Our party of 3 stayed at Eugenia's apartment for 4 nights in mid-October, arriving on a Saturday. We arrived an hour before the specified time, but Eugenia was able to accommodate an earlier check-in, which was greatly appreciated.
The location of the apartment is tucked away in the corner of a Piazza adjacent to the Spanish Steps. Once inside the main door, access to the apartment (and others in the building) is via a wide spiral staircase. Eugenia's apartment is located on the first floor, but continuing up the staircase takes you to another door giving access to the top of the Spanish Steps. As the weather was fantastic for the time of year, we were able to comfortably walk to all of the sites we wanted to see (Castel Sant'Angelo, St. Peter's Basilica, Piazza Navona, Villa Borghese and Bioparco, Colloseum and Forum) - no more than 30 minutes’ walk to the furthest away (even with a five-year-old).
We spent a considerable amount of time researching where best to stay in Rome and then on AirBnB to find a suitable place to stay, at a reasonable price for the location. Eugenia’s apartment ticked all of the boxes and we were certainly not disappointed. The photos are accurate – although they do not do justice to the beautiful high ceilings painted with frescos. The main living spaces are flooded with light from the huge windows, framed by shutters which we closed at night. The kitchen is well appointed, with enough pots, pans and gadgets to be able to cook should you wish.
As you would expect at Spanish Steps the surrounding restaurants are touristy and you need to walk further afield to experience Roman cuisine and Eugenia’s guidebook provided some excellent suggestions. For our tastes we found the Carrefour towards the Trevi fountain to be the most useful although there are others no more than 5 minutes’ walk away.
The only downside, was the Saturday night/Sunday morning extremely early rubbish collection (2am) from the restaurants in the adjacent Piazza. As they were collecting recyclables, the sound of the glass being collected was rather noisy and went on for 15 minutes or so. On the following mornings, less noisy, quicker and later (about 6.00am). That said, I would definitely stay in the apartment again and thoroughly recommend it.