What a wonderful apartment, in a wonderful city, with a wonderful host! My wife and I couldn't have imagined a more perfect situation for our first trip to Porto than Maria's apartment on Mercadores.
Maria's communication leading up to the trip was proactive and helpful. In addition to taking care of all the normal pre-check-in details, she arranged for Carlos to pick us up at the airport (which was cheaper than a cab and about the same as an Uber, but less of a hassle as he was waiting with a sign with our name). Carlos was GREAT! A local, he gave us some tips on the city and explained the geography as we drove. Then he helped us with our bags through some narrow streets which the car couldn't go down, right to the apartment door. It was a real pleasure and a real value.
The apartment itself is beautiful and immaculate. Light and airy, we found it to be bigger than we had imagined based on the photos. The two large windows open onto little balconies overlooking a bustling street with a view down to the river. Amazing. The building and the apartment itself both felt very secure and safe. Everything inside the building had clearly been recently updated, but still had the charm of an ancient European city, especially with the giant rock wall in the apartment.
And the location! After spending ~5 days in Porto, I'm not sure it gets any better. You are able to walk down to the water in seconds to experience the Ribiera and we found ourselves to be within easy walking distance (15-20 minutes) of any of the other restaurants or attractions we were interested in visiting. Plus, it was SO lovely to walk along the narrow alleys that surround the apartment, get a little lost and see what you discover ... Two of the best restaurants we found in all of Porto were just down the block on Mercadores, too. Wonderful.
Finally, Maria was available and responsive to the minor questions we had while in Porto. She is a lovely woman who loves her city and truly cares about her guests. We'd stay here again in a heartbeat.