For context, my wife and I travelled in Portugal for 2.5 weeks and stayed at six different Airbnbs in six different cities (Lisboa, Lagos, Évora, Lamego, Arcos de Valdevez, and Porto). We feel this itinerary gives us a good perspective on accommodations in Portugal.
Things we liked about this apartment:
1. The location is in a quiet area of downtown Porto and within walking distance to a beautiful park (5 minute walk) and the tourist areas (25 minute walk) including lots of great restaurants/shops/stores.
2. The apartment was very clean and modern. The apartment had power security shades on all windows, which was an excellent way to secure the apartment and block out the sun/light. The washer (no dryer or detergent) and dishwasher (including detergent) was very convenient. There is secure/underground parking, gym, and a beautiful gardens with lemon trees, which the apartment faces. The building is modern, quiet, and very secure.
3. Self check-in was simple and the electronic lock was convenient.
Things to consider about this apartment:
1. The apartment is very small. Even with just two people (and luggage), we found the apartment cramped. Our Lisbon apartment was quite small but it had a bedroom, which provided an area to store the luggage away from the living area. We knew the size of the apartment when we booked but compared to our other 5 apartments, this one was a bit too small.
2. Operating the overhead garage door to the garage is a two-person job. When entering, the passenger has to enter the front door of the building, walk to the garage, and open the overhead garage door. The street is a single lane, often without parking/pull-off space, making even more difficult. A fob for the overhead garage door would be far more convenient.
Some issues we had with this apartment:
1. We could not use the garage for the first day (9 am - 6 pm) of our 2 day/3 night stay due to garage maintenance (washing the garage floor). This was very inconvenient. The host did give us 7 days notice but suggested there was available street parking. What he didn't tell us was the street parking was paid parking and had to be paid every 2 hours. His suggestion to go for a out-of-town drive for the day was not helpful. We had to leave the apartment by 9 am and pay extra to park the car for the day, which the host did not reimburse. Given that we booked this apartment for the location and underground parking, were we very disappointed.
2. The washer did not have any detergent, although the dishwasher had plenty of detergent. When we inquired about detergent, the host recommended for us to purchase our own detergent at a local grocery store, which he would not reimburse. Of course, they only sell large (2L) bottles of detergent, which was inconvenient for just one wash.
3. On the first morning, there was no hot water for showering. Both of us had to take very cold showers since we had leave the apartment by 9 am and we could not wait for 1 hour for the water to heat. Turns out, the hot water heater had been turned off. When we inquired, the host had no explanation. We suspect that the cleaning staff turned off the hot water heater to save money given the missing amenities and the emphasizes in the apartment instructions on conserving hot water and not running the AC in the night. In fact, our showers on the second/third morning were less than 5 minutes each and we still ran out of hot water on the second shower.
4. There were a couple of other questions/issues (e.g. no account information for Netflix) we had during our stay and when we inquired with the host, we found he was not always helpful and pleasant. Often, he would make an argument on how parking/amenities should be considered a bonus and not all hosts on Airbnb provide them. Our opinion is that if the apartment included parking/amenities in the description, they should be provided and we should not have to ask for them to be provided.