I stayed here in September with my 19 year old son. My brother was supposed to come but couldn't make it.
The Good: Amazing to walk out the door and be in the middle of shops, restaurants, beautiful churches, Trevi Fountain and 10 min walk to Pantheon and 10 min to Metro stop. There's a restaurant literally in the alleyway of the apartment that was very good and the staff let me take my wine home after I told them I was staying right there and promised to bring back the glass. :) I felt like a resident. Mary offers great recommendations for restaurants, gelato, etc. She also offers transfer service to and from the airport, which was easy, convenient and cheaper than doing it on your own if there are 3 or more people in your group. The bedrooms are quite spacious to accommodate a family and despite being on a busy street, it is very quiet with windows closed. The check in process was easy and the man checking us in was helpful and friendly. We were able to check in early which was nice. The wifi was good and the air conditioning units in the bedrooms were very effective. The apartment was clean. Staying here made me feel like a Roman resident which was awesome! We postponed our stay by one day for personal reasons and Mary was understanding and accommodated that.
The not so good: The apartment is dark and very dated looking unlike what the pictures show. If location and space are your main priority then it can't be beat, but if comfort is a priority then you may be disappointed. All furniture is dated and not very comfortable. Luckily you probably won't spend much time watching TV so that's ok, but what's not ok is both beds had very thin, hard mattresses. I had to lay towels or extra sheets folded up on top to avoid feeling springs pressing into me. The tiny shower has almost no water pressure and nowhere to set a bar of soap, razor, shampoo etc. A small shelf or bench would be helpful. I only washed my hair at night and only every 3 days because it took so long. If you have a large group, you will really have to plan ahead and stagger usage. There is a bathtub but it would take an eternity to fill it. Bath mats (the floor is very slippery when wet) and washclothes (face clothes) would also be nice as would a small table for toiletries. The bathroom has lots of floor space so there is room to add that. The check in information states that the plumbing is old and the drain clogs easily and cautions to be mindful of hair going in the drain which I understand, however the drain was slow from day one and I hadn't even washed my hair yet. This tells me that it probably wasn't cleaned out after the previous guests. The hairdryer that Mary provided is a really tight fit for the bathroom outlet and my son and I couldn't unplug it without fear of yanking the whole outlet out of the wall. I would have liked to have been able to use the outlet for other things. I ended up curing my hair sitting on the floor in front of the armoire mirror in the bedroom. I adapted and didn't make a big deal of it, but when I twice reported it, (first to the handyman then to Mary) I got no acknowledgement or assurance that its ok to pull hard on the plug (so I didn't) which I thought was strange considering at check in a point was made to tell us to contact them with any issues. Maybe even just saying "sorry about that" would have been preferable to nothing. * Note: Mary has contacted me since I've been home and indicated that she appreciated the feedback, so maybe these issues will be corrected.
Bottom line: Had a great time even if it lacked some amenities. The location makes up for ALMOST all of the issues and most of the issues can be easily corrected if the feedback is followed. Great space for a family or group of guys. (Probably not for a girls getaway unless everyone has short hair and is really low maintenance) Mary was quick to respond to MOST communication and seems like an overall good hostess. I'd recommend with the caveats mentioned above.