We had a great 2 week vacation in Portugal. I enjoyed our stay at Madalena house but definitely some things to note.
Room: We were in room #1. Request not to stay in this room #. This room is separate from the other 6 rooms in this guest house and open to the stair well. It was very noisy and you could hear every single person going up and down the steps at all hours of the night. The room was not very secure.The door had a flimsy small lock with a 1/2" gap and so much wiggle room, one firm push and the room would have been wide open, I did not feel totally secure especially when ppl kept propping the downstairs lobby area door open. The ad shows these beautiful large French doors that open onto a balcony and the street below but they do not open, they are broken, I even asked and was told not to open them.
Parking: there is no onsite parking as noted in the ad. Beware the onstreet parking is very difficult, it is impossible to understand the Portuguese parking rules with risk of ticket and towing and the streets are very hilly so driving and Parking is a real challenge. We parked in the grocery store parking lot for 20euros daily. It was safe and secure but pricey.
Location: Excellent, close to everything including groceries, Laundromat, downtown core.
Air conditioning: excellent, worked almost too well, has a great remote to adjust yourself.
Cleanliness-very clean, just a very strong perfume smell in the room that was overpowering.