The bed is beyond repairable and the mattress comically collapsed on us multiple times, even trapping my foot in it once. Giuseppe would come back and "fix it" by putting the planks back on their place, and trying to squeeze the bed with metal wire, only for the mattress to collapse through it the next time you sat on it. Had to sleep on a broken bed. (See a previous review on this as well in July 2022 by Luke.) The bed frame is bent beyond repair, and the only way to fix it is to buy a new bed. Be sure to lift the mattress and look for metal wires he used to fix the bed. If you see any and can tell the bed is not new, look for a new place.
We were not able to get the AC to work, the vents would open and close back immediately. Giuseppe did manage to get it running when he came to repair the bed, but it turned off on us again in the middle of the night. The ac unit does seem new though.
Noise wise, the glass is single paned and you can hear everything that is happening outside, even with the shutters and blinds closed (plenty of reviews on noise)
The room wasn't thoroughly cleaned either, especially if you're planning on sleeping on the red chair that turns into a single bed, but we didn't have to use it. (See other reviews on cleanliness)
The location is great, definitely cannot complain about that. 30 mins from the colosseum and 30 mins away from the Vatican
Giuseppe was responsive on whats app (reminder - only use Airbnb's chat as it will save you a lot of headache when/if you need to complain), I'll give him that, and the location is great. There also was a box of snacks for us and some red orange juice.
The biggest red flag: I'm 99% sure there is no Elena, and even the name on the letter box is just "Giuseppe". If you look at the reviews from the host, they're all from Giuseppe, not Elena, praising "Elena" for her apartment. There are even some reviews from Giuseppe. This leads me to question the authenticity of other 5 star reviews. The picture of Elena also seems like a stock photo, but you be the judge of that.
As soon as I asked for my money back I stopped getting replies from then. Nevertheless I got refunded the one night we did not use (which he had agreed to when we informed we would be checking out early due to the conditions) and 30% of the first night (which I still think it's not enough given he knew full well that the bed would not
I'll be posting pictures on Reddit of the conditions of the apartment under "Elena's Airbnb apartment in Rome pictures" if the host argues with this review claiming it's untrue, like he has done with some others