Sara and Hugo operate a number of properties in Porto and seem to have decent reviews. They seem like very nice people who probably run a decent business but our experience at this property was extremely unsatisfactory. Overall, we felt that many of these problems could have been foreseen and prevented but they seemed too busy to provide a quality experience for my family for two weeks.
When we first arrived, we had to wait outside for the host to do an inspection of the apartment before we could enter. This only took 20 minutes or so, but we felt like this should had been done prior to our arrival. However, this would have been acceptable if everything had been taken care of in the apartment – it wasn’t (queue ominous music).
At first, the apartment seemed to be relatively clean and tidy with attractive décor. We had a pleasant conversation with the host, who provided us with some resources about the neighborhood, and then he was on his way. After he left, we began noticing some problems with the apartment that had been missed during his inspection: clumps of hair from previous guests, chewed gum in the bedframe, dresser drawers with malfunctioning/broken tracks, a strategically placed laundry hamper that when moved caused a cupboard door to swing open suddenly, dark smudges on the walls and ceilings presumably from squished mosquitoes (we encountered a lot of mosquitoes as this property is very close to the river), extremely low water pressure (getting the toilets to flush fully was a chore, and showers/baths were practically impossible). Additionally, we inquired about cleaning materials and were told they weren’t provided but that we could pay for a cleaning crew to come in. We felt like it should be expected that a stay of 2 weeks for 4 people would necessitate certain cleaning materials to allow us to clean up after a normal day’s activities, washcloths for the kitchen, broom, additional trash bags, soap in the bathroom, etc.
We weren’t impressed with the location in the city. While there were a few amenities nearby, it was mostly completely isolated from the rest of the city. There were 2 grocery stores and one very expensive yet mediocre restaurant within walking distance, but nothing else besides that. Any excursion required either significant amounts of walking or coordinating on the bus system. I imagine if we had a car this would have been fine for us. There is a nearby children’s playground but this park frequently had homeless people using drugs in it so we didn’t spend much time outdoors.
I think that covers it. We left about 5 days early, but honestly should have left sooner because we feel we weren’t able to properly enjoy the city or feel comfortably rested staying here… it led to us feeling as if we had kind of squandered our vacation to Porto.