October 20, 2026

Tuesday

Gaia, Porto, Portugal

Tivoli Kopke Hotel

This is a day dedicated to rest, relaxation, laundry and repacking. 07:00 breakfast with Mike and Maddie to say good-bye. They return to Sacramento today, and Maddie has work tomorrow. It is so nice to be retired.

Just before it went 08:00 I went to the front desk and asked them to order me a taxi to take me to the laundromat. The taxi picked me up at the “main” entrance to the hotel on the 7th floor. He drove me up the hill to the laundromat, and it cost me all of €8. The laundromat was empty when I arrived. I separated the laundry and loaded the machines.

This laundromat follows the scheme of the one in Berlin. The machines are numbered and there is a central pay station. You put in what is needed to start a machine, or more, then press the machine number. The change, if any, comes out. You go to the machine and press start, and it does. Soap and fabric softener is included. A 12 kg washer was  €4.50 and 17 minutes on the dryer was €1.60. Just for fun I paid the dryers with my credit card. By the time I was folding laundry at 10:30 the place was packed with people and all the washers were going.

I got back to the hotel just as it had gone 11:00. They hadn’t cleaned the room yet, so I didn’t unpack the clean clothes. We waited until noon for them to come and clean the room, but they were a no show. So we went to the bar on the 5th floor and had lunch.

We finished lunch and went back to the room, but housekeeping still hadn’t come. So, we trekked back to the 5th floor, scoped out a table for playing cards and sat down to play a game of canasta. We headed back to the room abject before it was about to go 15:00 and they were in the room cleaning. So we waited in the lobby area just outside the elevator on the 2nd floor while they finished.

We got back into the room just as it had gone 15:20. It was time for a nap. I got up again at 17:00 and worked on the blog for a couple hours. I was a little behind. At 19:00 we headed to the restaurant here in the hotel.  Noe the Boa Vista Terrace Restaurant is supposedly overseen by celebrity Chef Macho Manzano, whose flagship restaurant in Spain (Casa Marcial) hold three Michelin stars. That is what they started their presentation with.

We should have left right then. The menu wasn’t anything great. The food wasn’t either. Unfortunately, like the rating system for hotels, the Michelin rating is more about marketing and price hikes than quality.

This hotel was supposed to be a 5 star hotel. Now in theory, to earn a five-star rating, a hotel must provide top-tier luxury, personalized service, and extensive amenities. While exact rules vary by country or independent rating board (such as the Hotelstars Union in Europe or AAA/Forbes in the US), properties must meet strict standards across service, room features, and facilities. Ok, that sounds about right.

There are come core service standards for 5 star hotel. 1) 24-hour service; continuous reception, valet parking and room service. 2) personal attention; dedicated concierge service and evening turndown service. 3) A high ratio of staff members to guests to ensure rapid, discreet assistance. 4) Daily housekeeping; comprehensive cleaning and laundry or ironing services. We didn’t see any evening turn down service. We didn’t have a car so we don’t now about valet or parking. The staff was very helpful and they did have a concierge.

Rooms are supposed to meet a minimum size and have attached bathrooms. There are supposed to be luxury high-thread-count sheets, plush bathrobes and slippers. So far they has that, although you would have to have been well toned athlete to get the bathrobe to cover anything. They had all the modern technology (flat-screen HD TV, international channels, smart climate control and free high-speed Wi-Fi). Ok, we didn’t turn on the TV, didn’t find the controls for the climate control (but we didn’t need them) and the Wi-fi was ok….

They did have a minibar, but we knew better than to use anything from there. They has a secure safe for our iPads. They not only had blackout curtains but an extra set of doors to keep the light and perhaps cold/heat out. They all seem to have “high-end” toiletries, but what they are actually filled with is anyone’s guess.

Then there is facilities and dining. A five-star hotel should have at least one on-site gourmet restaurant with a-la-carte and wine options. Thus, Chef Manzano. But it doesn’t mean they actually have good food. They are supposed to have a well-equipment fitness center, spa facilities and a swimming pool. Well, check, check and check, not that we used any of them. Lastly, they are supposed to have meeting rooms, luggage storage and valet services. Again, not things we used.

So why do we stay in five-star hotels? We don’t use a lot of the services. We rarely watch TV, and when we do it is usually on out iPad. We generally don’t find hotel restaurants to be as good as local ones. Besides, they tend to be overly expensive. The minibar? There is nothing mini about it. Everything is twice or three times what it should cost. We do need the refrigerator for our medications, however. Generally, a three-star will work fine, so long as there is a refrigerator or we are between shots.

Anyway, we got back to the room and repacked our suitcases. The plan is to leave one in Barcelona at the hotel while we take the roller bag to Andorra. Our flight is at 11:45 tomorrow. Bag pick-up is at 08:30. The ride to the airport is at 09:00. But, we are ready.

Buonanotte e Ciao,

Enrico e Maria