We’re two retirees who, in recent years have rented Airbnb apartments in many European cities, but this is the very first time that a movie company thought the place was so special that, one day, it filled the street with huge trucks marked “Costumes,””Make-Up” and “Dressing Rooms” and filmed scenes for a new movie in our host’s top-floor residence. Silvia’s rental apartment in this grand old family building on the Tiber’s tree-shaded bank is also a special place.
In part to celebrate an 80th birthday, we stayed with Silvia for 6 weeks in September and October. Even at our ages, the quick walk to the Metro made it possible for us to explore all of Rome by subway and on foot. And Silvia’s extensive notes on nearby places to dine and shop are the best we’ve ever received as Airbnb guests.
Airbnb’s photos of the apartment are absolutely accurate and the apartment seems even larger than it appears. Though we easily could have walked up the stairs, we loved using the vintage Otis elevator that works just like new.
But best of all was Silvia herself. She lives upstairs with her son and parents and has an office in the building. Educated in London and having worked in New York, she speaks perfect English and is exceptionally diligent about everything having to do with her Airbnb apartment. She replied within minutes to our Airbnb emails and was totally responsive throughout our stay - even replaced a bathroom light bulb the very morning it burned out. And she provided everything we needed to settle in quickly and comfortably - including condiments, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, paper towels and even soap.
We were worried about how we would be able to keep up with housework over a 6-week period. What we hadn’t understood from the Airbnb site was that her housekeeper cleaned the apartment weekly, providing clean linens and making up the bed with the loveliest sheets.
Silvia’s housekeeper is happy to do laundry at a modest hourly rate. We used that service only for men’s dress shirts because the apartment’s washing machine yielded clothes essentially wrinkle-free and half way to dry. Everything finish air drying overnight.
Silvia and her apartment made this our best trip ever. Knowing we are amateur musicians, she provided information about musical performances and even invited us to the family rooftop for drinks to meet a violinist friend. We will need to be careful on our next Airbnb adventure not to set our expectations by Silvia’s exceptional standards.