Keep away from Feels Like Home Portugal
We rented a holiday flat between 11.07 and 17.07, managed by Feels Like Home (FLH), via Booking. After arrival, we noticed that on the rear balcony there were two young pigeons and that the balcony was full of pigeon droppings. This was the first hint that something was very very wrong since they failed to inform me of this, despite several previous calls with them (even moments before entering the flat, via Whatsapp).
This situation was promptly communicated to FLH who informed us that they had nested there and that they could not remove them from that location; seeing such a response, I noted that this represented a risk to our health that should have prevented the access to the property and, at the very least, should have been informed previously. Over two hours later, after 19:00, FLH replied that we could request cancellation of the booking, but refused to provide any other type of assistance, namely other accommodation; in the course of a call, we were informed that FLH had "only" been informed of the existence of the pigeons the day before and that, due to lack of other flats, the solution would be not to use the terrace or to cancel the stay. So, due to the delay in FLH's response and the lack of upfront info, we were unable to find similar accommodation in the same price range, which forced us to stay one night in that flat.
The next morning we woke up with small bugs on our skin, which we later found out were pigeon lice. This situation was communicated again (at around 14:00); initially, FLH told us that they could not move us to a different apartment, but that they would send someone to clean and change the bed sheets, drapes, and towels which were covered in lice. However, at 18:30, out of the blue, we were offered to move to another of the group's flats; which ended up only taking place at around 20:00. (While moving we also noted that in the same property, FLH had another flat which was left vacant until 17.07).
Despite the rehousing, we spent several days feeling bugs crawling on our skins and with ghost itches, and one of us developed an allergic skin reaction as a result of this situation; in addition, we ended up wasting more than a fourth of our holiday time (which is limited and precious) trying to resolve this situation; as such, a holiday which was supposed to be relaxed ended up being a terrible experience, with consequences that persist till today and which were not adequately addressed by the minor price reduction offered by FLH.
I note that as of today (and despite several emails) FLH never provided any explanation on why this situation happened: namely, a reason why they made this apartment available (despite the clear prohibition to do so) and, equally important, why this was never communicated to us, before entering the apartment, despite clear knowledge of the situation since the previous day and continued communication with me.
It seems clear that FLH acted with full awareness of the risk and intended to force us to stay on that property. I stress that FLH knew about the situation at least since Sunday and chose to withhold this information until we entered the apartment (on Monday), in what seems to indicate premeditation in their actions. On our end, we found ourselves with no possibilities of finding alternative accommodation, due to the lack of info.
The actions of FLH are a textbook example of greed, which is demonstrated by the fact that they had no problem putting our health and safety in jeopardy, for a few hundred euros (instead of informing us upfront, being transparent, observing known consumer rights and a taking a risk preventive approach.)
July 26, 2022
Unprompted review
