Apartamento Costa Cabral

The price is good, and there are plenty of cafés, restaurants, bars, bakeries, and small local shops nearby. Auchan is a two-minute walk away, and there's a little park where local men play cards. It's a straight walk into central Porto in about 20 minutes, with buses and the metro as other options. We wanted to stay outside the tourist center, so the location suited us. The host replied quickly when I asked something, though the answer was already in the email and I'd missed it in all the information. We were in Room 3. The mattress, towels, room, and very hot shower water were good, and the internet was fast. It's really only suitable for one person, though, especially if you're working remotely. There is one desk and chair and very little storage. The place is poorly supplied: no toilet roll, cleaning items, or sanitary supplies. Sheets weren't very clean, and after someone burned food on our arrival day, the smell lingered throughout the place for two days. The room stays damp, the windows are always dripping inside, and the floor is freezing. Even with the heater, it never got above 14 degrees, so we bought slippers. The bed frame creaks badly, and the shower head was rotted, so we replaced it. There's little storage, and the two short hanging rails won't fit bath towels. There are no hooks, and only the sink offers a flat surface for toiletries. The bathroom is so small that if you're over 6'1", you'll hit your backside on the door when leaning over the sink. The large towels have nowhere to dry except the clothing rack or a door, and in the damp they don't dry elsewhere. There aren't enough sockets either. Under the desk, one multi-plug is connected to another and powers the heater and TV. By the bed there's one socket on the left for the light, and two on the right, one also used by a light. That's the main place to charge things unless you unplug the lights. This isn't ready for digital nomads. Since we're here for two weeks, I ended up buying a heater, shower head, hangers, extension lead, and dehumidifier. At 10 pm every night, a drill-powered blower from the restaurant next door is loud. At first, the cleaner arrived most mornings around 10 and banged things around. Then they didn't come for a week. The one-ply toilet paper takes about 90 cm per use, and we had to buy our own supplies: no bin bags, paper towels, toilet roll, broom, or mop. The floor was dusty, and we had to keep the place clean ourselves. The shared space is tiny, with room for at most two people, though the place can house eight. There's a roughly four-foot fridge with one shelf per room and a microwave. No stove or toaster, the oven doesn't work, and neither does the coffee maker. The only chopping board is old and broken, and there are just two knives. I wish we'd paid a little more for an apartment or somewhere with a proper common area. The photos make it look larger and better than it is. For the price, it's decent, but if you're working remotely, don't book for two people. It's barely good for one.