Nicola's place was AMAZING. My friends and I were blown away by how new, how clean, how comfortable it was. The beds and linen are comparable to that of a hotel, and we definitely felt right at home at the apartment.
Nicola was also a very thoughtful host. Even though he could not receive us at the apartment, he texted me numerous times to ensure that we settled in well, and he even did up a simple brochure of local MUST VISITS, good food around Rome, and even marked out on maps, notable places like the Metro and the supermarket. :)
What really blew us away was when our group of 5 had difficulty finding transportation to Leonardo Da Vinci airport, Nicola was very resourceful at finding us a van to take us all to the airport at short notice. This saved us so much on transport, as compared to booking two taxis.
When we arrived at the airport, my husband realized that he had left his passport behind at one of the retail shops near Spagna while shopping the day before. Once again, the very resourceful Nicola came to our rescue by helping us to liaise with the local driver who only speaks Italian to help us pick up the passport and deliver it to the airport.
In the course of our entire stay, Nicola definitely went above and beyond the duties of a host to ensure that our holiday was enjoyable. If I were to ever return to Rome, I'd definitely hope to put up at Nicola's apartment again.