I have never left a negative review in my 8 years of using Airbnb - until now.
I have never had an experience with a property on Airbnb where the difference between the listing description and the reality, is so stark. This is not a luxury property by any objective measure. The single bathroom is tiny, less than 1 metre wide and unfortunately had a persistent and unpleasant smell. This tiny bathroom enters directly into the main living area of the apartment. There is no second bathroom or even a second toilet which is a significant negative for a property claiming to be luxurious - the host’s description, not mine. The apartment has no dishwasher - again a significant omissions for a so called luxury listing. There is no bench space in the kitchen and no drying rack for washing pots, pans etc. In addition no drying cloths of any description were provided.
To the accomodation. The main bedroom - and the only one with windows - is overlooking a street which is busy until 1- 2am in the morning with a restaurant opposite. It is not a bedroom for any person except the soundest of sleepers. Even with shutters and windows closed the noise is at significantly high levels into the early hours. The second bedroom is windowless and has no en-suite or own bathroom.
During our stay the Wifi did not work and was unusable. The dining area has only 2 chairs for dining and stools - hardly what one expects from a property listed as ‘luxury’ and a problem for any group larger than a single couple.
This listing simply does not equate to the reality.
A last but important point - check with this host before booking as to the myriad of extra charges that they apply to almost every conceivable circumstance. There are charges for everything from being late to check in to checking in at different times. Had this information been provided in the listing then we would have booked elsewhere for the following reason. We were charged double fees because our checkin occurred on Easter Sunday - we were charged 20 euro because it was a Sunday and then a second lot of 20 euro because that Sunday was also a public holiday.
Had the host felt that my complaint about this double charging was unsubstantiated, then he might have responded to my email about it.
His decision not to respond to me at all suggests that the practice is indefensible.
This property is not luxurious and far from it. There are many alternatives in Rome and indeed in Italy - our experiences to date have been fantastic so to only have one truly bad experience in many years on AirBnb is the positive.