Our stay in Lisbon was relaxing and wonderful thanks in large part to our stay in Abel and Odete's comfortable, spotlessly clean apartment.

We arrived pretty early in the morning, before the apartment was ready for check-in, so Abel met us at the train station, took our luggage off our hands, and gave us an impromptu tour of the Alfama neighborhood we would be staying in. He was warm, welcoming, and really interesting to talk to.

He recommended some great local spots for food and grocery shopping, and had a coffee with us in a wonderful little breakfast spot before leaving us to relax until it was time to check-in.

Abel also made sure we had a good collection of maps and guide brochures to help us plan our trip in the apartment, and there were wine, strawberries, chocolate, and a snack basket waiting for us upon check-in.

The apartment is bright and pretty and very clean. The bed was really comfortable and the kitchen and bathroom are modern. When the windows are open you can hear the sounds of the neighborhood - music and chatter and kids playing. Closing the windows effectively blocks out the noise if you are in the mood for some quite though. And though we didn't make much use of it, the TV has a ton of English language channels if you are in the mood to watch something in the evening. I loved the wall colors and little decorative touches too. It's a perfect home base for a couple.

Alfama itself is an intriguing, beautiful neighborhood to be based in - we are history buffs so it was ideal for us. Being so close to a major train station (Apolonia) makes getting around the city on bus, train, and metro super easy. And the trendy Baixa and Chiado areas are within easy walking distance.

Really can't recommend this apartment (or this city) enough. We loved our time in Lisbon and we loved our little home in the Alfama.