Sergio was informed 9 days prior to our visit that we would arrive at the train station near the apartment at 18:30. On the morning of the day itself, we established contact with the concierge (Isabel) appointed by Sergio. She texted back: she would be there to meet us. We further texted from the train an hour before arrival in Lisbon. She responded positively. 3 minutes before we pulled into the station, she sent another message: she was going to be late (no ETA given). We asked how late, she replied ‘maybe 45 minutes’. Communication from Isabel after that was confused, sporadic and finally non-existent.
Waiting outside the apartment block with our suitcases, we called 2 other numbers given by Sergio (one of them was supposedly his) – no answer. Eventually, not knowing whether we could get in that night, we contacted Airbnb. To cut a long story short, eventually, Isabel showed up at 20:10 and Airbnb did offer us a £25 voucher. By the time, Isabel showed us round the apartment and the parking area it was 9pm. We were tired but also hungry - we still had to find somewhere to get food. Apart from a few words of apology, Sergio offered nothing except a contact number for another concierge which we’d already tried earlier without success. When Isabel had no idea how to access the garage, she could get hold of Sergio on the phone, but when we’d needed to speak to him, he was not contractible. It is stressful and inconvenient to arrive in a strange city without being certain you have a bed for the night. At the very least, Sergio could have offered something more tangible to make amends, not just words of apology, which are cheap.
The apartment itself is modern, clean and pretty much matches the description in the listing.
Location leaves much to be desired. The apartment overlooks a strip of fenced-off undeveloped land and a very busy multi-lane highway. Being very near the airport and directly in its flight path, planes frequently fly very low and noisily overhead. You have to walk for at least ten minutes before reaching a neighbourhood with shops and restaurants, a humdrum area that a tourist would not wish to linger in. The Entre Campos metro stop is quite a trek on very uneven cobbled pavements. To get to the historic city centre by metro is also arduous and involves two line changes. All these negatives led us to decide to leave after 3 nights even though we’d paid for 5. Luckily, we found alternative accommodation in the atmospheric historic centre for our last two nights: a lovely apartment for a cheaper rent.
To summarise: this apartment is fine if you are on a business trip, or wish to be near the airport. Lisbon is a great city and we loved our time there, but if like us you are there to see Lisbon at its best, we cannot recommend this apartment or its neighbourhood.