There are three rooms in Gonçalo’s place, in a busy, but traffic-free and therefore quiet street in Lisbon’s bustling Bairro Alto neighbourhood. This is a very touristy— but still fun— part of the city, full of bars, restaurants, shops and people trying to have (and largely succeeding in having) a good time. The flat is only a few minutes’ walk from the Baixa-Chiado metro station (you can get to the airport in 40 minutes), and is also near a stop on the route of the famous Tram 28.
Gonçalo’s apartment in on the first floor, and there’s no lift (although the famous Santa Justa Elevator is only a few minutes’ walk away, very few older buildings in Lisbon seem to have their own). Painted on the stairs is a humorous count of the calories you’re burning off while climbing them, but actually it’s not much fun lugging a heavy suitcase up or down them (they’re rather steep), and anybody with problems getting around should probably look elsewhere (to be honest, anybody with problems getting around should probably avoid Lisbon, a very hilly city, altogether). There’s a kitchen with a hob and a fridge-freezer and a bathroom with a shower. There’s no air-conditioning, but my room (and, I assume the other two as well) had an electric fan. The place was impeccably clean.
My room was by the kitchen, which meant that there was no window onto the street— no window at all, to speak of. This, though probably helping keep the room quiet, meant it was hard to air the room out— something which was necessary, because the temperature went up to 42°C (107°F) during my stay.
I never met Gonçalo, but in our e-mail contacts he was invariably friendly and helpful, providing lists of his favourite places to eat, etc.
If you’re relatively fit, I’d recommend the place and the neighbourhood. Lisbon is a fantastic city, and this is a very good base from which to explore it.