Alfama Yellow House

We stayed for 3 nights and the few problems we had were swiftly resolved, thanks to Manuel. Location wise, it is a short walk to tram stop & st.apolonia station & a great little restaurant literally outside the front door to apartments.

Great location in the middle of the Alfama district. The apartment was 2 steps up from road level but this narrow street had few cars, just people passing by. There was no a/c - just a fan, so it took a little while to cool off after a day of sightseeing. ( Very normal for this part of town.) We could hear every move made by our upstairs neighbors, but soon got used to it the apartment had a fully equipped kitchen and the owner even had a bottle of wine waiting for us in the fridge. Manuel, the man at the check in office, was very nice. He kept our luggage for a few hours since we were early for checking in and the place wasn't ready yet. He gave us suggestions on what to see, answered our questions about the area and walked us to our apartment. ( about 3 minutes away from his office). Make sure to call ahead and have him email instructions on finding the place to check in.

My stay was terrible. The apartments are in a very obscure location with taxi and Uber services out of the question. No one knows where it is. You check-in at a different location from the apartments, which forces you to walk down a steep hill with your luggage to get to your accommodations. Manuel is quite helpful but limited in how much he can do for you. If you choose this facility you are pretty much on your own. If you are an experienced, independent, resourceful traveler, then you may do okay at the Alfama Yellow house. If not, stay away! Metro is far down a steep hill, etc. The accommodations not all bad. you are near the Porto Do Sol, a nice area and you have the packed # 28 tram convenient but as stated previously, this area does not offer the true charm of the Alfama. Again, if you choose to stay there, be prepared to be on your own. WiFi didn't work in the bedroom. Apartment was clean and well maintained, kitchen not well equipped with limited pots, etc. Television was excellent for Americans, with most shows from the US with Portuguese subtitles. Bottom line, area lacked Alfama charm, obscure, inconvenient location, with decent accommodations.

Apartment was clean and comfortable and in great location. Would stay here again. Only criticism was lack of wardrobe and very little space for hanging clothes.

We stayed in the Yellow House (there is a Red House too) and the outside of the building is typically Portugeuse in the sense it looks as 'run down' as the rest of the surrounding area. Don't let that put you off as the inside is small, quaint, clean (if not a little rough around the edges in places) but perfect for a few nights stay away. It has a full kitchen (oven,hob and microwave) and all the essentials you need (all utensils, dish cloths, washing up liquid etc). It can get a little noisy (especially when they collect the bins in the middle if the night!), and the soundproofing between downstairs and upstairs is shocking! So just be mindful of those below you you if you are in an upstairs apartment. The area; is VERY hilly!!!! The roads are narrow, always busy and the pavements (where there are any) are in a very bad state of repair. I wouldn't recommend anyone with mobility issues to stay around this area, and to wear comfy shoes!!!! The nearest Metro station is Martim Moniz and the Metro system is sooooo easy and cheap! There are loads of tuk tuk tours in the area. Please pay attention to the email you'll be sent from Manuel before your trip, it will have the correct address for check in on it. There is also a place at check in where you can leave your luggage on your last day; €3.50 per piece, we used this and were able to fully enjoy our last day in the sun. We got a really cheap deal and all in all I was happy with what I got for my money, I would go back again.