I have to say that I am sorry that I ruined my vacation by renting this place. First of all, the place is not an apartment, is an attic - the garret is a small space directly below the pitched roof, so you will hit your head anytime you walk normally. There was no bed , the uncomfortable mattress was placed directly under the tilted roof so I hit my head at least 4 times going in Or leaving the bed. The owner misinformed Airbnb and us that this place is good for 4 people, well my husband and I barely could walk or sleep there comfortably.
We got to Lisbon around 10 pm very tired from Amsterdam. The owner suggested that her husband will pick us up If pay him which we agreed- well we got there and were looking for the our name on the plaque. Of course that wasn’t a case, We waited for 15 minutes- so I had to accept the international charges and call the number. A guy Whom I’ve never been in contact with responded and directed me to find a Starbucks in the area and someone would be there. My husband and I walked there and were looking for someone that we didn’t know. Finally someone walked to me and asked my name- it was the weirdest way to get into the place. We got into the attic and wanted Wash our hands and realized there is no soap. We realized that we can’t take shower either since there is no shampoo or body wash. At 11:30 pm my husband went to neighborhood stores looking for a soap so we can wash our hands.This was our first night which we tried to Ignore. We went out for sightseeing on the second and third day from morning until late at night. On the Friday morning, we woke up and found the shower area cover in water. I immediately emailed the owner - no response- I called and still no response! I asked the owner to please Call me and didn’t hear anything back. I really got frustrated since I needed to take shower and brush my teeth. My husband knew that we would be late for our tour, so he went to buy something to eat- And a guy unannounced showed up and started to knock- I answered and he said he is here to Check the place since I reported a plumbing issue. I opened the door, he shut the water and said don’t use the facility- I was like ok that’s great!!! I told my husband that we have to find a hotel room so we can shower and get ready for our prepaid tour. I told him that a guy instructed not to use the water. We ended up to rent a car since it’s not easy to pack a bag and walk in Alfama- we got a hotel room to shower. At this point we were annoyed but we were like what to expect this place is old and oh well. Around 3 pm a manager called Charlie emailed me and said you were not complying with the rule so pack your stuff and leave within 3 hours!!! I called and called to talk to someone- no response! We were in Sintra which was 30 kilometers away from Lisbon to visit one of the palaces.
We were shocked and stunned by his rudeness and incredible amount of disrespect. After several attempted, I emailed back and expressed my confusion- we paid almost $700 for this place, ended up to pay for a car and an additional hotel room. Later someone from the owner emailed and informed me that the Plummer is there and we should leave since the place is not in a condition to be used. We rushed back to the place and packed our stuff and threw in the car- the hotel didn’t have any availability so we had to find another place for 2 nights-!!! Can you imagine that we are in Lisbon and instead of enjoying our time are involved with this shit- we finally found a place. I spoke with Airbnb and they informed me that they will return my money for 2 nights that I didn’t get to stay- I honestly wanted the whole payment back due to my additional expenses and an incredible amount of pain and inconvenience that we went through! But again I let go and said ok please return the 2 nights that I didn’t stay there. Today I received a message from the owner via Airbnb That they are expecting me to pay $955 for the damage we caused- is this a Jk???
There is something really wrong with this Owner- they are scam. Instead of apologizing this is the way they treat their guests? They are extremely aggressive- as a result I’m going to ask for the full refund- and all of my additional expenses! This is the least I deserve!
On a separate note, I don’t recommend this place at all! With this money you can rent a real apartment with newer facilities/ bathroom/ flooring etc. The Uber couldn’t find the place since it’s hidden in a historical area- it is far away from downtown / center where the fun is. Not good restaurants are placed in alfama. It’s impossible to walk due to hills / extremely exhausting and I do exercise regularly.