Apartment T2 Olhão

Liked

Hosts were there to meet us and were very helpful and easy to contact. On our first day the kettle failed and it was replaced immediately. Apartment cleaned and bedding changed weekly. Fantastic second floor terrace with comfortable loungers and quality furniture, a great spot for enjoying the early sunrises or the evening sunsets. Importantly, there is an awning which gives much needed shade from the hot sun. There is also an terrace at the very top of the property but there is no shade, although it's a great place to view the area from. Located in an old part of town with plenty of history and character, just 5-10 minutes from numerous restaurants and the famous markets. The newly built marina plaza is a must to visit with very modern restaurants. Fantastic choice of eating and drinking venues, never experienced one bad meal. 10 minutes from the bus and train station, making travel very easy if you are not using a car; easy to get an Uber.

Disliked

Points to consider: This apartment is located on the first and second floors of the building, so we discovered that the ground floor apartment is rented out separately and does not form part of the Booking.com rental, hence there were other people entering and leaving the property over the course of our three week stay. There is only one front door to the property to serve both apartments, and one inner door for each of them. There is a school exactly opposite being built, and the noise from the construction site can sometimes last from 7am until 6-7pm five days a week, half day on Saturday. There were no protectors covering the bed pillows, which initially had a 'musty' smell, and the first week's bedding seemed very old. Whilst the kitchen was equipped with a dishwasher, there was a shortage of pans for cooking which also had to be cleaned before using. The washing machine was located in a small 'entry' off the first floor bedroom which was exposed to the outside elements, which caused the ironing board and clothes drying frame to be dirty and soiled by previous mould; we had to clean these thoroughly before use, as they had also been stored out there. During our 3 week stay we encountered a total of 12 cockroaches in the apartment, some alive some dead. This was reported to the hosts who reported back that while we were out for the day someone had been in to treat the place for insects; after this we saw only one further dead cockroach.

Liked

Apartment well located for walking to the city center in under 10 minutes. Quiet street, parking is fairly easy. Shops are a 5-minute drive away, quite convenient. Apartment matches the description, adequate amenities.

Disliked

The cleanliness could have been improved, and there was no vacuum cleaner. It was difficult to clean properly after coming back from the beach with sand everywhere... We had to buy a regular broom handle because there was only a small, improved dustpan and brush. The living area was adequate, but there wasn't enough storage space. And remember to change the pillows because they had an unpleasant odor 😉

Liked

Clean and, ultimately, the location. At first, the drive to the apartment wasn't very pretty, but after a few days we realized it was a perfect spot. Close to restaurants, the harbor, and shops. Olhoa is a very nice place to stay.

Disliked

Renovation of the school across from our apartment; construction work all day with the accompanying noise. The owners can't do anything about it, but it wasn't pleasant. The view wasn't nice.