Easter Holiday 2024. Danny and Sam visited Porto in February, I visited the capital, Lisbon, in April with Steve, Philippe and Nicolas. I had my free week during a school holiday and as the boys work in education, I made the best of it. We chose Portugal for its convenience and our hope for fair weather. It wasn’t our first time in Lisbon, but my last visit dated from 2004. Twenty years is a long time. We had three full days.
Yes, airbnb-style holiday rentals are unpopular with people fighting overtourism and advocating livable cities, but being four, choosing a holiday, home, apartment, flat, b&b was the right choice. We actually booked Feels Like Home or FLH Restauradores Elegant Place via Booking, not airbnb.
We looked at several options, but chose FLH Restauradores Elegant Place for its central location at Praça de Restauradores (Restorers’ Square, referring to the Portuguese Restoration War of 1640-1668, ending the Iberian Union between Portugal and Spain), but also for its price – some 950 euro for four nights, to be divided by four for four people – and because it feautures two bathrooms, as in a room with bath or shower, not just a toilet. That was a condicio sine qua non – a dealbreaker – for four single adult males.
Beforehand
Right after booking the flat on Booking, I received an email to pre-check-in on the website of Feels Like Home website. Who’s who, when do we arrive etcetera.
We also booked an airport transfer which didn’t turn up. Don’t bother booking one, Uber and Bolt are very cheap in Lisbon.
A day before arriving, I received a Whatsapp text with instructions. “Dear guest, Tomorrow is your check-in day with Feels Like Home. Please send us a message from 3pm so we can send you your access details. See you soon!”
So I did, after which I received the code for the building and for the apartment.
Arrival
We arrived and used the outside door code without issue. The apartment code was not for opening the door, but to open a safe key holding box. Inside we found the key and we could open the door.
There was only one key. Which meant we had to go out and return together. We could of course always put the key in the safebox, as FLH called it, but we didn’t.
The apartment itself
The apartment itself features two bedrooms, each with single beds. One bathroom is ensuite to a bedroom, the other one is separate but contains a bath. I swiftly claimed the bedroom without bathroom so I can use the bath.
Nicolas’ and my bedroom had the quirk of the door not decently opening so we had to move the beds. No real issue, but a bit odd.
There’s a living room with an open kitchen. A table, a sofa, an armchair a smart television. Chairs, seating, china, cutlery, … everything for four.
Each person got a large and a small towel. Soap was sparse. A bar of soap and one small package of shower gel per person. Too little for four nights, so we bought shampoo.
There’s a dishwasher and a washing machine. I didn’t check for an iron and an ironing board. The dry rack came in handy on the first full day.
Id’s say the flat wasn’t royally furnished and furbished, but there was enough. There are many power outlets and WiFI worked okay.
No breakfast
People talk about airbnb and the concept ‘bed and breakfast’. There is no breakfast provided. The second b is a lie. The term is wrong. FLH itself says ‘holiday rental’ and that’s more accurate.
Luckily there are enough options nearby, such as Fábrica da Nata and the chain A Padaria Portuguesa.
But nothing was provided. Except some detergent for the dishes, no tea or coffee or whatever. Very sparse.
Check-out
Check-out was also done remotely. There were few instructions regarding garbage, bed linnen a nd so on. How to separate rubbish in Lisbon? No idea.
I only thought of texting for our check out when at the airport. The account manager asked if we had left 32 euros city tax. I had forgotten about that. Luckily it could be paid by PayPal.
So?
We were happy whit our FLH apartment. Steve summed ut up: “I’ve had better and nicer, I’ve had worse.” Good enough.
Travelling with four people, choosing an apartment over two hotel rooms was a budget-friendly choice. Danny is no fan. I don’t mind. It has advantages. As a matter of fact Oriol and I have booked an apartment via airbnb for our stay in Seoul later in 2024, as I will finally get to meet Sehyeon in the flesh.
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