In this review I have decided, in the interests of fairness to concentrate on the factual information rather than my personal thoughts.
On 15th November we found this listing and really liked the idea that it was close to the beach, had a shared pool and the place looked really cool with outside spaces for the kids to run around. Booked it for 11 nights for following August and paid a deposit of around £750.00. Immediately sent a message to the host to let them know and introduce ourselves as we always do.
On 20th I sent Filipe another message since the booking had not been confirmed. We needed confirmation as some of our alternatives were being booked up. It was at this time that Filipe told us that the price was incorrect on the Air bnb website for that time we had booked and that he would need one or two days to sort it out. Heard nothing so on 26th November asked Filipe for an update. On 27th he sent me a price alteration request for an extra +£300, which I immediately declined. I explained that we had a budget for the holiday and I would pay an extra £100 max. Filipe said that despite achieving Superhost status he was new to Air bnb and he did not understand the rules. He said he would rather cancel my booking than let me have the original price. In the end we like the place so much we agreed to pay an extra £214 including the additional Air bnb fees. Total cost for 11 nights now £1567.76.
Fast forward to 22nd June. I was wanting to make contact with Filipe to make sure everything was OK bearing in mind the previous issues with price and also to confirm our arrival time and ask about rent a car recommendations. I sent two further messages on 27th and received a response on the 28th explaining that I would need to pay an extra 30 euro for late check in (10pm), which I accepted as reasonable.
On the day of travel I maintained contact with Filipe to ensure everything went smoothly with messages back and forth. We met at the apartment a little after 10pm and Filipe showed us around. I feel now is a good time to add comments on the flat.
The flat was very clean, well maintained and looks exactly as it does in the photos but appears even more spacious in the flesh. The beds are super comfortable with a memory foam feel. There are a few games for the kids to play with and the whole place seems really homely. The kitchen has most of the amenities you will need but does not have a kettle, only two coffee machines. The kitchen only has small drinking glasses and glass coffee cups, no earthenware mugs for tea drinkers. All windows have security shutters which is great but there is no safe in the apartment for money, passports etc. The large TV has the capability to chromecast from your phone using youtube netflix etc. but only when connected to the house wi-fi which is patchy and doesn’t always work very well. Outside spaces are afforded privacy from planted screening, which surround it and these areas are great for the kids and 'al fresco' dining. The area of Sao Lourenco is super quiet and feels really safe and sleepy. You can walk to the beach in your bare feet and the sun goes down right over the ocean in the middle of the beach which is wondrous.
Back to the first night, towards the end of the tour Filipe showed us the pool which my daughters of 9 and 11 were excited about. It was then we were told and shown that the pool was covered in green algae and was out of use. Filipe assured me that this would be sorted out very soon but that we couldn’t use the pool the following day. To cut a long story short the pool became greener and remained out of use for our entire holiday and with the kids asking me everyday if it was fixed, this became a real drag. In August the ocean temperature is about 15 to 17 degrees C so swimming at the beach was also a ‘no no’ without a wetsuit. Despite numerous messages to Filipe I only received a handful of replies, none of which were any actual help except that he offered to shout us a day at a nearby (40 min drive) open air lido (48 euro entry for the 4 of us), which I accepted.
On returning home I decided that I should seek some redress for the pool being out of use for the whole holiday. I asked for £50 to cover the trip to the lido that had already been offered and an extra £10 per day for the loss of the pool (£150 total). This request was ignored for 72 hours and later declined so I escalated the situation to involve Air bnb. In the end the request was upheld and I got the requested refund. Air bnb even threw in a free gift for my trouble.
In all honesty this place is really nice and you will have a great time here provided the pool is working as I am sure it normally is. On this occasion things went wrong and the fix took longer than the host expected and longer than I was prepared to accept. My family really loved this part of Portugal so while I was there I sourced some alternative places to stay for the future. Written in good conscience and without malice.