The host Nuno is a nice guy who I don't think intended for my stay to be as miserable as it was. Reading all of the glowing reviews for this property, I was excited to come here but ultimately had to cancel this booking mid-way during my trip due to some serious issues with the ventilation and wifi that made the accommodations unbearable.

The apartment is situated on the ground level of a small complex that faces out to a parking lot. During the day and particularly at night, homeless people sleep here. I was a woman traveling alone and in the dark, felt uneasy coming home seeing various bodies on the ground right outside of the place. I generally have no phobias about homeless or poverty, but my issue was that I had no clue who these people were and it felt unsafe entering the apartment. Later, when I informed Nuno the host about this, he said he was aware of them, that they were no threat, and that the neighborhood has an agreement to let them sleep here in exchange for gardening. The sentiment of this seems well intentioned, but I also would have greatly appreciated knowing this in advance.

At the time it was raining periodically in Lisbon. The apartment had a very strong smell of mildew and regardless of how many windows were open, air did not seem to circulate enough to get the stale smell out. I felt ill from it.

The photos of this apartment make it look very bright and airy-- but unfortunately, this was not my experience. Windows do let in some light, but it was overall gloomy and murky.

The most significant issue I encountered here was that the wifi didn't work reliably. I booked this place as a work trip and had emailed the host in advance confirming that the wifi was strong and consistent. Most of my time here, the wifi was either extremely slow or non existent. I followed all of the protocols of plugging and unplugging the wires, but this did not help at all. I lost a lot of time and money with a project that I was unable to deliver by deadline. I ended up finishing it at a friends house in the city who had working internet.

The only plus to this experience was that the apartment is located in a perfect part of Prinicpe Real. If they fix all of these problems, I think its possible to have a good stay here -- but please do yourself a favor and write the host in advance confirming that they have resolved these issues.

My communication with Nuno the host was overall good -- he apologized and again, I do not think he was purposefully negligent. At the end of this trip, he helped us recover our lost passport that was left behind in the apartment very late at night after hours and was a life saver.