We chose this Airbnb specifically because of the earlier check in time (12pm) as we were catching a very early flight from Scotland and had to be up at 3am. I received several messages from Francesca leading up to our visit, all wanting to know our flight details so she can plan for our arrival. On the day of our arrival though when we needed access instructions, she stopped answering. At 11:30 when we were 10 minutes away from arriving, I ended up having to message her directly on Whats App to get a response. She said check in was actually at 3pm, and that she only says 12pm on the posting to allow for guests to drop their luggage off (nowhere on the listing does it say this.) She said one of her colleagues would be at the property to get our luggage at 12pm. Exactly as the previous review said, her colleague was late and did not meet us until 12:30 so we were just sitting outside with all our luggage, waiting for almost an hour because we arrived at 11:45.
Her colleague Simone was very warm and friendly, but it was a very strange check in. We were brought into the Airbnb and given a tour while the previous guests stay had not been cleaned, so we saw the place messy and lived in. We were told to come back at 3pm. So we left, went and had a nice meal, and came back ready for a nap after our early flight. Except the cleaners were still there. So we sat on the steps outside the Airbnb for another 30 minutes until we were able to go in. I primarily stay in airbnbs when I travel, but this was the first time I felt way more benefits to staying in a hotel.
The toilet does not flush properly and is very dirty. The septic tank makes noises throughout the night and often the apartment smells of sewage. The ironing board is broken. We never used the second pull out couch, but if we had needed to sleep on it, this probably would have been the point where I left. The white couch is covered in stains and oil marks. The main bed we did sleep on was fine, but after one nights sleep it became apparent that there was no fitted sheet on the bed, just a loose sheet and once it moved after sleeping and exposed the bare mattress underneath, we could see all the marks and stains there too.
The pros: Yes, the view of Rome is awesome. There is a very handy super market and an amazzzzzzing pizza place at the doorsteps of the Airbnb, the apartment itself could be 10x better if was managed by an owner vs a property manager.
Francesca never checked in with us to make sure we had managed to get in okay. I’ve been to Rome a few times, and you can stay in way better places then this.