Marco is a superb host, with excellent communications from the very first contact (which, in my case, was months in advance of my trip). He’s also a really nice guy and very available, intelligent and interesting to talk with. Marco’s English is excellent and it seems he is also fluent in German (I heard him speaking with apparent fluency to his other airbnb guest). Marco’s wife, Marianna, speaks very little English, but her energy is very sweet, and both she and Marco are very relaxed, yet very attentive. I felt that I was staying with friends. Marco even offered to loan me his external battery (to recharge my phone while walking around the city, depending on Google Maps), because the one I brought to Italy had suddenly stopped recharging.
The flat is laid out really well, with a common area in the center, Marco and Marianna’s personal space behind double doors on one side, and the airbnb rooms behind a sliding door on the other side. The larger airbnb room has an ensuite bathroom and the smaller one (which I stayed in) has its own bathroom directly across a little hall. My bedroom was charming and the bathroom was good sized and both had everything I needed. The bed was comfortable and the room was dark and silent at night, like sleeping in the womb, yet in the middle of a very busy part of Rome. Kind of amazing. Marco and Marianna have assembled an incredible amoun of local information, with special attention to public transportation routes.
A really wonderful aspect of the place — aside from Marco and Marianna — was the beautiful, plant-filled terrace. There are doors leading to it from all of the bedrooms and from the common area. Because they are on the 6th floor, sitting on the terrace feels like a calm and welcome refuge in the middle of the buzzing city. My visit was only two nights, because I was in transit after two weeks in Umbria, but everything I’d have wanted to visit (which I saw last year when I stayed in the Trastevere area) was within a 20-30 minute walk. I love to walk (especially in Rome), and always felt safe out on the streets (I’m a 63 year old woman), even when coming home later in the night. But if you want to take busses and the metro, the location can’t be beat.
The included breakfast is typical Roman style — espresso and some biscuits or toast — and is self-serve. Corn flakes, milk, tea and apples were also available during my visit. If I were to stay longer, I’d buy a 6-pack of mini-yogurt containers from the local market (I assume that Marco and Marianna would have room in their refrigerator for them), as well as a package of muesli and some additional fruit, plus some nuts, to add to the muesli (my standard breakfast). The building felt very secure, the key access is easy (each bedroom has its own key), and altogether this airbnb was a really nice and comfortable place to stay, and being there was like visiting friends. Thanks again, Marco and Marianna — hope to see you again next time I’m in Rome!