Unsafe Housing Situation
I contacted the host prior to our arrival when I saw a review by previous people who stayed at the apartment referring to persistent sewage smells. I emailed Joao and expressed concern due to our infant grandchild who was born with a medical respiratory problem. He assured me that the problem had been resolved. But, when we checked in (not w/Joao, but someone else), the sewage smell immediately was obvious. I contacted Joao after two days to tell him it was an ongoing issue, not a temporary situation. We had a VERY hard time communicating but he did finally call me back and said he could not resolve the problem while we were there and that we could leave and receive our money for the time remaining. Or he could spray something to make it not smell as bad. I told him we did not want to add chemicals to the problem and that it would be very difficult for us to secure housing for 9 people and an infant. He said he had looked at his other housing, but they weren't available. Our recourse was to leave the apt as quickly as possible each day. But, three of us developed persistent coughs that lead us to having to make repeated trips to the pharmacy. Joao finally offered to make a 20% refund. At this point, I felt this was an inadequate remedy given that we had paid over $4000 for the apartment and had specifically expressed concern about insuring the air was safe for my grandchild, but agreed given that it seemed a good faith measure. I asked him how we could meet but, he did not respond. I tried again to contact him while in Lisbon and repeatedly after coming home, but he has not responded to any of my emails. My greatest concern is that I feel like he took advantage of me by telling me the problem was solved months before our trip at a time when I could have found another location. I would not want him to do the same thing to another family.