From the moment we made our reservation Sergio couldn't have been more helpful. His replies to our messages were immediate and he provided us with a tremendous amount of local knowledge in advance that helped us plan our time in Lisbon.

We arrived around 9pm and, as agreed, Sergio met us at the apartment (with a very welcome bottle of wine and some excellent cheese). After showing us around he spent a little while going over places to eat and things to see in the neighbourhood - much of which we didn't take in due our exhaustion, but which we were able to follow up on by txt the next day.

The apartment itself was perfect for us. With the exception of the absence of a mirror in the bathroom or bedroom, we had everything we could possibly need and it had an eclectic charm that matched the rambling, slightly chaotic nature of the Alfama district it's located in. We didn't spend much time in the flat, but it was comfortable with a practical kitchen, a small but clean and bright bathroom, a good bed, and plenty of storage space. The days and nights were pretty warm when we were there, but the big windows opening on two sides of the building let the breeze blow through and it never felt stuffy.

Being in the heart of Alfama meant the street noise and the singing from the Fado bars was something of a feature. However the flat is on the top floor and this never bothered us; in fact we would have been disappointed if we hadn't had it there - sitting with the window open, listening to the singing and accordion playing was a highlight for us.

The only downside we would report is that there was building work starting in the site adjacent to the apartment building. It wasn't particularly active when we were there, with just some exploratory drilling going on, but it was quite noisy from around 8/8:30am each morning. This didn't trouble us as we were generally heading out by then, but it made less likely to come back for, say, lunch during the day.

All in all, we loved the apartment, it's location and being so much in the heart of Lisbon. When we come back we would certainly consider staying there again, but knowing that Filipa and Segio have other properties we might try one of those instead; more in the interest of variety than in pursuit of a slightly quieter night!