I booked this apartment for three persons—myself, my daughter, and my mom—for ten nights. Despite the good reviews from previous travellers, our communication with “Helena” was disappointing. To this day, I have no idea who Helena is; all communication was done through Oporto Concierge Services. We booked an airport transfer from the airport to the apartment from them, but the driver did not understand English well, and unfortunately, we do not speak Portuguese. We were expecting someone to meet us at the apartment and explain to us how everything works around the house, or give us some tips about the city, but this was not the case. We were left by ourselves after the driver dropped us off. The apartment was only ready for two persons; there were no bed sheets/pillowcases for the sofa bed, and towels, etc. for the third person. The apartment floor was littered with hair and there was a strong smell of cleaning product. I sent Oporto Concierge Service many emails with questions, but their answers did not address my questions. When someone finally showed up at night, he explained to me that it was impossible for his company to know how to work all the appliances in all the apartments that they manage. He told me that this is how airbnb works; I asked if I have questions about anything, how do I contact the owner since I am staying for a long period. Again, he said that this how airbnb works, and that this is not a hotel. He was bombarded with nonstop phone calls and he asked me whether I saw how busy he was. I requested an extra set of keys because there are three of us with different schedules, and because the doors in this apartment lock from the inside; without a key, one cannot exit the apartment, nor enter the front entrance of the building. (I think this is a dangerous hazard for someone left in the apartment without a key). He said he would make the key for us, but he made sure that I understood that this was a huge favor because they normally provided only one key no matter how large the party. However, I don’t think my request was an unreasonable one, and none of the other airbnb apartments we have stayed in have ever told me about this rule of having only one set of keys.
Despite all this, I agree that this apartment really was located in the best location. I hope this bad experience is just an isolated case.