We stayed at the apartment for a week and were very pleased. The location is great and the host very helpful without being intrusive. She can help as much or as little as one wants. The fact that she wasn't pushy with calls/insistance to meet and checking the apartment all the time. I had previous experience with these kind of hosts, which almost put me off of AirBnB.

Communicate with Vanda was a breeze. From my first enquiry to our goodbye message, she never took more than five minutes to respond. We communicate in Portuguese, but I am sure her warmth will be extended to anyone from wherever.

The apartment is quite, at the rear block. It is on the fourth floor - no lifts! This is clearly stated by Vanda on her advert. However, I missed this information! Not a problem. Vanda organised for the very helpful janitors to help us with our lugagge.

The host wasn't there to greet us, but clear instructions were given and keys left with José and Fernando (porters). Upon arrival (at almost midnight!), the internet wasn't working. I've WhatsApped Vanda that, straight away, was on the case as we were trying from our side to reset everything and check cables, while she was looking for a phone number to call the internet provider. It was just a case of disconnected cables and the internet from that point worked well and fast.

When we arrived, there were beers and soft drinks in the fridge, plus some frozen food in the freezer, some pasta, coffee, all there. That was extremely kind from the host. Luckily we weren't hungry, but this was a very nice touch as we could have already in the middle of the night starving and with nowhere to eat.

For the coffee lovers, there is a nespresso machine (and the host provided coffee pods). I prefer the filtered coffee which was also very generously provided by the host. No kettle though. I had to boil the water in a milk pan... :-)

There was shampoo and a lovely soap (bar and liquid). It felt like it is a real home, towels of different colours, some chips on a plate, pans that have been used before. This gives the place a nice feel instead of a sterile environment. I much preferred that.

We felt safe with the 24 hours porters. They were very polite as well.