This is a very mixed review. I wanted to love this place because it is a great value and the location couldn't have been better. It is within one mile of museums, markets, unique shops, Flamenco shows, restaurants & bars, points of interest...you name it! But the issue was cleanliness and miscommunication.
Rafael had an employee, Julian, check me in for my one night stay. Both of these men were very responsive to my messages on What's App. As soon as Julian walked me inside of the apartment, I noticed a large, ball of paper on the living room floor. He picked it up and apologized about it. After he left, I settled in a bit.
While I was in the bathroom, I heard the front door unlock. I woman entered the door wearing a backpack and looked surprised. I think she spoke Portuguese, which I don't understand and she didn't seem to understand my English either. I was very confused and told her that I was staying there and asked if she made a mistake and was supposed to be in another apartment. The exchange lasted about 3 minutes and neither of us understood the other. She finally left and I immediately sent Julian then Rafael messages.
Rafael said it was the housekeeper and not to worry. I thought that was a weird response. I asked him if he was sure it was the housekeeper because she had a backpack on and seemed confused. He repeated the same thing and told me not to worry. Julian responded and said the same thing. I was traveling solo in a new city and felt uncomfortable. I decided to take any valuables with me and decided to see the city.
When I returned, I noticed that there was hair in the shower, the rubbish bin was full, and there was a large industrial bucket with dirty mop in it. Not sure how I missed all of that...must have been jetlag. So I messaged Rafael to let him know that I would not be taking out the rubbish bin because it was full when I arrived. I had spent less than 2 hours in the bathroom. He said it was fine and he would have it taken care of.
The woman who entered may have been the housekeeper, but that would have meant that the place hadn't been cleaned. In addition, I asked Julian to set up a taxi service to the airport the next morning which he kindly did. I received confirmation from a driver and thought all was ready to go. Until I received a series of messages beginning at 3:00 am saying the original driver had been replaced. Over the next two hours, I was involved in a text conversation via What's App that felt like a game of Who's on First? I received a message at 7:30 am from the original driver who had no idea what I was talking about. Weird!
I also want to note that there are motion sensor lights in the corridors. But when I went to meet my taxi downstairs, none of the lights came on and the sun hadn't come up yet. So it was uncomfortable carrying my suitcase down a few flights of stairs and through dark corridors.
The apartment itself is