Charlie Itaim Bueno Brandão

The communication was appalling from the start. My booking had been canceled without anyone bothering to notify me, and it took two hours of back-and-forth with an ineffective WhatsApp service to get nowhere. They wouldn't find me another room or even take my international credit card, which works everywhere else. We never checked in. My sister had the same issue the week before and spent more than five hours outside trying to sort it out. The rest of my family did manage to stay, but there were problems for them too, including a clogged toilet in one room. Another guest told us they were having check-in trouble as well, and complained of recurring bathroom and entry problems and no assistance. Running a flat remotely may be cheaper for the owners, but it takes real attention to manage one properly. They were hard to reach, slow to reply, and disrespectful to guests. They aren't ready to host international visitors, or to be in this business at all. If you can stay somewhere else, do. One more thing: the one positive, relevant review here is from Gustavo Hesse, who works at Charlie. You can find him on LinkedIn.

The apartment was modern and comfortable, with a terrace and a great view. It’s in a quiet, green, safe area, close to restaurants, a supermarket, and a park.

The bed was noisy and the mattress was too soft, with planes constantly passing overhead. The air conditioner wouldn't respond to its remote, so I had to use my phone app to turn it on. The bedding was dirty, the duvet hadn't been changed, and it smelled of cigarettes and had makeup stains on it. I just wanted checkout time to come. Getting into the place was awful too. The reception is far away, and nobody sent instructions for WhatsApp check-in or biometric entry by email or message. I stood outside in the cold at night for about 50 minutes, worried about being robbed. When I finally got into room 2 on the ground floor, it reeked of cigarettes. The gas shower took ages to heat up, and I found two cockroaches in the bathroom. I wouldn't recommend it.

The apartment has no coffee machine or drinking water. It’s on the ground floor, right by the elevator and main entrance, with no soundproofing. Noise went on all night, and I kept waking up thinking someone had come into my room. Don’t fall for the Charlie Garden Casal scam!