Pluses:
• Cozy, authentic, unique
• The kitchen and the bathroom were VERY clean on the arrival, both well equipped.
• There were plenty of wardrobe / storage space in the apartment. A lot of hangers in the wardrobe, additional drawers in the corridor, cabinets in the guest room, etc.
• Tons of additional bed linen and towel sets.
• The cloth washing machine has a dryer function too which is really great when one travels with a small luggage during hot season.
• The table folds into a larger version of itself, and there are additional chairs folded behind the cabinet, so it would be possible to organize a family dinner there.
• Location is great – old-town, just steps away from all main tourist attractions, I felt very safe when walking alone in the neighbourhood, even on late evenings. Lively, tons of food options around, there are a couple of decent grocery stores (including a more ecological one) just around the corner. Even if you don't want to go far, you can enjoy beautiful fountains across the street, a portion of gelato, dinner, or a drink all 2-15 min away from the place.
• The apartment seemed very safe - with outside door, additional stair-case gate (metal door), and the apartment door with 3 separate keys. No random people on the staircase.
General comment:
• the floor is not wooden. it's actually tiles that look like wood, but it still feels cozy.
• wifi was ok. Not perfect, but enough for emails and zoom calls.
• no elevator and a lot of steep stairs, so be aware, especially if you have a large luggage
Minuses:
• Furniture missing in the main bedroom compared to the photographs (there were a bed, two night tables on each side, and a wardrobe installed in the niche in the wall, but there weren't two additional wooden storage pieces in front of the bed shown in the photographs)
• A lot of dust under beds, on the curtains
• No sound isolation - you will always hear people on the staircase opening and closing the metal door downstairs, talking, etc.
• Electric installation: the light switcher in the kitchen was broken and seemed very dangerous so I never used it (and had to use light from the bathroom or corridor). Also a few sockets seemed a bit suspicious.
• I was told about the host being away from Rome during my stay only AFTER booking the apartment. It was an unpleasant surprise, as I let the other place I really liked go exactly for the same reason. When travelling alone, I would feel safer with a host in office whom I could approach when needed, but maybe it's not a problem for everyone. During a plumbing emergency, he could not come and inspect the situation himself, so we ended up agreeing on a costly compromise which no one was happy about. The manner of communication via chat was a bit unprofessional and unpleasant at that point. The whole thing could have been easily solved if he was in town and could find a solution in a few hours, not in a few days.