We had a generally pleasant stay at Sónia’s place. After a small snafu left us waiting to get in for nearly an hour all was fine once we were able to make our way to the unit.
The unit has a great layout with a living and dining area and two large bedrooms, one with en suite, and appears to have been built fairly recently. We didn’t use the kitchen except for the refrigerator so we cannot comment on that other than to say the fridge kept our wine and water and Coke cold. The washer and dryer also came in quite handy for us. Plus, the place was incredibly clean.
The location is good for those who can manage a bit of a walk (15-20 minutes) to the more touristy parts of Porto. Luckily the walk TO the more fun bits of Porto is downhill but the walk home can be a monster if you’re unprepared. It’s not an overly steep hill, but it’s long and of a significant incline. The neighborhood is largely residential and the apartment faces away from the street so it’s very quiet, which was a godsend on late nights coming home from the historic district and needing to sleep late.
I would note, however, that the mattresses are quite firm. Very firm. Though this seems to be the norm in Portugal based on our travels. That said, if you prefer a more “nestled” or “cradled” feeling while you sleep, this is NOT the apartment for you. Though hardly Sónia’s fault as mattress tastes vary from person to person, we ultimately stayed our last night at the Sheraton hotel as we just could not get decent rest on the beds.
Additionally, while the apartment technically has air conditioning, the air conditioner was only located in the main living area far from the bedrooms which meant the bedrooms stayed very warm, even with windows open and shades closed to minimize sunlight. The host provided a portable air conditioning unit which could be placed in one of the rooms, but it was very loud and only cooled one of the bedrooms at a time.
We also experienced some intermittent water pressure and slow draining showers during our stay, so be advised of that and don’t panic, but be prepared to deal with standing water or some slight plumbing issues.
Parking was great. We have a Volvo station wagon and there was ample room to park it.