A bad experience for our first time in Rome. We stayed for 6 nights. We first got red flags when we have not heard at all from the host until the day of the reservation, which I was the one who initiated the message asking for the details on how to check in.
We arrive promptly at 4:00pm, but we do not hear back from the host. After calling, Marco lets us know that his brother was going to come check us in. His brother meets us outside the building at 4:30pm and offered to help bring our luggage up (which is just one flight of stairs). We enter the apartment, and turns out that it was not cleaned nor ready for our arrival. The cleaning service people came in at the same time we entered the apartment, so Marco's brother lets us know that we will have to wait for at least one hour for it to be cleaned. We were allowed to leave our luggage in the apartment, but it was just strange that the apartment was not ready, especially given a 4:00pm check-in time... what made it more strange was that he had directed us to leave and give the cleaning service at least one hour. We come back one hour later, and the apartment is still not done. We wait another 30 minutes or so -- and the cleaning service person must have felt rush, because the bathroom shower in particular was not clean to our standards. To make matters worse, there was no toilet paper and we had to go purchase our own.
Other flaws with the apartment is the kitchen. There was no microwave to heat up our leftovers, and the stove was not user-friendly. It would have been helpful to have some clear instructions on how to use it. The fridge is also just a mini-fridge, so don't expect to buy a lot of groceries. As others mention in their reviews, the WiFi is very, very, very spotty. And slow. There was a point where my international data on my cell phone served as a faster hotspot. Expect to be very patient while using the internet here.
The hot water ran out quickly. Given that it was only my friend and I staying here, we could not take back-to-back showers. By the time one of us would take a shower right after another, the water would be lukewarm and eventually cold during the shower.
On our very last full day, the electricity just completely stopped working. We had no idea why. No electricity, no air conditioning, no hot water. Trying to contact Marco about the situation was difficult. I called Marco at 6am about the situation, and he said he was going to contact the energy suppliers. We come back to the apartment about 12pm after doing some tours, and the electricity still is not working. He mentioned that he was still contacting the energy supplier, so we go to a nearby restaurant to eat. We ask Marco if it's possible to have someone take a look at the electricity box and power panel. Still messaging back and forth, he finally has his uncle come take a look at the situation around 3pm. It was frustrating for this whole process to take 9 hours for someone to physically look at what was wrong with the electricity. The electricity would actually turn on for 30 seconds, then shut off again. While his uncle was in the apartment with us trying to fix the problem, he was on the phone with Marco. Marco lets us know that we cannot use the electricity for another couple of hours. Everything finally started working again at 9pm. That was definitely the most frustrating part about this trip. Communication with Marco. The worst part was that Marco did not follow up with us until the next morning if our electricity was working.
Other than that, the place is modern with nice furnishings. The public transportation is very close. There are a lot of restaurants and small grocery stores around.
It was an overall bad experience for us, and it just drained our energy always waking up to a new flaw of the apartment. If you're expecting a flawless Airbnb, stay somewhere closer to where all the tourist attractions are. You'll get more bang for your buck there.