Expect a fine apartment in a good location with all you need for a few days or a few months. We easily settled in for our two months here and it went by much too quickly. You are on the top floor (great views up and down the street) in a lively neighborhood with fun, reliable public transportation and good dining and shopping nearby. Right next door is Solo - Cozinha Macrobiotica, the best vegan food we've ever had, created right in front of you by the owner/chef. Just a 2 - 10 minute walk will take you to grocery markets, French, Indian (Goan), Malaysian, and Portuguese restaurants, bakeries and several breakfast/brunch places nearby that serve a great Australian/North-American/European mix of dishes and very good coffee. Lisbon is a great walking city. We enjoyed the ample public transport (more on that later), but the location of this apartment so close to so much had us enjoying walking a lot. A 12 minute, invigorating walk in one direction takes you to the beautiful Basilica Estrela where you can get to the roof for amazing views. Across the street from it is the Jardim da Estrela, a beautiful 12-acre wonderland of exotic plants, ponds, fountains, a playground and an outdoor cafe where we could be regularly found sipping espressos and munching croissant. About 12 - 15 minutes in the other direction takes you into the heart of the Chiado and Baixa districts with their parks and squares, shopping, dining and sight seeing. The waterfront is just a few minutes walk as well.
The apartment is located on the top floor so there are all those stairs to climb, but we are strong 67 year olds so it quickly became routine and just more good exercise for us.
We were here November - January. Most apartments like this do not come with central heat, but we found that the sun streaming in all day through the three, south-facing double glass doors that open to the narrow balcony over the street, kept the entire front room cozy warm. The portable electric heaters were helpful on cold nights. There is also a very effective portable gas heater that we used frequently at night. We used up one full tank of fuel that was provided and paid 25.50 Euro for the second one.
The furnishings are comfortable; we enjoyed the large, L-shaped sofa with pull-out in the front room, ending up here often for reading, sleeping, cuddling etc. Very good cable tv service with the Mezzo arts channel, movie channels, international news, Eurosport and much more. The double pane glass doors keep the occasional street noise down to the point where it can hardly be heard at all from back in the bedroom. We slept very well here.
The wi-fi service was reliable.
Since we like to cook and take about half of our meals at home, the small, but well equipped kitchen served us well. The on demand water heater works brilliantly. Everything you need is there and we especially like the delightful old tile patterns on the walls.
The water is okay, but we got a Brita at Pollux, a one stop, ten floor shopping experience for anything for the home with a fine outdoor/indoor cafe on the top floor with stunning views of the city and the river.
Outside, behind the kitchen is a nice terrace with table/umbrella and chairs, lanterns, a grill. A clothes line also with lots of pins. Beyond the terrace is an old schoolyard with raised flower beds and just beyond that is a guy who keeps chickens and geese which can be very entertaining with their awks and sqwauks, chips, cheeps and cockadoodledoos. Not an annoyance at all and quiet at night.
Good shower with optional high quality hand held nozzle. Plenty of hot water and there is a large two door, double paned window for plenty of air and light in the bathroom. Nice tile work too.
Can't stress enough how fine the public transportation is here. We got ViaViagem cards at the Chiado-Baixa metro station, topped them off with 40 Euros each. They lasted the entire two months. They are good for the metro (subway), trams, buses, ferry boats and suburban trains. With this card and the location of the apartment, navigating Lisbon/Belem/Cascais is a dream. Be sure to ask Joao about Belem, about 15 minutes by trams 15 & 18, and Cascais, about 30 minutes by suburban train.
The water heater failed at one point, but Joao got it fixed as soon as possible. He is an attentive host who does care about the comfort and safety of his renters.
We want to thank him again for greeting us that first day with a smile, the assistance carrying our bags and all the suggestions, and for later conversation and the invitation. We plan to return.