Host W.

The apartment was alright. I stayed for almost 6 months, and the biggest advantage was a very good location. There was almost no need to use public transport as it was very accessible to get anywhere on foot. I think what bothered me most was the mold in the apartment, as there was plenty of it when I first moved in and I cleaned it during my stay, but still it was very humid inside so the mold started forming on my clothes and walls again. The worst part was the humidity and coldness of the apartment - fortunately there was a air conditioner with a function of heating, but it was not enough. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't and most of the time I was freezing and falling asleep in many many layers. It was also impossible for the laundry to dry - it took about a week or two, but it was stinky after that. The contact with the host was difficult(?), as I was not able to contact them at all. I moved out day earlier an texted them both on the website and on the phone number about check out instructions and received no answer. Luckily, I had no problem with amenities during my stay, because I am sure I would not be able to contact host about it. Overall, I recommend it for a short period of time (like a week or two), but for staying long-term, find something else! This amount of mold is dangerous for the health.

Bairro
The neighbourhood is really good, very touristic area with many stores, cute cafes and restaurants. It is also near nightlife streets, so there is plenty to do around. There is also a bus station 4 minutes from the apartment from which you can go directly go to the beach (takes around 30 minutes). I am deducting one star, because my friend that I stayed with got robbed one night near the apartment.

The condition of the property was bad. The condo is outdated, and it needed urgent repairs. It was very cold some days inside, and two electrical portable oil heaters were not enough to have normal temperature inside. It was a very bad smell from the kitchen sink. The managing company HostWise and owners of the property ignored most of our requests. For example, they didn't want to give us a key from a mailbox for a very long time. They gave it to us only after our threat to cancel our rental. They sent us monthly invoices for 2024 only after many of our requests for invoices, but ignored our multiple requests for getting invoices for January and February 2025 completely!

Positive: The flat is very well located, the check-in is easy and short term stay may be convenient.
Negative: If you expect customer service, look somewhere else. Mails you get, are automated and if you have feedback or request for the administration you talk to a bot. Our flat had several issues and we communicated them in the first days of our monthly stay but never got a feedback.

Our stay in this apartment was excellent. The apartment is court besides it is near to General Torres metro stop, walking distance to the Douro river.
Highly recommended.

Bairro
Kind of friendly

Lugares recomendados nas proximidades
Any restaurant along the Douro river in Gaia.

Host Wise have been excellent to deal with. They have responded quickly to any questions and communication overall has been excellent.
The apartment itself was advertised as luxury accommodation. In summer that may have been so, but in winter it was cold and draughty as the french doors didn't quite shut properly and the heat pump wasn't coping. There was no double glazing. The kitchen was well equipped.

The ensuite shower needs a good scrub around the bottom of the doors and in the grouting.

Bairro
Rua da Boa Vista is a great central location. It is very close to the metro and bus service. One is able to walk into the Rebeira if wanting a longer exledition. Cedofeita is very close and has some good restaurants. The street itself is a major thoroughfare and is noisy, both with traffic and people.

Lugares recomendados nas proximidades
Cedofeita is a nice area and I wished we had discovered it sooner.
Lapa metro is a 4 minute walk which opens up the whole of Porto and all there is to see.
There is a nice foodhall at the band rotunda, Mercado Bom Success.
Parque de Cidade is a bus ride down the Avenue da Boa Vista if one is needing trees and green space.

The landlord, Hostwise, required us to pay rent starting October 1, 2021 when we arrived October 24th. They then rented it during the time before our arrival to others thus collecting double rent. They agreed to reimburse us 576 Euros which they have not done. They also kept our 770 Euro deposit after emailing us it would be returned, and collected 133 euros extra for our last months rent.

We have tried numerous times to get things resolved with both the landlord and Flatio with no success. We found out about Flatio from a facebook group about expats in Portugal and have warned everyone about what happened to us, will be filing with the complaint system in portugal and going to an attorney next. How sad. We were great tenants, taking excellent care of the apartments and giving numerous opportunities to make this right.

We would not recommend working with the Landlord, Hostwise, or with Flatio as they did nothing to resolve these issues.

Bairro
The apartment in Porto is located on a small street with a bar 3 doors down. It is very, very loud until 4 in the morning.

Great room, and location. Lack of renewed bedding and limited cleaning schedules but for the price it's worth it.