C18 - Church Square Apartment in Praia da Luz

Liked

Very nice house, excellent location, attentive service

Disliked

They gave me the keys to check in at 4:30 PM, and when I arrived at 5:30 PM they were still cleaning, waiting outside. There's no salt or pepper, not even dish soap. You have to go to the center of Lagos to pick up the keys, which doesn't make sense, because to check out they ask you to leave the key in the apartment (they could do the same for check-in).

Liked

Great location and a lovely view,

Disliked

Check in is a right pain, you have to pick the key up in lagos, in our case we wanted to check in at 4pm, but at 3.40 we had a message saying we couldn't check in until 5 o'clock, when we got to the apartment at 5 o'clock the cleaner was still there, and didn't leave until nearly 5.45.

Liked

The location was very central to everything we wanted to see. The large windows facing were very nice (we enjoyed the view of the church bell tower with the ocean beyond). There was lots of space for our family to spread out!

Disliked

We stayed in the off season, and it didn't feel like the property had been touched in weeks. Everything and I mean everything was unplugged when we arrived. The bathroom was very smelly (and stayed that way throughout). The sheets were ok, there wasn't enough toilet paper to last 3 days, there were no baking sheets and we had brought pizza, plus about a dozen other little things that just made the overall experience pretty subpar.

Liked

Ocean view, location in cute little beach town, spacious

Disliked

It was the most disappointing stay of our 2-week Portugal itinerary (out of 6). Our high expectations after reading the reviews were thoroughly let down, mainly due to 2 factors: 1. Cleanliness: The place was dirty and run-down. Any cleaning done was very superficial. There was dust in all corners, mold on the walls, even food crumbs from previous tenants on all the chairs. It's ok if a place is not brand-new and the tapestry is coming off, but PLEASE make sure it's clean. The state was such that we even felt uncomfortable using e.g. the couch or kitchen appliances (water kettle, coffee machine) and generally started to avoid touching anything in the place unless absolutely necessary. 2. Staff: Not only did we have to travel 2km to Lagos to pick up the keys, but the staff there was treating us like a nuisance - the opposite of a pleasant welcome. Also, while we had to sign house rules listing potential fines in case of non-compliance, we never received a copy of that document (as one would expect - digitally or in print). Apparently, we were meant to know them by heart after reading through them. Overall, very dodgy. It's a shame because the place has potential but REALLY needs a very thorough deep-clean. Also, please rethink your approach towards your customers.

Liked

Location and how big it was.

Disliked

Nothing