This apartment is in a great location. It's a 20 minute brisk walk (downhill) to Praca Martim Moniz which is very central, quite near the Rossio train station, and one of the starting points for the famous Tram 28. Of course that means it's all uphill on the way home - my calves were aching after two days of power walking, but I loved it! Tram 28 has a stop very close to the apartment so that is convenient if you are too tired to walk home.
I arrived at 10 am and the apartment wasn't going to be ready until 3 so Valentyna told me that at Praca Martim Moniz there is underground parking with luggage lockers. This was a perfect solution for me - I stored my luggage there for the whole day for 3 Euro (and then took the train from Rossio to Sintra). Very convenient. P.S. there is a lovely outdoor market very close to Rossio station (1 minute walk) where I had a delicious custard tart when I first arrived. It's a great place to people-watch and take in the smells and sights.
The apartment is SUPER clean. Everything seems new. The shower is great with good pressure and plenty of hot water. There are a couple of tiny mercados (markets) on the same street as the apartment but I would recommend you walk a bit further (5-7 minutes) to the bigger supermarket that has more selection. The bed was comfortable, the wifi was good, there is an elevator, which is also good. The kitchen is well-equipped (but is missing cooking tools like spatulas, which I mentioned to Valentyna). For me, the apartment was very warm - it was 25 degrees outside during my stay and because the windows face onto a courtyard, there is no wind. I made a suggestion that Valentyna could provide a fan for the bedroom, as well as a reading lamp as there are only ceiling fixtures now. There is a washing machine for clothes in the kitchen and a drying rack. The apartment is extremely quiet and I had a good sleep on both nights.
Valentyna left a bottle of wine, a large bottle of water, and two muffins for me when I arrived, which was very welcoming. She also answered the multiple questions that I asked her and she always responded in less than 5 minutes. Valentyna also left a map in the apartment (but I didn't actually notice this until I was leaving!). There was a bag of ice in the freezer too (handy).
The apartment was very conveniently located - on the second day I went back twice to shower (it was SO hot out) and this wasn't out of my way at all. The neighbourhoods surrounding the apartment are really lovely to look at with lots of traditional tile work and beautiful architecture.
I was travelling alone and didn't feel unsafe at all. I took an Uber to the airport and it was under 15 Euro including tip.
I would not hesitate to recommend this apartment and I would definitely stay here again.
Thank you SO much, Valentyna, especially for being so helpful and answering my non-stop questions. I really appreciated knowing that if I needed help, you were just on the other end of the AirBnB app :-)
Dvorah