Hi all
It's clear, to me, that Francesco has put some time and thought into the whole AirBnB experience and I think that he has got it right.
Firstly his communications through AirBnB before you arrive are great. He's clearly learnt from previous visitors and listened to what they asked or wanted and has covered all of this in his pre-arrival communications.
One thing that Francesco asks before you arrive is what time you are arriving. for me that was mid morning and although booking in time is stated as from 2pm Francesco was kind enough to arrange for me to be able to book in with Francesca who was great and explained everything to me.
The AirBnB has clearly been refurbished recently and has a very modern feel and look to it. The building is Art Deco but step through the front door and you step into a different more modern era. Everything was spotlessly clean and fresh. The AirBnB has a small but well appointed kitchen available for shared use.
The bed, bed linen and towels were all clean and freshly replaced and so I had no complaints there. I found the mattress, a double, to be nice and comfortable and I got a really great refreshing nights sleep.
There is a TV in the room but to be honest I never even turned it on as I was out late in the evening on each night of my stay and so as soon as I got in I was looking to go to sleep.
There's a full height wardrobe complete with enough clothes hangers and shelves inside so plenty of room for clothes
The only issue (and this was for me not everyone) being slightly larger than most people, the shower cubicle is compact and so bending over to wash my legs and feet meant I kept on turning the shower off with my back side. Not a problem really but anyone lager than me might have some real problems moving around the cubicle. The water was really hot, which makes a nice change in AirBnB's like this where there are multiple rooms. I've found that places like this often have cold to luke warm water at best. Not in Francesco's place it's hot and the water pressure is great so its also refreshing. There's a hair dryer available for use but having close cropped hair I never needed to use this.
The AirBnb is really well located in Rome. If you arrive in Italy via Fiumicino Airport or by train then you'll probably arrive at the Roma Termini. This is no more than 400 m from the Cosmopolitan in a Hotel / residential area. The Termini has lots of food outlets if you just want somewhere that has things in one place. If you want to explore and take in the local culture then there's loads of restaurants around and the Cosmopolitan is close to local transport routes. The Termini has loads of bus routes passing it, in the other direction Piazza del'Indipendenza also has loads of bus routes going through it. The Roma Termini has the central 'cross roads' for the Metropolitana or the Rome Underground / Metro. I never used this, as I wanted to 'see' as much of Rome as I could and so I can't comment on how good it is or cost. When using the buses you need to buy a ticket before getting on the bus. These are available at loads of places in different denominations; 1 1/4 hours, 24 hours, 3 days and 7 day ticket. These are all reasonably priced for getting around the city.
I met Francesco one evening when he visited the AirBnB to make sure that everything was okay for everyone there at the time and it was clear that he is conscientious about his visitors having the best time that they can while they are staying at his AirBnB
Would I use Francesco's AirBnB again if I came back to Rome on my own; YES ABSOLUTELY. It's reasonably priced, clean and ideally located and everything you will need for a short stay in Rome.
Rick Davis