Casa do Mercado

On our first trip to Portugal, we found the house just as good as the Airbnb pictures suggested: clean, comfortable, pretty, and spacious. It’s especially photogenic from outside, so people were often posing by it or taking pictures when we came back from our outings. Luckily, the main entrance is at the side, which made coming and going easier. The owner warns you that the street gets very loud at night and stays that way into the early hours. Bring earplugs if you’re sensitive to noise, unless you plan to join the fun outside every night. Even with that, it’s a great place in a great location, and well worth staying at in charming Aveiro.

There are lots of restaurants and bars nearby, so it’s not the place for a quiet night. The property itself is beautiful, right by the canal, and very inexpensive.

The house was well located, but the photos and listing didn’t match the actual space at all. We stayed as a group of five from May 16 to 24. There was only one towel per person for the whole seven days. The bedrooms were small, with broken beds and dirty foam mattresses that were shorter than the beds. There were no bedside tables or wardrobes. Although the listing said there were two bathrooms, only one could be used. A leak upstairs sent water down into the kitchen, and the toilet was propped up with a wooden block because it was broken. The downstairs bathroom had three electrical sockets inside the shower. The shower flooded the room, so we couldn’t get dressed afterward without getting our clothes wet, and the door wouldn’t stay shut. The only door in the house that closed properly was the front door. The toaster and sandwich press were full of burnt bread scraps, which made it seem like no cleaning had been done before we arrived. The coffee machine’s water tank was green with algae. The listing mentioned air conditioning and heating, but only the outer casing was there, and it didn’t work. The Wi-Fi and TV stopped working on our last day. There was a washing machine but nowhere outside to hang clothes. It’s easy enough to ask people for money, but the place needs to be in proper condition, and the photos need updating.