Hands down the best Airbnb in Portugal!
I have been travelling around Portugal for 6 weeks, when we arrived here, and this is, hands down, the best Airbnb my sister and I stayed at!
This was a last minute booking , we were in Algarve when I decided to go to Porto. I have checked a few places, but my requirements were very strict: fast wifi(I work evening when I travel), free parking( almost unheard of in Porto and Gaia), good location ( transportation and attractions), very quiet( very important also), sparkling clean, excellent reviews. I have contacted with my questions, before booking, all the potential hosts and they were pretty sincere in their answers. My sister had a good feeling about renting this place and what a good decision it was . Mr Joao was very fast at responding and we decided to just go for it. It was the last trip and I was a little worried about not having a good experience , but we were in for a very nice surprise. The place is very big, extremely clean and has absolutely everything that you find in a house: from lots of towels, blankets, dishes, cleaning supplies, cosmetics, sheets, garbage bags( all hosts should leave those, if they want their place clean; also, ), tools in case you needed repairs, you name it. My Joao waited for us and guided us to the bldg parking( we had hard time seeing the entrance in the parking lot lol) and helped us with the luggage and then showed us the place. He had two metro cards for us , and showed us how to use them ( the metro station is right in front of the bldg , and in three stops you are in the heart of Porto, right across from Sao Bento train station). He also explained everything about the house and , later, he sent us info about attractions in the area and surroundings. What a nice person! So lovely and helpful! The apartment had lovely and homey touches, it felt like I was in my mom's house, really. Mr Joao had a a few surprises for us : a bottle of wine, a case of beer, a case of 2 l water bottles, a case of mineral water, a box with butter, fruits and fresh bread . Not to mention that the cupboards were equipped with: salt, pepper, condiments, teas, coffee , hot chocolate, oil, vinegar, papers towels, napkins etc etc. We only use a little bit of everything, but it was so helpfull to have them at hand. He also had two bottles of hand sanitezer for us and three brand new face masks . I am telling you, any Airbnb hosts should read this, and maybe even stay here, to see how things should be done.
The location of the apartment is absolutely amazing too, we were so happy! So easy to get to Porto and take the train from Sao Bento station to Aveiro, Guiamaraes etc. We simply felt like we were HOME. We want to go back and stay for maybe for a few weeks, to explore the area better. There is so much to see and this location is absolutely fantastic for it. Also, the neighbors were so , so nice. The ones across from our place told us that they are there, if we need anything. Everyone was saying hello and being very polite . We kind of felt bad as Saturday my sister turned the music on the TV too loud at 6,45 pm , and the neighbor above us knocked on the door and told us they were not happy with that. So sorry about it. We did not mean to be " the bad renters". It is true that the walls are really thin though, we could hear the same neigbour from my bedroom two night in a row talking ( normal talk)around 11 pm and 12 am , which was very weird. But hey, it was only for 20-30 min, nothing to be worried about.
We also loved the balcony facing East and the large terrace facing West( we would have liked to have some chaise longs or a bench on the West facing terrace , but we saw that nobody does . Maybe it's a rule about not having furniture on it, we could not figure that out). All in all, our stay was magnific and we fell in love with Gaia and Porto.
We cleaned the apartment as best as we could before we left, hopefully that something that is appreciated. There were section of the house we did not use, we left notes , so the hosts knows . We also used only a few towels and and , upon departure we folded them and put notes on them too.
Thank you for your hospitality Mr Joao, it was a pleasure meeting you! You are , indeed , one of the nicest host we ever met through Airbnb. Doina and Cora