BAD Bathroom made for a less than ideal stay
This was not our most pleasant stay.. I do not say this lightly. This is my first negative AirBNB review, if you are curious, read why.
We use AirBNB a lot. It is our preferred means of lodging. We like to have more space than a hotel room affords, like to cook meals and we both work online.We booked this AirBNB for eight days as we want to make Porto a base for a week. The location is ideal (close to Trindade station) and restaurants are very good. So our decision to choose this AirBNB based upon location and layout was correct.
THE BATHROOM IS HORRIBLE
After three weeks of traveling around Portugal, we needed a rest and to stay put for awhile. We arrived around 2 PM and fortunately were able to access the apartment a couple of hours early. My wife was dealing with food poisoning, so we were shocked to see that there was only one partial (less than half) roll of toilet paper. After searching every cupboard, we didn’t find any more. So off to the store I went to find more TP.
Then we took a shower, the spray handle hose has a bad leak and sprays horizontally in all directions. The shower curtain was hung too high, so a lot of water which was supposed to go into the smooth marble pan spilled out all over the bathroom. The bathroom has no towel racks or even hooks. WTF, a bathroom with nowhere to store towels? One of the two bath towels dropped on the floor and was immediately saturated. We had to use all the towels to sop up the water in the bathroom. There are no spares, no hooks or any place to hang to the towels. Oh, and there are no shelves or baskets in the shower to hold soap, shampoo and anything else. It all goes on the floor.
The apartment is damp and has a musty odor - especially the bathroom. Damp towels or clothes will not dry here. There is no place to hang a towel to dry. Only hangars in the damp closet. There is a fan in the storage closet, but the stand is broken so it is not usable.
We notified the management company immediately of the situation and asked for replacement towels, a drying solution and some toilet paper. They said they would get back to us within a day or two. By day three I had to contact them again. They had cleaners come to change the sheets and replace the still damp towels. But they could not find a drying rack. So we dealt with it.
The kitchen is functional, but you will have to buy everything if you want to prepare a home cooked meal. So while you have pots and appliances, you will need to buy oil, spices (they did have salt), and anything else needed to prepare your meals.
The pictures for this apartment are accurate. It could be a very nice space if the bathroom issues are resolved. Other reviews state that there is a lot of street noise. That’s true, but it didn’t really bother us. We were expecting it. The restaurant workers hang out from 11p-12a talking and smoking right outside the rooms. All hotel and hostel guests walk down the street with their roller bags on the cobblestone starting around 5 AM. So if you are a light sleeper, that is a concern. One morning around 3 AM some kept buzzing our unit and there was an argument in the hallway. Actually, all this doesn’t bother us - it is the lack of bathroom towel racks/hooks and shower shelves. We host as well, we cannot imagine overlooking this small but critical detail.
Would we rent this unit again? No. It would be fine for a night or two. But eight days really became unpleasant.