This was our first experience with both Italy and Airbnb. Cristina was very responsive as we were booking and planning and Bianca was there waiting for us when we arrived from the airport. They both speak excellent English, too.

The unit is off a secure courtyard in a kind of Bohemian neighbourhood full of tiny narrow cobblestone streets and alleys. Even though there are bars and restaurants close by, I don't remember being bothered by outside noise even once. It's just across the river (lots of bridges, all with pedestrian sidewalks) from downtown Rome, about half an hour walk from the Vatican and from the Coliseum. We never took a bus or a cab the whole time we were there, because everything was easy to walk to. (Although ladies, wear flat and carry your heels: cobblestones are murder on shoes!)

The listing calls the unit a "loft" which I'm going to assume is an error in translation, because it is all one level and a few steps down from ground level. I imagine that in the hot Italian summer it is a pleasant oasis of cool, but in late October it felt dank and smelled a little mildewy. It was still perfectly clean and in good repair, with lots of room to hang our clothes.

The kitchen is, as every reviewer has said, amusingly tiny, but is perfectly adequate for breakfast and coffee and shouldn't be counted as a minus unless you're planning on cooking gourmet meals while on vacation.

Internet access is included with the apartment and was very useful for planning our excursions.

We were too busy sightseeing to use the pool, but it was just as pretty as the picture.