My partner and I stayed for five nights at Andre’s property. There are quite a few positives to the apartment, but also some things that aren’t going to work for everyone — I think it’s best to be informed going in. Ultimately, my partner and I both agreed that we wouldn’t want to stay at Andre’s place again in the future.
Positives: By far, the best thing about Andre’s place is the location! We loved being able to easily walk around Bairro Alto and explore the city. We didn’t have any issues with noise, even on a busy Friday night. (We stayed in the middle room of the apartment, so we weren’t directly on the street.) The flat was also clean, and we enjoyed the personal effects around the apartment. It feels more like someone’s home rather than a hotel, which we really liked. André was always quick to respond to messages, which was very helpful.
Negatives: First off, we knew from prior reviews that the shower was going to be temperamental. It changes very quickly from absolutely freezing to boiling hot, and the water pressure can be rather low at times. It’s also a small shower, which is something to be mindful of. (I actually fell in the shower once because the water burned my leg and there wasn’t much space to move myself away.) But I still had no issue getting clean and taking a short shower each day of the visit.
Second, none of the bedrooms have locks (internal or external). My partner and I were lucky enough to share the flat with two very nice visitors who were entirely safe, but we definitely were concerned about security risks at first. Even though we took any valuables with us when we left the flat (e.g., our passports), this still doesn’t mean that you’ll have security while sleeping, dressing, etc. (Ironically, we actually were locked into our bedroom at one point when the doorknob fell off…)
Third, the apartment listing says that laundry is available for a fee (and there is a washing machine located right next to the bathroom), but André said after we arrived that this was only available for longer stays. Given that we stayed here for five nights (and had an earlier leg of the trip elsewhere), it would have been nice to even have the option of paying to use the washer in the flat. (We also would have packed differently if we’d known.) André did tell us that there is a laundromat around the corner, though!
Fourth, there is a camera in the kitchen area that was not listed in the description of the property. We personally didn’t mind having the camera in the common space, but it is something to be aware of (as you have to walk by when leaving the bathroom, etc.).
Five, the WiFi connection was extremely weak, so even with “full bars,” I often needed to use my personal data off of my cellphone within the flat.
TL;DR: This flat worked fine for a quick trip to Lisbon and is very well located — but even for $50 a night, there are other places we could have stayed in the area that would have avoided some of the negatives (like the shower, security, WiFi, etc.) listed above.