SOBRE RIBAS 2|12

Beautifully designed apartment

Central, clean

Thin wall can be noisy

Beautiful apartment: light-filled, spacious, excellent kitchen, well-designed.

found it to be perfect for what i needed. considerately designed, calm and beautiful space. kind hosting. thanks so much!

Great location, very considerate and accommodating hosts.

While he apartments are sound proofed, we could still hear people around us, and assume they could hear us too.

After renting 4 apartments located in the old part of the cities of Portugal, we've come to the conclusion they are hidden gems. The simple facades hide wonderful, unique apartments and Sobre Ribas was just that! We had a 2 bedroom unit at the top of the building with a kitchen and dining area on one floor and the bedrooms and bathrooms tucked up under the roof. The apartment was super clean, with a well equipped kitchen with windows overlooking a courtyard, so lots of light and fresh air. The bedroom windows overlooked the roof tops of old Coimbra and the views are stunning! The decor is Scandinavian Modern with newer wood furniture and was comfortable. There are laundry facilities on site. We had access to a patio with table and chairs where there is a tangerine and orange tree. I picked some (see the photo). The orange was probably the best I've ever had. Check-in was simple and easy and our hosts messaged us a couple of times during our stay to make sure everything was ok. They also gave us good directions to get to the unit as this part of the old city is located on a hill (isn't everything in Portugal?) and the streets can be inaccessible to cabs.

I don't have anything negative to say about the property or our hosts. Since you are in a historic, old part of a city on a hill, be prepared to climb stairs, walk up hills and get lost on the charming old streets of Coimbra.

Hosts were extremely helpful and courteous

Location is terrific (though approached from a side street that made it seem like it was in the middle of nowhere). Great to have a washer and dryer in the building. Unfortunately it rained the whole time we were there or we would have taken advantage of the outdoor patio.

A little cramped for 3 people--wouldn't advise for three adults but we were a family of 3 so it was fine for us.

The location of these rooms is really convenient for all the sights of Coimbra. Easy to get to the main shopping street and the university area. It was also an easy walk to and from the train station.

We were disappointed to find there were really no cooking facilities in the room. We would not have booked it if we had realized we would not be able to make dinner. The rooms were quite small and cramped but that was not too much concern. However, the pillows were worn out and not at all comfortable.

We had the 2 bedroom apartment - one room with bunk beds and the other with a large single bed. The furnishings of all rooms were basic but functional and fine. The kitchen however was one of the best equipped we have ever had while travelling. We didn't meet the owners - they had a substitute check us in, so we can't comment except to say that pre-arrival communications were excellent (English spoken). There are some great bars & restaurants & a gelato shop in the square at the end of the street and a little further up the hill (stairs) is a surprisingly well stocked little grocery store (very friendly people) which we used for supplies for breakfast and one dinner. The apartment is nicely positioned to visit the pedestrian zone and sites below it on the hill and it's not too far to get to the summit for the university and other sites.

Note that there is no A/C (fans for the bedrooms) so if it's hot & humid (as when we were there) you had better be comfortable being warm (annoying because we thought there must be A/C in the owner suite as we could feel cold air coming down the stairwell). There is a Terrace but it could be SO much more of a feature if it was a little cared for - very overgrown. There is a small patio with a table & chairs. From the train station it's only a 10 minutes stroll but be prepared for 2 significant sets of stairs to reach their street (was OK for my 85 year old mother however - as long as we took it easy).