We spent three glorious days in Lisbon at Elsa's place. The apartment was charming and cosy, perfect for us, and Elsa was the perfect host. She speaks fluent English (and many other languages too) and was always ready to help us, both before our arrival and during our stay. Elsa sent us lots of information before we arrived and also provided a folder with maps, personal notes and suggestions with restaurants/points of interest in the city and in the neighbourhood. She also had biscuits and cakes waiting for us at the apartment which was a really nice touch. In addition Elsa went one step further meeting us at the airport and dropping us back again even though we had a late flight back on Sunday evening (on the way she took us to a famous and beautiful pastry shop off the beaten track so we could pick up cakes for the journey - very sweet of her).

Elsa was contactable at all times which was very helpful. We had a small glitch with hot water on the first morning but she sorted this out very quickly and everything was working again within an hour. This is reassuring to know that should you have any problems, Elsa will sort them out straight away.

The apartment is in a lovely, quiet little neighbourhood and you can easily walk almost everywhere, although there is also a metro and tram very close by. We preferred to walk and see the sights along the way, exploring the narrow streets of Lisbon and stopping off to admire the views and to eat the delicious ‘nata’ from the many kiosks and pastelarias that you will find dotted around the city.

The place is suitable for 2 people as the bathroom is situated in the bedroom area although you could sleep one or two other people on the sofa bed if you didn’t mind ‘sharing’ the bathroom. It has everything you could need for a short or long visit and had the added bonus of wifi which came in very handy.

The area is very safe, full of small restaurants and at the end of the street you have the Matiz Pombalina cocktail bar which we stumbled across by accident one evening. It was a real gem to find this on our first night as it had the perfect balance of great ambiance, classy décor and excellent service. Not to mention the superb cocktails. Needless to say we spent a few more evenings here sampling the list of over 100 cocktails!

We are already looking forward to returning to Lisbon again one day and would love to stay at Elsa’s again. I would recommend Elsa’s apartment for a visit to Lisbon not only to other airbnb users, but also to our friends and family. You will not be disappointed. Elsa you're a star!

Kat and Emile x