Where do I start? We were so excited to be in Rome after visiting the Amalfi. It was our first time there and we were there for only 3 nights. On the positive, the location was in the main part of Trastevere and the communication and instructions to access the unit went very smoothly. The issues started when we entered the place. First, the AC was not working - given that it is a very old building (which is understandable, we were in Rome!!), it was hot, stale, musty and in need of some circulated air. One big attractive feature of the unit - to me - was what looked like a lavish bathroom.....the pictures are not accurate.....while the general layout was accurate, the pictures didnt show all of the mold that was on the tile work. It was quite gross and concerning. As well, the one roll of toilet paper that was on the dispenser had clearly fallen in the toilet, but had been placed in the dispenser to use. Again, gross! The bed was made of soft foam, so when you sat on the end of it, you literally sink down into the bed. As well, everything felt like it had a layer of grime on it. Not sure if that was the instinctive reaction from the dankness of the non-functioning AC or the moldy gross bathroom, but we did not feel comfortable sleeping inside the covers.
We immediately called the Worlds Apart contact, who was managing our stay. They claimed not to know anything about the non-functioning AC, however when my husband looked up the error code online (E2), it stated that the message meant there is an outdoor unit sensor error. Apparently this issue arises when the evaporation temperature is lower than the temperature under the cooling or dry mode. This causes the compressor and outdoor fan motor to stop functioning. The point is when we called, they said that ppl left that morning "and it was working perfectly for them". Really? We found that hard to believe. The woman questioned why we needed to use the AC in October anyway. Needless to say, that was not helpful. She did offer to "allow" us to leave and she did offer to return our payment 100%. While that was appreciated, the problem was that we were in Rome, on a Thursday night (when we arrived) and it was next to impossible to find anything remotely close or affordable for that evening. We felt absolutely trapped. When my husband was speaking to the person on the phone, I was scouring hotels in various areas and for the few units available, the prices were over $1000 for that night.
We spent our first night in Rome going from hotel to hotel asking if they had anything available. So not only was the place terrible, we used what was supposed to be a beautiful and happy first night in Rome - one of only 3 nights - schlepping around looking for alternate accommodations. We couldnt find anything open and available for that first night, so we slept at "The Hide". We slept on top of the bed - not under the sheets - and we were fully clothed - in the heat of the apartment. We decided to contend with the stuffy air rather than be exposed to the grimey-ness.
I noted one of the few positives is the location of the place. The flipside of that is that it is extremely loud at night. The unit is located in an "alleyway" beside a few restaurants. Not sure if the night we were there - Thursday - was a garbage or bottle collection night, but there were clearly bottles and glass being taken from one bin and literally thrown into another bin/truck or something because we awoke to loud sounds extremely early in the morning. We decided that we just couldnt stay.
We went online extremely early that next morning - given we were awake - and ultimately found a place for the following two nights, but at a cost of almost $800 Canadian per night. That was alot for us to pay, but we made the decision to do it, bc we didnt want our last two nights in Rome to be negative by staying in that place.
This is my first negative review I have ever posted, but I wanted to be detailed and provide the context that we wish we had. One other point is that we thought we were treating ourselves by staying at a place that was over $300/night!! Clearly we were wrong and clearly your money doesnt go that far in Rome for accommodations. I would suggest finding an alternate spot, where you know you will be satisfied and wont waste your vacation time searching for accommodations. That is supposed to happen BEFORE your trip!!! :)