Everything was excellent. Starting with Communications. Quick responses, clear instructions, recommendations for transportation. Perfect. Check-in. That needs special mentioning. You can rent your nice apartment and think that this is good enough or you can actually think how to make your guests stay the most enjoyable. Looks like Alfonso though of lots of small details travelers often don't have the time to take care of when they are on the move. What do you want first when you arrive in a city in the hot summer day? Probably shower and cold water. There was a large bottle of cold water waiting for us in the fridge. And there are 2 showers :-). And there are also can of good coffee just in case. We had two problems taken care of right away!!! I don't need to run and look for the store! Luckily there is also a supermarket on the same street, 1 min walk. Good one. And guess what, we had a small bottle of chilled prosecco waiting for us as well. Not the cheap one, by the way (not the expensive one either, of course). That was a big nice surprise.
And what if you arrive late and stores are closed and you want to eat? Alfonso sent a list of nearby restaurants with recommendations or when we open one of the kitchen cabinets there is a pack of spaghetti, organic!!! tomato sauce and can of salmon so you can easily make yourself a pasta!!! Enough about food :-) . Rooms are spacious and everything is immaculately clean.
There are shampoos and gels in the showers. We had our own but what if you forgot yours?
There are piles of maps of Rome to take and some local guides on the table by the door. Very convenient.
And other things.
For us, it felt like the host (Alfonso) thought of many things, we didn't have to worry about, just go and enjoy the city. And that is made our stay so amazing.
Ok, the apartment is not in the historical center, so you can't walk to Trevi fountain in two minutes but that is actually better, in my opinion. We walked to a couple of nearby restaurants and there are NO tourists! :-) The food was good, the prices were good and we conversed with locals which only enhanced our experience. We took buses couple of times (very reliable, few bus stops nearby) and taxi, a couple of times. Not expensive. In a few minutes, you are anywhere you want. Metro station is nearby. We walked about 10 min.
Anyway, we enjoyed our stay very much because of a combination of few things but I think mainly because Alfonso is an excellent host and made us feel taken care of. So, highest recommendations!
Thank you, Alfonso.
Maxim & Kate