In bed with Lisbon
LOCATION
Flattered have x2 apartments in Lisbon with the same configuration, situated in a 1940s building in the Avenidas Novas neighbourhood. It’s a little out of the way of the main hub of activities in the Baixa / Chiado / Barrio Alto area . However, it’s fairly quick to get into town (about a 10-15mins taxi ride). The exterior of the building looks a bit rough and there were smelly bins right outside the door which was obviously not very appealing.
THE APARTMENT
However, the apartment itself (on the 2nd floor, accessible via a lift) was attractive. The overall look and feel of the flat is simple, contemporary chic, with a smattering of vintage furniture. You can keep cool with the air con and stay connected with complimentary Wi-fi. Local Portuguese artists’ paintings / prints hang up on the walls and are available for guests to purchase. As they sell the artworks, they replace them with new pieces and it seems they move around the furniture too, so don’t go there expecting things to look exactly as the pictures you see online.
There’s an open plan dining space where we had breakfast each morning that leads out into a narrow living room, wide enough to just comfortably fit in a slim sofa on one side and a flatscreen TV and bookshelf on the other side. The hallway in contrast feels quite large and if I’m being quite frank, a bit of a waste of prime space.
Dining room
Living room
View of open plan dining and living room space
Hallway
BEDROOMS
There are two small single bedrooms; a larger room with twin beds; and a sizeable master bedroom with a double bed. A sofa bed is also available in the living room. There aren’t any wardrobes, just simple hanging rails in the bedrooms though the master bedroom has an additional chest of drawers.
Master Bedroom
Master Bedroom
Bedroom with twin beds
Single Bedroom
BATHROOMS
The main bathroom is a good size and and has a bath tub and shower with a toilet; the second one has a shower room and a toilet. Both have pretty tiles (Lisbon is the land of tiles after all!) and are kitted out with lovely Claus Porto products.
KITCHEN & LAUNDRY ROOM
The kitchen is white and basic with modern appliances and has everything you need. In the back of the kitchen is the laundry room which holds a washing machine, iron etc.
BREAKFAST
On arrival, you receive a welcome basket of fruit, a delicious homemade cake and a glass of port. If you’ve paid for breakfast as part of your package, all you need to do is leave this same basket outside your door and each morning between 9 and 10am (timings can be altered) it will be replenished with breakfast goods: yoghurt, eggs, cheese, ham, bread, pastries. There was so much food each morning, we could easily have bypassed lunch.
SERVICE & COSTS
The hosts were helpful pre and post stay. Miguel who runs Flattered is lovely, so if email response is slow it’s because he is super busy. If your enquiry is urgent, you can usually reach him on his phone.
When there were issues with the apartment, they fixed it pretty quickly, for example there was an odd odour in my room – I opened one of the side tables and found a fish bone (that a previous guest must have left). They got a cleaner round sharpishly and after a while the smell disappeared.
They even got me a bottle of bubbly and homemade birthday cake, as they knew I had come to Lisbon to celebrate my birthday. Such a lovely personal touch.
For x4 days, including breakfast, we spent €620 / £465 between 3 people. We had originally planned to be a party of 6, so that would have been €103 / £80 per person for the entire stay which is ludicrously cheap.
Check in time is between 3 and 8 pm; after that, you have to pay a late check in fee of €30. We checked out on a Monday morning but our flight wasn’t until the evening, so they kindly let us keep our luggage in a lockable room on the ground floor.
If you don’t mind being a bit out of the way of the bustling action of the city centre, Flattered Apartments is a good option for a Lisbon stay, of parties of 3-6 people; clean, modern, stylish and excellent value for money.
LAST VISITED MAY 2015
K A N N D I D 
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