Laura's Penthouse with Terrace far exceeded the description and photos posted by the hostess. The space is clean and very comfortable. Even with two kids, my wife and I felt the apartment more than sufficient. The listing is only a 6 minute walk from the beautiful Villa Borghese, where we spent a lot of time, a 3 minute walk from the metro, a 20 minute walk from Santa Maria Maggiore, and a 5 minute walk from the Spanish steps. And yet, despite its proximity to these major attractions, Via Sistina is quiet, and exudes a sense of local flavor and privacy. The view of Rome from the terrace is spectacular, and the interior courtyard in the rear (over which your second balcony looks) is quiet. The apartment stayed extremely comfortable and cool, as we kept a strong draft moving through the house with the balcony doors open, but on those really hot Roman nights we used the air conditioning in the bedroom. Although the AC has a hard time cooling the whole house, it is ice cold, and with the bedroom door shut, creates a cool sanctuary. An interesting note, not mentioned in the description, but of great historical interest, is that the apartment stands three floors above Gogol's Roman room.

Our hostess, Lalli, was extremely professional and welcoming. When we arrived, Lalli showed us the place briefly, but then left us to discover and unwind. She gave us literature on all the necessary destinations nearby--from the metro to grocery stores, and to top it all off, Lalli had a half kilo of gelato waiting for us in the freezer. Over our two month stay we only had one problem (the shower backed up), and although out of town, Laura was very responsive, and the problem was fixed promptly and professionally. Check out was a breeze, and on the whole the experience was more than painless--it was indeed a pleasure.

The only inconvenience, perhaps, is the quality of the electrical outlets. They work but are old, and we had to plug our devices in just right to keep them charging. Although that could have been the quality of our adapters as well--they were cheap.

We loved this apartment, and really appreciated our hostess. We hope to be back soon.