Book early! Ana’s Alfama apartment is spacious, elegant and gives an authentic feel to life in Lisbon. Ana went out of her way to make us feel at home. She provided fresh bread, yogurt, cheese, ham, and fruit as well as nespresso pods (and even another serving of the pods when we needed it). When we had a question about the laundry machine, she responded right away. She has taken great effort to make sure the place is clean and the apartment is tastefully decorated. She also really cared about the small details. She followed up to make sure we didn’t leave our power bank and then offered to mail it for us. As a guest, I not only felt at home but also felt that Ana cares about giving you a positive experience in Portugal. She is representative of the many friendly Portuguese people we met who went out of their way to put us at ease.
Some highlights:
1) laundry and coffee make a BIG difference. laundry machine works well. Pack light.
2) there’s plenty of space: in addition to a bedroom and common area with a table, there is another separate bedroom and a little study nook. It’s nice for a couple or four people who know each other well. We like lots of space and were happy with the size.
3) everything is sparkling clean and the bed is comfortable. WiFi worked well.
4) it’s on a bustling side street but it’s not noisy and very easy to get to the center of town. Best to have your taxi drop you off at the national pantheon.
5) strongly recommend you check out the breakfast options at the authentic coffee shop one block away: pastelaria alfacinha. You can’t beat the six euro breakfast and the people watching. It’s not a tourist attraction but the experiences we had at this breakfast place were just as important as the history/fado/food tours we did in Lisbon.
6) it’s a good neighborhood - all the tours go through here because it’s a historic neighborhood. We walked everywhere. While it may not feel like it, it’s a quick 15 minute walk to the very center and has a lot more character than Baixa.