Alessia was extremely responsive to all of our pre-visit queries about the apartment and even arranged for a car to pick us up at the airport. We were traveling with our two pre-teens so this hands-on assistance was a huge help. After our overseas flight, you cannot imagine the joy of seeing our names on the taxi driver's card in the international arrivals area. Once we were in Rome, Francesca showed us around the apartment so we never actually met Alessia but this handoff worked just fine. The apartment accommodated our family of four very well - although the extra sofa bed had been broken by a previous guest we ended up not needing it as our oldest child was able to sleep on the living room couch.

The A/C is very nice and easily adjusted. The mobile phone and hotspot were extremely helpful and gave us an easy way to get in touch with Francesca if needed as well as a way to research local activities without having to be in the apartment. The apartment location is great - right off a pedestrian street hub full of convenient shops. We got to know the downstairs baker really well as we were there at least once per day - definitely one of the best in Rome! There is also a supermarket close by. Some of the taxis we took confused the street name with another street of a similar name which apparently is across the river, but we were able to clarify this by explaining we were close to Piazza Venezia and that worked out OK.

As far as the apartment itself, it is dark. A few lightbulbs would go a long way! But the two bedrooms have wonderful windows which open out onto the street below so this brightens the place during daylight hours. The shower is a little tricky and the water pressure is low, as I noticed another guest mentioned. The bathroom sink was clogged when we got there so was not usable. We were able to use the second bathroom sink for our needs and I suspect water challenges are not unique to this apartment but rather common in Italy.

The apartment's great location made up for the slight downsides and if you can adopt an attitude recognizing "rustic charm" rather than "challenges," this apartment will be wonderful for you.