When I first booked this apartment, it looked like a story book. I soon found out it was a horror story.
We arrived in Porto after a long day of travels to an apartment that was over 30 degrees C. We thought we could just turn on the AC which the listing prominently advertises - except none of the 3 units were working.
No problem, we reported it to the host who said they’d send a technician the next morning. That meant a night of sleeping in sweat, but oh well. Tried to take a cold shower to cool down - except the drain is totally clogged and the entire bathroom floor gets wet. Expect to be in ankle deep water for any shower, even a 30 second one.
The next morning, the host messages us constantly throughout the day while we on a wine tour to say that a technician is fixing the AC. Ok, great. Get back to the apartment after a full day in 40 C outside temperatures… to find the apartment even hotter than we left it.
OK, I message the host who says that the AC was fixed and they confirmed with the technician. I said OK, I’m telling you it’s not fixed. And then they stopped responding.
Finally, I decide to call the host. One thing to note - this is not just a individual or couple hosting. It’s a large property management company that manages hundreds of apartments across the country. I get redirected multiple times, and put on hold. Each time they insist the AC is fixed and they can’t do anything, despite me sending pictures showing the 30 C thermostats.
After hours of calling and nearly 20 euros spent on international calls, I finally ask if they can move us to another one of their available listings. They said sure - just cancel your airbnb reservation and pay us 700 extra euros, OFF THE PLATFORM. This is very much against the Airbnb platform policy.
We obviously refuse and they refuse us a chance to talk to the manager. Finally they send another technician when we are actually in the apartment, who tells us the AC has been broken since before we arrived and can’t be fixed. In other words, it was never fixed and the hosts lied to us and gaslit us.
LovelyStay is anything but a lovely stay, and ruined our three days in Porto. We were miserable and would’ve been better off staying at another listing without AC that cost far less. I will never use this host again, ever. Hope we can help others avoid making the same mistake.