Light Filled Typical Apartment at Alfama, By TimeCooler

If you’ve ever dreamed of spending a night inside what feels like an archaeological exhibit, this apartment in Alfama is the perfect choice. The adventure began before we even got inside. The ancient wooden door seemed determined to protect its secrets at all costs. After several attempts, we eventually discovered that the key has to be turned to the left instead of the direction most humans would instinctively try. For a moment, it genuinely felt as though the apartment had defeated us before check-in. Once inside, and after mastering several tiny doorsteps, you’re surrounded by the charm and mouldy smelly smell of centuries past. Mostly because it seems that nothing has been renovated (or cleaned…) for several of them. The furniture, walls, floor and doorsteps looked as though it had personally witnessed the Age of Discovery. Even the kitchen impressively featured a toaster with enough rust to qualify as a historical artifact, while many of the fixtures and fittings looked like they had not been updated in decades The bathroom was an experience in itself. The shower cabin contained an impressive collection of long black hairs, as if they had been carefully preserved through multiple generations of guests. The whole scene felt less like a holiday apartment and more like the opening sequence of The Ring. All that was missing was a phone ringing in the background... At night, as an added bonus, nearby restaurants and drunk people strolling around seemed to be competing for the loudest and most questionable music selection, creating the atmosphere of an endless party night nobody had asked for. Overall, this place is a place full of history. Mostly because you’ll be telling stories about your stay there for years afterward :)

Le canapé lit était brisé et la cuisine sentait les égouts. À noter, la salle de bain est extrêmement petite et la montée d’escalier très très étroite - pas facile de monter ses valises.

Super small, the pictures don’t show the reality of it. You can’t even stand in the bathroom. No heat in the apartment, and when using the stove the hole power of the appt goes off, I had to find the main breaker twice and reset it. Parking is up hill about half a mile. If there is no heat, at least add enough blankets. It is the third floor with steep stairs. Not recommended. The area is ok, Alfama is the oldest area of the city and has enough around for food and sight seeing.

L'emplacement est idéal pour le tourisme. La literie de la chambre est top. Le linge de maison est propre. Relativement calme pendant la nuit, hormis les services municipaux (camion poubelle etc)

Lampadaire de la ville juste sous la fenêtre de la chambre et du salon. Avec la canicule nous ne pouvions fermer la fenêtre et le volet est à l'intérieur dc illuminé comme en plein jour, toute la nuit. Le canapé est cassé et très inconfortable pour dormir. Porte de la Sdb très bancale... Nous n'avons pas réussi à faire fonctionner la tv.

Dirty curtains in bathroom, too tiny bathroom in which there is no place to do anything, when using a stove electricity fuse switched off so I had to find fuse box and turn it on. Fuse box is on the right side of the entrance doors and you need to press black button to bring electricity back. However, you obviously cannot use both circles on the stove at the same time, but the owners didn't warn me in advance about that.

The apartment has everything you need for a weekend stay, however…

the apartment was rather dirty, it had quite a bit of mold all over and the toilet didn’t flush which meant we couldn’t use it for one of the three nights we were there. I would not recommend staying here! The owner did not grant a discount, neither did booking. com. I will refrain from using this website.