The good: Adorable tiny flat in Alfama. Close to everything in Alfama & the Santa Apolino train/metro station. I would recommend to the host to recommend the Santa Apolino station when coming/going. Well furnished, and Ana was very sweet and provided a carafe of gingha for us to try.
The bad: Photos/description a tad bit deceiving. You cannot get the river view unless you climb up onto a chair in the top floor & open a skylight, and then hold your camera up out of the skylight. Ad does not mention how LOUD it is outside when the tram is going through. Not just loud, the entire building shakes.
The ugly: When Ana took us up to the top level, It seemed a little musty but we were only there for a few moments & then continued on the tour. After she left and we went to the bedroom to unpack, I found it extremely difficult to breathe I started notice little black dots along the joints of the ceiling & around the skylight & realized it was black mold. As an asthmatic, I can NOT be around black mold. I started to panic because we really couldn’t afford to just bail and book another place... but then my husband recommended we take the bed mattress downstairs, which we did. When we pulled the mattress away from the wall there was a huge patch of black mold, which I sent a photo of to the host.
Sleeping downstairs was ok but I noticed that u less you keep the window open 24/7, which you can’t, the flat retains SO much moisture. We took quick showers in the morning & when we would come home, everything in the bathroom was still wet & the clothes/makeshift bed inthe living room was damp. Very frustrating. (also, shower takes forever to drain, even with a quick shower you’re standing in 2” dirty water.)
I did notify the host of the issue & recommended the mold be PROPERLY remediated before renting out to someone else.