Like some parts of Napoli this apartment is crumbling and in a state of perpetual disrepair. Sadly, unlike the Centro Storico there is little charm to be found within the apartment itself. Upon entering you are immediately hit with the smell of stale, stuffy air. The furniture inside the apartment seems to have been sourced from thrift shops and street corners, a far cry from the nicely kept simplicity depicted by the photographs. So much so, that when I went back to compare them I at first thought it was a different apartment. In all honesty, I could live with the tatty interior, but the bed that was made up for us was so uncomfortable I had to sleep in a separate bed to my partner. The dip with two people in it was so severe that one side of my body was several inches lower that the other side.
Another gripe I’m afraid was that the bathroom was really quite grotty. It stank of cheap air-freshener, trying it’s best to mask the smell of drains. Sitting on the toilet I was sprayed by an automated pump spewing out ‘air-de-pub-toilet’ all over me! Next to the toilet was something really horrible, the toilet brush sitting in its holder filled with fowl dirty toilet water. Grim! I suspect that was where the smell was coming from, it must have been like it for years.
On the plus side, the location and communication by Giannina was excellent. We never actually met her but she seemed nice over text and provided us with clear instructions as how to access the apartment. The location is smack bang in the middle of the Centro Storico and minutes away from the best pizza you are likely ever to have eaten.
All in all, the apartment has the bones to be something really special, instead it has been neglected for so many years it needs a full refurb, not another Matisse print to cover the hole in the wall. It’s a shame really, as we thought we were in for a treat staying somewhere really quite special. It was certainly cheap, but sadly not cheerful.