Feeling Lisbon Discoveries

The 200 euro deposit turned out to be a non-refundable "service fee," even though I received no service. They were upfront about towel fees and heating, but not about this. At first the price looked like a good deal, and by check-in it felt too late to back out. I paid 200 euros for nothing. There was no cleaning during my 9 stays, while most apartments charging that kind of fee clean regularly. I believe they were dishonest about what I’d paid through Expedia. The man said they didn’t know the amount after the booking, but I could see the Expedia paper with the rates while he was making the payment. He thought I couldn’t see it, but I wear eyeglasses and he doesn’t. Lol. It feels awful to rip off a student, or anyone. I lived in Portugal for 4 years, and this is how businesspeople here behave. CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS DISHONEST SERVICE. I’d do everything I can to get Expedia to remove this company from its listings.

The location was good, and the girl who handed over the keys was kind. She gave us useful city tips, a map, and a bottle of wine. The room itself fell short of the photos: the bedroom window wouldn’t close, and the apartment had the stale smell of a house left unused for months. It wasn’t comfortable. We had prepaid because there was no other option, then received an email saying arrivals after 11 pm would cost an extra 100 eur, payable at check-in. They sent that message 2 days before arrival. Had I known about the fee, I wouldn’t have booked; we had no choice by then. The wine was apparently because we’d paid in advance. This felt unethical, and 100 eur is far too much for a late check-in fee. They gave us no invoice or receipt. Not recommended, they seem to know nothing about hosting, and customer satisfaction is zero.

I booked the One-bedroom Apartment on the first floor of the same building, but was given the Studio. The fridge was noisy enough to wake me several times, and the Wi-Fi worked badly. I avoid booking STUDIOs because I’m a light sleeper, and this time I hadn’t booked one. They offered a string of excuses. First, they said they thought I’d prefer the Studio because it had a terrace. Both units were available when I booked, and if I wanted the terrace I would have chosen it. It was November, it rained a lot the whole time in Lisbon, and I couldn’t care less about the terrace. They seemed to think they knew better than me what I liked. Then they claimed I hadn’t booked the Studio because it cost more. That wasn’t true, as my attached print-screens showed. Apparently they knew better than me what I could afford, too. After I showed the screenshots, they told me to leave, as if I’d done something wrong (LOL). They said they shouldn’t have let me check in with the code and should have charged a late check-in fee. I never asked for "special treatment" or anything, just the flat I had booked. I refused to check out and in every day because of their lack of professionalism. Their third excuse was that the One bedroom had a "serious" issue and couldn’t be rented, and that Booking knew about it. Booking told me nobody had informed them. I also heard people entering the one bedroom flat. Finally, they said, "until today everyone loved the switch..." That makes me think they do this a lot.

The hosts tried to put us in a different room without a terrace, instead of the one we had booked and paid for. When we objected, they got aggressive, put us out on the street with all our luggage, and insisted, "stay in this room or exit." They refused to talk it through or contact the booking website. Support sorted it out and got us a refund, thankfully. The booking website’s rating is misleading. In conflicts, these hosts cancel your booking, which prevents you from leaving a review. From the reviews, it seems this happens routinely. These hosts are awful.