What can I say about this experience? Apart from don't stay here and find alternative cheaper, nicer and quieter accommodation, with a pleasant SuperHost unlike this apartment through the unhelpful and greedy GuestReady.
We arrived in Lisbon early and asked if an earlier check-in would be available. The check-in guy at GuestReady said sure he could check us in earlier, but reminded us of the 10 euro check-in fee, cash in hand. I said I don't remember this fee, and wouldn't be paying it. I then had to email Claire at GuestReady to ascertain there should be no fee which she confirmed. After trying to extort the 10 euros from us, he then made up an excuse about being new or dealing with other companies etc. We then didn't hear from him and I had to chase him an hour later where he said he could no longer check us in early and would keep it at 3. At 3 he then left us waiting on the doorstep and gave us a strange introduction to the flat.
On first impressions the hallway was tired and dilapidated and the door a makeshift piece of MDF with wires and a bizarre automatic locking device. The flat itself was fine, but the furniture was mismatched, broken (one of the coffee tables legs fell off as soon as we got in) and a bit shabby. We chose this flat, although it was a more expensive option because of the lovely terrace and views. We were dismayed then to discover that there were major construction works going on directly next door which we had not been informed about by GuestReady. If we had been informed we would NEVER have chosen this flat as we were awoken every morning in the week very early by crashing, banging and circular saws. Truly disappointing start to our holiday which effectively ruined it from stress. It also meant we could not use the terrace at all, as the terrace gets the sun in the morning at the same time the construction work started and went on until, and was overlooked by workers so we did not feel safe sunbathing there.
When we tried communicating with GuestReady Claire delayed until it was too late for us to cancel the reservation and find alternative accommodation. She was then incredibly unhelpful and offered us a frankly insulting amount in terms of a refund which did not even cover half a nights stay in the flat. When you consider the considerable amount of time and stress spent liaising with them and the fact that we spent over £1200 on the stay and were offered £43.87 in terms of a refund, is unbelievably disappointing. Not only this but she sent us the refund without conferring with us first if we were happy with the amount or discussing it with us beforehand so we had to accept the refund even though the amount was a disgrace. She then did not respond to AirBnB when we tried to get AirBnB involved and asked for significantly more in terms of refund for their lack of transparency and ruining our holiday. AirBnB then provided no support to us, and the communication was awful from AirBnB. Clearly AirBnB now is just a moneymaking scheme.
The renovation next door is a full rebuild, so I would warn anyone thinking of staying in the next year or so to consider the impact on your stress levels and sleep. In my opinion the host should list the fact of the construction works is ongoing, for how long and hours of construction and noise, so future guests can make an informed decision about their holiday. And if people were happy to stay it should be offered at a heavily discounted rate. Because of the noise we actually had to get a hotel room for one night to get away from the noise, on top of the cost the flat which was an extra ~100 euros.
In terms of the rest of the flat, the bathroom is very, very small. The stairs are quite frankly treacherous and a health and safety hazard and should be replaced. The terrace and views are lovely but the drain sometimes smells on the terrace and obviously unusable with the construction works going on next door which was the primary reason we opted for the more expensive option (~£300 more expensive than the other flat we were deciding between). The kitchen is small and pokey as is the little squashed dining area, but reasonably appointed with a fair few utilities and a very tiny inefficient dishwasher. The area of Alfama is nice and flea market is next door, with some nice cafes and shops. Of note the balcony door has no handle to reenter the apartment so it’s very easy to trap yourself on the balcony if it shuts behind you. Claire offered no solution or fix for this.
All in all, a very disappointing stay with very disappointing communication from GuestReady and even poorer support from AirBnB. In our opinion you are better off choosing between some of the much cheaper accommodation in Lisbon, dealing directly with a SuperHost who actually cares about the guests and the reviews and the stay, and avoiding greedy companies like GuestReady who overcharge and underperform.
ADDENDUM: I can now see the host following our negative experience has added a note the construction works which was NOT present when we booked it. Another demonstration of the underhand and dishonest nature of the host. At least now guests will be aware of the noise and stress they have awaiting them. If only you had noted this information when we booked the flat we would have been saved a lot of money and stress. I only hope future guests notice this.