We booked this large home for 10 nights, over 6 months before our family trip. There were 9 of us and we wanted space to relax and a base to enjoy Sao Miguel. This home provided a good amount of space, the yard with pool was beautiful and the location was great. Those are the good points.
However, I gave it two stars for several reasons. The biggest reason is that the landlord/renter cancelled our last night only 3 days before our arrival. We were left with no place to stay for our last night since all of our flights were booked the following day. That left us with having to find lodging on very short notice. Needless to say, we were not happy at all. The owner reimbursed us for one night. But one night’s reimbursement was not nearly enough to cover the costs for lodging for all of us. The owner found an apartment that “slept 5” but that was it. He said he couldn’t help us otherwise.
Apparently, after doing some research, we discovered that VRBO allows hosts to basically, do whatever they want and that the relationship is between the owner and renter and that VRBO does nothing to help secure services, alternatives or even take action against owners that cancel people’s reservations. . So, please beware.
The house was lovely, in general…but it did not have a washer and dryer, as was stated on the VRBO website. It only had a washer. And, with the amount of rain that Sao Miguel gets (and we got) , it is difficult to dry clothes on a clothesline.
It also advertised 3 bathrooms, including 3 showers. Unfortunately the 3rd bathroom only had a toilet and sink, not a shower, as listed on the website.
We were aware that there was no air conditioning in the house and that , in general, many rentals do not have AC. However, there were no fans in the home, neither overhead or freestanding. And, since we were there in Sept with temps in mid to upper 70’s and high humidity, it got very warm. We needed to open all sliding doors and there were no screens. In general, there were not a lot of bugs, but at night, several of us got numerous bug bites during our stay. Lastly, the website says it is walking distance to the beach and to main town which it is not.
A recommendation is to put in overhead fans and at least some screens to help with airflow.
We loved our experience on the island, just were disappointed with our renting experience.