We booked Mere's apartment for six days at Praia do Pepê. and rented in several places in Barra, 5 and 4 star hotels.
First of all I loved the photos that were posted on the Airbnb website BUT upon arriving at apt we clearly see that the photos are better than reality:
There are three bedrooms, one of which is a complete suite with wardrobes and a private bathroom. Very good. Air conditioning works well.
The second room where my husband and I stayed has two comfortable beds and the air conditioning also works well. Upon arrival, I noticed that there were no closets in rooms 2 and 3 - we could not determine that from the photos. Both rooms are small and have no place to store the contents of our suitcases. Mere allowed us to store our suitcases and place our clothes on the bed of a maid's room that she adapted to receive more guests if necessary. It was inconvenient to have our clothes laid on the bed in the third bedroom.
The check-in time was 3:00 but Mere was kind enough to let us in at 13.20 (1:30 PM). She received us with smiles and I immediately asked: where is the sea view like in the photos she posted on the Airbnb website? She said that after building a gym (BIO RITMO ACADEMIA AT AV DO PEPE 1360), next to the building and it covers the view of the beach, leaving a very minimal view of the horizon .... lol. The backs of the buildings are too ugly and the view has made a huge difference. It really saddened us because we love the ocean view. The sea makes the difference! And, I suffered for it.
The location, or better the area, is really great! Close to everything: supermarkets, restaurants, and just cross and you are on the beach.
The place is quiet at night.
There are many notes of do not touch, do not touch, don't do this or do not do that. It bothered us a lot, but Mere wishes that the bad guests do not ruin her apartment or damage things such as the ice machine, kitchen furniture, etc. She wants to make sure that we don't break anything or ruin anything. I have never seen this in my life but Mere can do whatever she wants as it is her apt and she needs to rent and there is no time to fix it when some leaves and others enter. She thought that we had damaged the flush device in one of the bathrooms, but it wasn't doing. My daughter noticed the defective toilet on the first day but failed to tell me of the problem. (She could flush the toilet by manually activating the flush in the tank.) Mere was not angry, but just said that she would have fixed it if she had been told.
Please note that Mere was quick to respond when we contacted her and she always tried to answer.
My daughter needed two more pillows and a blanket and she promptly left it at the lobby.
There is only on control for the two bedroom air conditioners. All other AC units have their own controllers. These devices work very well.
Apt is clean. The internet in the apartment is very good!
The photos on the site are different from the real ones, but what really bothered us was the lack of a beautiful sea view from the veranda that was posted on the website. As we had many rainy days, the sea is our joy and the anticipated ocean view was sorely missed.
I think Mere should remove some pictures of the balcony view and the apartment interior that do not represent the current conditions and view of the sea, otherwise people will think that there is a lack of honesty and there is false representation. I think the fit is too expensive for what you get. I chose hers because of the balcony ... lol.
I feel that we did not receive what we paid for.
Be sure to rent knowing that it has no view but it is 2 minutes from the beach, and there are no closets in two of the bedrooms. There are many amenities such as a swimming pool, gym, and hot tub.