A really nice apartment in an ideal location in the heart of the historical centre from where you can easily walk to all the important monuments and tourist sites. The walks themselves, which take you through the many enticing cobbled streets of the old city, are a joy in themselves. However, for those less inclined to walk everywhere, there is a metro stop and a taxi stand just a few steps away in Piazza Barberini.
The apartment itself, which is located on the ground floor of a nineteenth-century palazzo, has been modernised and converted to two levels but retains some elements of the original structure such as the beautiful tall windows facing onto the street and the decorative high ceiling.
The apartment is unusually spacious by Italian standards, as are the two showers that provide ample hot water and good water pressure. The double bed is reasonably comfortable and there is ample wardrobe space with plenty of hangers, situated next to the bed. There is a separate utility room, a rare feature in Italian apartments.
There is a kitchenette where you can make breakfast and snacks but, unfortunately, this is the least satisfying aspect of the apartment as, having been fitted with only a two-burner induction stovetop, it does not really permit of proper cooking. The kitchen tap provided only cold water which proved to be a nuisance but there is a dishwasher, notwithstanding the restricted kitchen space which lacks space for storing groceries. There was a good set of cooking pots, dishes and cutlery but no cooking utensils of any kind were provided. I had to buy my own bread knife and other cooking utensils, which I consider unacceptable as, at the very least, basic cooking utensils should have been provided.
There is a combination air-conditioning/heating system which I did not have need of so cannot report on their efficacy. The TV on the second floor was not functioning during the period of my stay so I was unable to enjoy the use of the upstairs space, thereby making the accommodation effectively the same as a studio apartment. In fact, a perplexing aspect of the apartment is the unconventional use of space with the living room furniture located on the second floor and the bedroom furniture on the ground floor with the kitchen! This could easily be reversed and would certainly make for a far more satisfying living experience for the guest.
In summary, this apartment is very much a mixed bag of positive aspects in sharp contrast with negative aspects and it’s suitability to AirBnB clients like myself will likely be determined by individual inclinations and tolerances. For the typical short-stay tourist intending to spend most of their time in Rome out and about and dining out a lot, but wanting a comfortable place to sleep and shower, it would doubtless prove ideal. For someone like myself, requiring accommodation in Rome for a long-term stay that is not tourism-related, it may perhaps be less suitable.
Finally, as an AirBnB client who entirely relies on the reviews of other guests, I feel it my duty to bring to light a couple of points that I was unaware of prior to booking this apartment. Firstly, although Marco is technically ‘the host’, he is in fact the proprietor of the apartment who has entrusted the management of the apartment in AirBnB to a property manager. They in turn have a ‘Greeter’, i.e. an employee who stands in for the proprietor, so there is no direct contact with the Host as is usually the case with AirBnB properties. This is not to detract in any way from the Greeter, Barbara, who is very professional and genuinely concerned for your welfare, as well as being very accessible and eager to make sure your stay in Rome is a satisfying one. But, if there are problems, she is not in a position to address them and can only report them back to the proprietor. This is the first time I have encountered this kind of arrangement when using AirBnB, having always had a direct and amicable relationship with the host.
Secondly, a formal inspection of the apartment and its contents is carried out in your presence, prior to your vacating the premises. I was not informed of this requirement prior to booking the apartment, nor of its purpose, which is presumably to determine whether any of the contents of the apartment are broken or damaged and with the intent of requiring reimbursement. I regard such an inspection as being contrary to the spirit of AirBnB and were I to have broken something I would have reported it. However, if such inspections are to be insisted upon, I consider it imperative that an inspection is equally carried out at the beginning of the rental period to establish already existing damage or anomalies. As an example, the Nespresso coffee machine appeared to be broken because upon first use it did not produce the coffee, after which I did not attempt to use it again and used a Moka instead. It turned out during the inspection that it was not broken but malfunctioning because some of the generic capsules that had been provided were not being pierced. But, had it been declared broken, it appears that I would have been required to pay for its replacement, notwithstanding that it’s functionality had not been clearly demonstrated to me when I first arrived and was shown around the apartment. This I consider to be unacceptable and a guaranteed way to create discord between Host and Guest! At the very least, therefore, the Managers of this apartment should state clearly in the conditions of rental that this inspection is required as well as the implications for the Guest of such an inspection.