We had brilliant and very friendly, welcoming communication from Alice right from the off. Our flight arrived quite early so Alice invited us to drop our bags off at her own home (which is just a short walk from the apartment) so that we could explore and get some lunch. Once the apartment had been vacated and cleaned we met Alice and Pedro there, who had already brought our luggage over. Although we had previously visited Porto, Alice and Pedro talked us through some new places to see, where to find the best bakeries, a selection of their preferred restaurants, and showed us around the apartment.
The apartment was spotlessly clean, tastefully and comfortably furnished and decorated, spacious and well-equipped. The kitchen is small but has everything needed for a short to medium stay. The bathroom is modern and the shower excellent. Bedrooms are spacious with plenty of storage space. The living/dining area extends the width of the apartment with three sets of glazed doors opening to the full width terrace, which has comfortable outdoor furniture.
The location is in the heart of Porto, close to many bus, metro and tram routes. It’s also ideal for walking to many of the sights and there are a great number of excellent and well-priced restaurants. Being used to London or Paris prices, we were constantly amazed by the menu prices in Porto.
The street is lively – when we arrived on a Saturday it was closed to traffic and there was a street market, and there are excellent shops and bars on the street. Others have mentioned the noise, which didn’t bother us, being well used to city holidays. The bedrooms are well insulated for sound and are air conditioned. Earplugs are supplied for those with very sensitive hearing.
Alice contacted us a couple of times during the week to check that we were OK. We were pleasantly surprised that Ana the cleaner came in on Wednesday to clean the apartment, change the sheets and provide new towels halfway through our week.
We were blessed with good weather and enjoyed the terrace and had a wonderful time in Porto. Alice and Pedro are excellent hosts, the apartment is beautiful, and we hope that it will be free the next time we choose to visit this beautiful city.