Testaccio is a lively and interesting area with plenty of good cafes and restaurants. It has easy transport links to the centre of Rome and you can also walk into the centre in about 20 mins along a rather unprepossessing stretch of the river.
The flat itself was stylish and contemporary although with many flaws which I will detail below.
The flat is not a ‘loft’. It is a ground floor flat which feels more like a basement because of the high walls surrounding it. The development in which the flat is situated is not what we would have chosen for our holiday home, even though some attempt has been made to gentrify it. Even the taxi driver looked dismayed for us as he dropped us off: the entrance was through a squalid passageway with broken, uneven and mossy concrete paving, past bins and a rat box.
On the first day we contacted Lucia from OHI (who were acting as agents for the flat on Air B nB to express our dissatisfaction that a) it was not a loft and b) to tell her about the specific issues in the bathroom. She was not interested and simply told us to contact Air B nB and charge flat. We were not prepared to waste our holiday time changing flats.
We were there for 3 nights. In the early hours of the morning of the 2nd night, a woman repeatedly pressed our entrance buzzer for about 30 minutes, wailing to be let in. In the early hours of the 3rd night, there was a smallest noisy party right outside our bedroom window. The woman upstairs started shrieking down at them. They argued back. This went on for some time until the woman upstairs started throwing things down on them. 2 out of 3 sleepless nights.
In the bathroom, there is a notice above the toilet telling you not to put anything in the toilet, including toilet paper. The shower curtain was old and discoloured, the grout on the shower floor was discoloured. The tap in the bath doesn’t work, the toilet seat is broken, the sink leaks ....
In the sitting area, only one bulb works, the others are missing or broken.
You have to move the single adaptor which fits all the appliances, eg kettle and microwave, from point to point. Normal UK to European adaptors do not work in the sockets.
Would I stay in Testaccio again - yes!
Would I stay in this flat again - No!
Would I ever use OHI if I wanted accommodation in Italy - definitely No!