We loved the neighborhood. Trastevere is a happenin’ place now, and our street - Vicolo del Cinque - felt like Rome’s Bourbon Street. A narrow street, it’s wall to wall bars and restaurants in the evening. It’s noisy at night, but the apartment’s bedroom, being in the back, is reasonably well insulated from the noise. There are two doors, the bedroom’s own door plus a sliding door sealing off the apartment’s rear area from the front.
The appliances listed were all present and worked. We had some problems figuring out the Nespresso coffee machine, but got it to make small cups of coffee. The air conditioning was polar and we needed it, as the temperature climbed above 100 degrees Fahrenheit several days while we were here. The shower worked, although the handheld style shower head is
hard to position firmly in its socket.
We had problems with the supplies you should find in an Airbnb. There was no toilet paper when we checked in, and while a cleaning lady dropped off a roll and a half, they were small and gone in less than two days. We wasted time looking for toilet paper in stores. There were no paper towels or tissues. There were a few paper napkins and supplies of dishwashing and laundry detergent were low. There were no matches for our gas stove, which was not self-igniting, and our dropoff coordinator kindly gave us his own lighter. I understand Airbnbs need to control costs and avoid wastage (and pilfering by tenants so inclined) but there’s a balance that needs to be struck here. And there wasn’t really the sense of ownership you get with private Airbnbs.
Shopping for supplies, I’d not place too many hopes in Mini Markets. While there are a lot of them, most are tiny and don’t offer much selection. I had more luck with Carrefour and Unicoop.
Renting from a company - iFlat - generates a few problems you don’t tend to have with private landlords. I found the company slow to respond to my emails and not always answering my questions. There was a lack of coordination involving our airport pickup for which we had paid extra. We were kept waiting an additional hour after an all-night flight. The driver then was puzzled by how to approach our apartment on its narrow street and dropped us off a few blocks away with our bags.
The bed was reasonably comfortable. The apartment’s furnishings are indifferent. Our dresser had one or two broken handles. One closet had a broken shelf and another lots of clutter in the bottom. The shower head emerged from a hole in the tiles that hadn’t been completely sealed. A dining room chair broke while I was sitting on it.
Americans will want to bring plenty of plug converters for Italian outlets. I had a couple but bought a few more - one was defective, though - from a vendor at the nearby Piazza Trilussa. I had found them in short supply in the U.S. before our departure.
We didn’t cook in the kitchen - we wanted to eat every meal in Roman restaurants - and used the kitchen mostly for breakfast and snacks. There’s a cute little pastry shop and gelateria across the street and many more in the neighborhood.
After our arrival misadventure we used the nearby Piazza Trilussa, on the Tiber at the Ponte Sisto bridge, as a rendezvous point for taxis and Ubers. It’s close and drivers can find it. Be advised that Uber is expensive here, allowed only to offer its expensive Uber Black level service. Taxis were usually cheaper. (Rides to and from the airport are a standard 50 euros.) There are taxi apps that offer an Uber level of convenience, or you can just wave them down in the street.
The apartment is conveniently located, maybe a mile from the Castel Sant’ Angelo and a little more to the Vatican, on the same side of the river, and not that far from historic areas east of the river. There are dozens of restaurants and bars and gelaterias nearby, and often live music by street performers at the Piazza Trilussa. Trastevere, like a lot of Rome, has way too much graffiti marring its streets, but also doesn’t seem that touristy (yet). It seemed like most of the people enjoying the outdoor cafes, bars and trattorias were Italian.