The apartment itself was very nice and modern. It looks like it was recently renovated. There is a nice view from the balcony where you can watch the sunrise.
But we had a lot of issues:
1.	Location – When we first arrived, it was very difficult to find the apartment. Our cab dropped us off on the main roadway and we had to fend for ourselves. Alfama is like a labyrinth of alleys and stairs. We had to carry heavy luggage up hills and stairs and wheel them across cobblestone streets. It would have been nice for the host to provide a map so we could find the unit. Google maps does not provide all the details of the alleys so we felt like we were in a maze.
2.	Check-in – This was one of my worst Airbnb experiences. We provided our flight details to Lovely Stay, the management company, many days before our vacation so they should have been able to prepare for our arrival. As we are on our flight, Lovely Stay messages us if we can be at the apartment at 18:30 sharp. As visitors to a new country, this was difficult to gauge. The company should accommodate the customer and the customer should not have to accommodate the host’s schedule. By the time we landed, LovelyStay asked us to stop by their offices to pick up the key. The office is located in Baixa. When we asked if Lovely Stay would pay for the additional transportation since this was out of our way, they agreed to send someone at 7:30 pm. We arrived at the apartment at 7:25 pm and waited 50 minutes for the person to arrive! Just imagine going to a foreign country and the sun goes down and you are locked outside in an alley holding your luggage and your cellphone battery is at 30%. The host was not responding to texts or emails and we were seriously considering booking a hotel and canceling this reservation. When we finally got inside, the apartment looked very nice.
3.	Bathroom leak – On the second day, our bathroom toilet began leaking. Whenever we flushed, water would appear below the toilet. There was no clog in the toilet but it could have been a poorly installed toilet that didn’t have the right seal. We immediately emailed and texted Lovely Stay about the issue. They said that a maintenance person would come at 10-11h the next day and we should use our towels to soak up the leak. We informed them that we would be on a day trip to Sintra and they would be authorized to enter the apartment and do the work while we were gone. I texted to confirm if the work was done at 11:50 am and they informed me that they didn’t have a key. After some back and forth, the maintenance worker got a key from the cleaning team. Lovely Stay did not keep me informed on the progress and 10+ texts and messages remained unanswered. I decided to stop by the office when I returned from Sintra to confirm that the work was done which they said it had been. The fact that I had to micromanage a repair on my vacation really annoyed me. Also, after a few days, the bathroom smelled moldy from the stagnant water.
When booking on Airbnb, look for superhosts as they truly make a difference. Lovely Stay may be managing too many apartments and I question if their business model is able to scale. From poor communication and poor customer service, I was annoyed by my Airbnb experience in Lisbon. The apartment is very nice but the management service was poor.