This was really a mixed bag. I hesitated to write this review because I like Airbnbs and Diogo and Carla have been accommodating and communicative, but in the spirit of transparency I should be honest about our stay.
Starting with the pros:
- Check-in and check-out were both super easy. There is a lockbox that you take the key from and you return the key to the same place when you check out. Carla was also very accommodating on check-out: when we said that our flight was in the evening, she let us check out late so we didn't have to leave our luggage elsewhere.
- Communication was very good - replies were always nice, prompt and helpful.
- The flat is value for money. You get three rooms for a price that would get you two rooms and a sofa bed elsewhere (although see below re: the rooms).
- Good location. We could walk, and did walk, to most places that we wanted to go to from the flat.
For the cons:
- The flat definitely looks nicer in pictures than in real life, although in some ways that's expected for Airbnbs.
- Two of the rooms next to each other didn't have any audial privacy, because each room had a massive hole in the wall which was connected to the other hole by a sliver of space behind the wall. That sliver of space separated the bedroom walls from the exterior wall which had a window in it, and you could see the window through the holes. I suspect this strange set-up is due to regulations around bedrooms needing to have windows, and that way both rooms could 'share' one window. But the two holes basically formed an audio channel between the two rooms and literally every sound in one room could be heard in the other. Okay for families - not so okay for friends/couples travelling together. The third room was nice though.
- Cockroaches. To our dismay, we found three cockroaches scurrying around on the third day, even though we ate every meal including breakfast outside. To Diogo and Carla's credit, when we reported the problem, they were really apologetic about it and promised to disinfect the flat when we checked out. But this was really a problem that shouldn't have arisen in the first place. Cockroaches can of course be found in countries in warmer climates (I should know having grown up in a tropical country), but I would still never expect to see them in guest accommodation.
All in all, this was a 3/5, although if it weren't for the cockroaches, I would have given the flat a slightly higher score. There were definitely issues with the rooms which should be addressed, but communication was very good and the Airbnb was value for money and in a good location.