Even a Mercedes, neglected long enough, can seem cheap and unsatisfying. This is the impression we're left with after our 5 day stay at this apartment.
Miguel was initially responsive, advising that his father would meet us for check in. Luis (Miguel's father) was pleasant, made sure we knew how to use the exterior door, asked if we had any questions, and even invited us to taste the port wine that was on the dining table for guests. Unfortunately, our experience with this apartment were not so pleasant as time progressed.
A couple of hours after we arrived, we let Miguel know that there was only 1 roll of toilet paper to share between 2 bathrooms... And we were renting the apartment for 5 days. He blamed the cleaning company for the oversight, but, even though I mentioned the shortcoming 2 times, he did not offer to provide this basic amenity. When we attempted to take a shower on our first night, we discovered there was no hot water. About 30 minutes after I alerted Miguel, he confirmed that all I needed to do was depress a button on the far left side of the water heater, located in the kitchen, and advised that a previous guest must have turned it off. Later that first evening, I let Luis know that there were only 2 air conditioner remotes, even though there are 3 air conditioners, that one of the beds in the smaller bedroom had no sheets or pillow case, and that the sink in the smaller bathroom was clogged upon our arrival. I told Luis that the only issue that we needed fixed was the clogged bathroom sink. Even though his response time is listed as "1 hour", he never got back to us in the remaining 4 days of our stay at his apartment and sent no further messages during our 5 day stay.
The place is very centrally located, only a 5 minute walk from the Rossio train station, and is surrounded by beautiful vistas and busy and popular restaurants. The 2 bathrooms are a definite plus and the ample air conditioning and washing machine were welcome conveniences.
Nevertheless, I cannot recommend a stay at this apartment. When you pay over $500 for a place, I don't think that a couple of rolls of toilet paper, a functional bathroom sink, and perhaps a sponge to wash dishes is too much to ask. Furthermore, a bed without sheets or a pillow case and a pull out sofa that, when extended, has a collection of food crumbs from the last 5 tenants is quite sloppy. I would also recommend that Miguel have a basic list of items to check so that weary travelers aren't forced to troubleshoot a foreign hot water system when all they want is to take a hot shower after a long day of travel. What initially seemed like a Mercedes actually turned out to be a tuk tuk.