Lovely flat let down by a rather inconsistent host who could take much better care of it.
The view from the living room is spectacular, the rooms spacious and its location near a metro stop and regional train station makes it excellent for exploring the Porto area and the region south of the city.
However the upkeep of the flat is lacking and minor problems kept cropping up over the course of our stay, such as drain leaks and power outages. These would not be much of a concern if the host was proactive in addressing them but it often required effort for them to even recognise the issue: for example when a bedroom door locked itself, they were initially reluctant to get it fixed the next day and only agreed to after we made excuses about having ‘important medicine’ inside, suggesting they would have been quite happy to leave us sharing a room for multiple nights if it weren’t a serious matter of one of their guests’ health. Another example was being instructed to simply stop using the faulty kettle which kept tripping the electricity rather than replacing it.
This attitude is in keeping with the number of small faults left unaddressed throughout the flat, from the kitchen window which doesn’t close fully, a faulty bell which is kept silent by a wooden skewer jammed into it, a very mouldy shower curtain, and the poor condition of some cooking utensils. In one case we were given a temporary solution to a non-flushing toilet which required a new part to fix properly - after several weeks this was never delivered.
The host was helpful in letting us change our dates (extending it and then shortening slightly) but it’s a mystery why they couldn’t keep up this attitude in any other areas.
Overall would recommend for short stays but if you are planning to stay for longer be prepared to deal with hiccups along the way and a slightly inconsiderate and aloof host.