EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING!
I booked this place for a month and regret it. I wish I had shopped around rather than booking a place with vague reviews – lesson learnt! I requested a refund of approximately 25% which the host declined. I was so relieved to move out of this place!
THE FLAT & AMENITIES - DAMAGED, DIRTY AND MISSING ITEMS
There is a general lack of care and attention to detail in terms of providing the basics most Airbnbs provide, and checking the cleanliness and state of the flat between guests.
Whilst most people appreciate places will almost always be smaller than they appear in the photos, this place was the smallest Airbnb I’ve stayed in (and I’ve stayed in and visited many Airbnbs including ones in Prati, Rome).
The images of the flat are inaccurate. In the photos, it looks compact but nice or at least ok as somewhere to sleep. The ‘fine furnishings’ described by the host include IKEA furniture – not what I would describe as ‘fine’. Lamps are peeling, tables and sideboards are chipped and heavily marked, the shelf in the fridge door was broken, skirting board has come off the wall, and other DIY work is ugly.
The sofa bed is broken and heavily stained. The mattress protector and mattress was also dirty and stained and the bathmat was dirty with toothpaste marks. I was told by the estate agents on the second day of my stay that a new one would be ordered but it didn’t arrive during the month I was there. The general cleanliness was lacking. I found a toothpick on the sideboard and the toilet was heavily stained, as was the area around the shower. Dishes in the cupboard were dirty and had not been cleaned or checked between guests (e.g. food stuck to spatula and pan lid – gross)! I dropped off luggage whilst the cleaner was there so saw how much work they did to clean up after previous guests including emptying the fridge which was not cleaned between guests. Unfortunately they didn’t have the time or instructions to do what I would consider a decent job even pre-Covid.
The place felt like a student bedsit but was of a poorer quality. Cowboy workmanship throughout!
To make matters worse, there was CONSTRUCTION WORK throughout my month-long stay. The scaffolding has been erected so close to the metal shuttered windows that I could only open them a few inches making the flat DARK. When I checked out the scaffolding was still there and I expect this will be an ongoing issue for a little while at least. Out of hosts control but added to my disappointment.
The bed and pillows were very comfortable and the shower had sufficient hot water. You can control the heating 247 which I appreciated as it is not the case in some apartments in Rome where the building’s heating is turned off at night.
THE HOST
Isacco provided fast and excellent service in dealing with requests/complaints. When I arrived, several basic items were missing, broken or not working and I raised the issue of the broken sofabed and fridge. Everything but the sofa bed and fridge shelf issue was resolved within 24 hours and I was impressed at his responsiveness. Unfortunately the response to the internet connection being lost was less helpful.
INTERNET
The internet is slow and the connection is unstable. It was slow at the best of times, and went completely every week I was there. When I made the booking, I contacted the host to ask about the quality of the connection, explaining that I had an online job interview and that it was very important that the internet would be sufficient for a video call. I was assured it was stable. Unfortunately that was not the case and I had to turn off video during the interview to avoid being disconnected – luckily I still got the job. It might be ok for someone who just wants to send texts or do an occasional video call where interruptions are no big deal but if you need a good connection for work or video calls then this place would not be suitable. FYI, the modem is located in the neighbour’s flat next door so when the internet goes you can’t just reset the modem.
LOCATION
The building is nice and the location is amazing! Prati is an upmarket area of Rome, safe and relatively free of tourists but shop around for something else. My friend booked a place in the same sort of building a ten minute walk away (equally close to the metro) for 300 less. Her place was clean, light, almost triple the size and fitted to a good standard – EXACTLY how this flat SHOULD HAVE BEEN IF the description and photos had been accurate.
SUMMARY
PROs: Comfy bed, ok shower, great host and location.
CONs: Poor value for money - even for this expensive neighbourhood in Rome. If the price had been half what I paid, I would still have felt utterly cheated and would have avoided it had I seen it before booking. Expect construction work, low light, damaged furniture, dirty/stained items and a general lack of attention to detail and disappointment throughout.
If you don’t care about those things and just want a comfy bed in a great location and don’t mind the price, go for it but personally, this fell well short of my expectations and standards. It rates as the second worst Airbnb I’ve stayed in and I’ve been using Airbnb for almost ten years now and have stayed in many places in Rome, Italy, and all over the world.
Recognise that the price is reflective of the location only and keep your expectations very low for the flat itself.
Thankfully, my new flat in Rome is gorgeous, clean, double the size and also in a fantastic location for the same price despite not getting a monthly stay discount!