FUTURE GUEST BE AWARE:
(4 days, 5 adults, Porto - Valbom)
- NOTHING LOOKED LIKE THE PICTURES, BECAUSE IT WAS A DIFFERENT APPARTMENT!
WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE OR CHOICE (choice was verbally denied to us in the first phone call at arrival), at the building door, we were informed that Liiiving had changed the booking contract and assigned us a different apartment, which doorbell and front door lock were broken (the handle falls off on the inside of the apartment for it is completely unattached). Everyone was afraid of being locked outside or inside the house during the 4 days of the stay – so except for one person of the group, no one left the apartment to visit the city.
All this created serious concern and distress to the family group of retired, elderly guests who had, prior to arrival, agreed upon and selected their rooms according to their health needs.
The online check-in was made in advance, so Liiiving knew the origin/distance travelled and the age of all their guests. One of the guests, a loving family member, could never find her room/WC when needed, despite great personal effort, having previously committed to memory the pictures of her room in the apartment, which was not the same anymore, leading her to opening the front door and almost getting locked outside the apartment more than once, which made for a very scary 4-day stay for her and all of us.
CHECK IN: After calling the Liiiving in Porto receptionist, he insisted on sending the apartment door code via an app, which none of the guests could or knew how to use. It took 3 phone calls for him to simply send a message with the apartment’s door code (digital lock numbers). There is a considerable flight of stairs at the building’s entrance door that we were unaware of and, albeit there is a direct entrance via the garage to the elevator, we had no garage code, keys or information on how to access it (I had no phone battery nor the strength of will left after the journey to go thru 3 or more repeated calls with the same receptionist).
COOLING: The cooling fans were broken. One bedroom fan made a noise even when it was off, which would have been funny if the stay hadn’t been so depressing.
SANITATION: Hygiene was impeccable; the cleaning crew deserves a raise.
COFFEE: They do not deliver a complimentary breakfast basket to the door (as reviewers say online), let alone provide coffee. As there is no coffee shop or grocery store close enough for seniors to access on foot, Liiiving provides a coffee pod machine, without capsules/pods, so we not only had no coffee, we had no idea which pods to buy for the duration of the stay.
KITCHEN: Utensils are so sparse that there isn't even a mug (only espresso/tea cups which are useless without the coffee machine capsules) or a tupperware (in lieu of the bowls). There are not enough breakfast bowls, so you should not expect to eat cereal or fruit salad for breakfast, unless you eat in turns. The glasses are few and uneven in form and number, the frying pan is scratched deeply (too poisonous to use or make eggs/bacon). We just gave up and ordered all our food in.
INFORMATION: Because Liiiving didn't even provide a house guide, only house rules, it led to a 40 minutes search/delayed first day dinner until giving up and calling the Liiiving receptionist (afterhours, I think the call was rerouted to Lisbon), lady who was indeed helpful and patient and sent pictures that showed that the cutlery drawer was hidden inside another larger drawer, under the stove.
HEATING: One lady of the group needed heating in the bedroom, due to hypotension, and we didn't know how to turn it on, so we gave up and she slept dressed to keep warm. We called Liiiving later – again – and the attentive receptionist pointed out that there was an extra duvet in the hallway closet, albeit without a cover/protection (in the midst of a pandemic).
CHECK OUT: Do not request for a late check out, for ours was ‘generously’ extend from 11 o’clock (normal check-out time) to 12 o’clock, which if we had known we would have never even bothered for.
SAFETY: The initial male Liiiving Porto receptionist, nonchalant, said he would provide a discount for the ‘inconvenience’, which culminated in deducting €180 from a total of €1200, for a four-day stay in a place where no one agreed to stay at (choice was denied), and with serious health and security deficits.
Considering the stellar online reviews that Liiiving has, I believe they do not treat their younger customers (average online reviewers age) this way, which is tantamount to discrimination.