My Sintra Story

The apartment was spotless inside, including the fridge, microwave and drawers, and it was well furnished. The Wi-Fi and TV worked perfectly, with several paid channels available at no charge. But the damp was hard to live with: large patches on the walls, peeling paint, and mold on the windows and shutters. We left the windows open around the clock in 30°C weather, which helped eventually, but our suitcase contents still became completely damp. The bathroom fan was noisy and too weak to dry the room, adding to the moisture problem. We booked for six nights mainly because of the outdoor space. The furniture was broken and badly deteriorated, with holes in the table, sagging chairs, broken legs and rotting upholstery. The shade over the table was gone, leaving only shaky poles and rotten ropes. Sitting outside was no good in the unprotected sun, and the constant noise was more than normal city sounds. The view was mostly concrete, cars and containers. There were only three of each basic item, knives, forks, plates and so on, despite the full-size dishwasher and large table with five chairs in this two-person apartment. The bed also seemed worn out; if one of us moved, the other woke up, so one of us spent all six nights on the couch. At night, the neighboring and upstairs rooms made so much noise that it sometimes sounded like several people were in our apartment. We raised some issues on the first day, but the owner was hard to reach and had handed the entire operation over to lovelystay. I understand a rental may be presented a little more favorably than it is, but this was too much.