-an-hour’s walk across the bridge – this sprawling city stay works for all: weekend city-breakers, families on extended holidays and laptop-toting nomads seeking month-long retreats in Portugal’s vibrant second city.

The Rebello’s 103 suites all feature fully equipped kitchens, allowing guests to enjoy both short trips and longer stays | Credit: Francisco Nogueira

Opened in 2023, it’s the third offering from Bomporto, the brand behind Lisbon’s achingly cool The Lumiares. Positioning itself as a longer-term base for Portugal’s growing digital nomad community (useful, when Europe’s rent-jacking Airbnb offerings are causing such contempt across the continent), the property embraces its role as a “hotel for hot-desking”, with an emphasis on extended stays as much as shorter city breaks. Suites, whether you opt for a spacious studio or a family-friendly three-bedroom duplex, come equipped with fully fitted kitchens (complete with pans, utensils and moka coffee pots), and the lobby lounge, packed with comfortable seating, plug sockets, free WiFi and coffee on order, makes a pretty impressive temporary office. All in all, it makes life at The Rebello as convenient as living in a well-appointed apartment. If only our homes were this beautiful.

Interiors by Daniela Franceschini capture the industrial heritage of the former warehouses while keeping the vibe calm and comfortable | Credit: Francisco Nogueira

Rooms

The hotel’s 103 suites range from spacious studios to vast, three-bedroom apartments with walnut-wood staircases and soaring mezzanines. All include fully equipped kitchens, with Smeg fridge, kettles and toasters, induction hobs and ovens and coffee machines.

Rooms are slick, stylish and simple: think graphic-print rugs, orb-like lights and organically shaped armchairs in red-knickers-velvet or soft mossy hues. Many furnishings were commissioned from a Porto-based manufacturer by Spanish interior designer Daniela Franceschini, lending a sense of place: curving wooden headboards are inspired by the Douro’s swell, while bathroom sinks take inspiration from the shape of rabelo river boats. Rope hangings on the wall also add a nautical feel. Artwork, too, was commissioned in-city – just like the black-and-white photos hanging in the halls, which capture the building’s bare bones before it was transformed into The Rebello.

Neutral, contemporary suites are punctuated by furnishings sourced from a Porto producer | Credit: Francisco Nogueira

What’s for breakfast?

A buffet of fresh fruits, yoghurt and all the picky bits required for jazzing up your morning bowl, plus creamy local cheeses and cold cuts. There are also hot dishes to order, including eggs as you like them, a spinach-and-chilli omelette, and benedict on thickly cut sourdough, plus pancakes, and oatmeal options.

What about lunch and dinner?

“Hardcore home cooking” is the pithy sell for chef André Coutinho’s modern take on Portuguese comfort food at ground-floor Pot&Pan (so named because the restaurant is located in what was formerly a utensils factory). A playful small-plates menu takes family favourites and reimagines them for a restaurant setting. Our advice? Order generously. Highlights include palm-sized Portuguese mussels doused in a fennel and ’nduja sauce, tender octopus tentacle lovingly laid over crispy, caramelised rice, and blushing smoked duck atop silky sweet potato.

Two bars offer rooftop and streetside drinking options – the lobby bar stays open longer | Credit: Francisco Nogueira

Is there a bar?

Yes, there are two – a tucked away lobby spot that’s open late, as well as the hotel’s heartbreaker, a fourth-floor rooftop cocktail space that welcomes guests from midday to midnight. Floor-to-ceiling glass opens out onto a terrace, but seating both inside and out offers jaw-dropping views across the Douro towards Porto’s hill-hugging old town. Order a white port and tonic and a Neapolitan-style pizza, then kick back for an evening in the sun.

Amenities

Prepare to gasp when you enter the spa. Tucked towards the back of the hotel, this beautiful, Roman bath-inspired space is a jaw-dropping feat of interior design. Lounge on pillow-soft chairs in the softly lit pool space – with double-height ceilings, terracotta-coloured walls and lunar-like orb lighting – before heading into one of the private treatment rooms for a hot stone massage or into the sauna. The spa is open 10am to 8pm, and the compact fitness centre upstairs is open 24 hours a day.

Elsewhere, you can rent e-bikes to explore Porto or, a little further afield, the fishing villages outside the city.

Pot&Pan offers playful small plates inspired by home-cooked Portuguese fare from chef André Coutinho | Credit: Raio Verde

What are the hotel’s eco-credentials like?

The irreverent in-room literature spells out the hotel’s eco outlook with refreshing honesty: “We will not preach to you about how to save the planet by using half a towel for three days… We love the planet… but we also want you to be comfortable. So, enjoy your stay and don’t feel guilty.”

Taking aim at the individual guilt-shaming approach of some chain hotels, The Rebello is frank about the limited impact washing a fraction fewer towels will have on a burning planet. The sharp-tongued guide does, however, offer 10 alternative practical tips on keeping your footprint small while in residence. Don’t use more towels than you need; walk where you can; drink the tap water and turn off the AC. We’d – perhaps – like them to highlight where bigger steps in water systems and electricity saving could be taken to improve sustainability, but the nods here and there we appreciate. For example, the refillable toiletries are bought from local luxury soap maker Claus Porto, and ingredients in the restaurant kitchens are sourced “sometimes within 50m of your room”.

What about accessibility?

The lobby, restaurants and bars all offer step-free access, and one suite has been adapted for individuals with disabilities. Call the hotel to find out more.

The hotel’s rooftop cocktail bar offers jaw-dropping views across the Douro toward’s Porto’s hill-hugging old town | Credit: Francisco Nogueira

What’s the crowd like?

Ahead-of-the-game Europeans booking in before too many others catch on to Porto’s charms, and, in the restaurant, intrigued pairs of locals trying a new table in the neighbourhood.

Within a short walk I can find…

Grab a paper copy of the hotel’s guide to the city from reception – it’s filled with restaurant, bar and sightseeing suggestions from the staff. Most of the city’s port warehouses are a short walk away, as are the buzzy port bars down on the riverside.

The orb-lit hotel spa interiors were inspired by Roman baths | Credit: Francisco Nogueira

Anything else I should know?

The spa operates a booking system that allows guests to reserve 40-minute slots throughout the day. We’d recommend getting yours locked in on arrival – otherwise, you’ll miss out.