We have travelled to Europe many times and are accustomed to the size and age of apartments. We booked this unit based on others reviews, and learned that AirBNB reviews don't mean much anymore. It is unclear why people give this unit a high rating except for its location. The location appears to be a ghetto during the day, but opens up to be this vibrant neighbourhood of trattorias in the evening. With nighttime busyness expect a lot of evening noise -- which you can drown out with the fan on high in the room. The area is very walkable.
The unit itself is a studio apartment. It was difficult to enter since the keys to the main building door don't work properly. Someone else clearly had that problem since on our last night they had broker their key in the lock and we couldn't enter. The host was unaware of the electronic code to enter the building and we finally came across another resident who provided the code.
It unit itself is unclean and has water damage. The "closet" is not usable since it is cluttered, has mold and water damage above the shelf - Empty boxes and broken furniture haven't even been removed. There is more water damage in the room with the beds. The radiator in the kitchen also appears to have been leaking when on, and their is obvious corrosion and staining on the wall and floor.
The fridge is in poor condition with rust all along the bottom. We didn't try the gas stove. The toilet doesn't function properly. Their isn't any sealing around one of the WC windows and you can look outside through the gaps. Dresser drawers aren't useable since they are cluttered full of objects. The air-conditioning functions but is sub-optimal and the directional vanes are unclean.
Although bright when the shutters are opened, the view looks out at the dilapidated roofs of other properties.
While the ad states it has a real roman feeling, we believe it feels more like the ruins! The pictures do not reflect the appearance of the apartment.
Mel and Marcos seem like nice people but they need to get this place fixed up. Marcos contacted us after our arrival, and I was honest on my assessment to him and the misrepresenting pictures in his ad.
Of course, I kept pictures in-case I get challenged on my review.