We booked this accommodation based on the good reviews of the location. We accepted from the reviews that it was going to be small & were not phased by this. It would have fulfilled our basic needs.
It was stated when booking that the apartment would have an iron. As we travel lightly all of our clothes were rolled up so it was a necessity to have an iron, particularly for dining out at restaurants in the evening. Unfortunately, upon arrival there was no iron. We contacted the host, who responded the next day, saying that he wasn’t in Rome & that he would ask a friend to sort. We never heard from him after this point and it was never resolved, It's extremely disappointing for a host not to respond. As an occasional AirBnB host it’s not something I would do.
Other issues included excessive dust above the wardrobe, which the air conditioning was blowing over the bedroom. My partner has a dust allergy and this caused significant attack’s every morning, meaning we could spend no time in the apartment. In addition, the air conditioning leaked on to the TV, which is below the unit. There was also a leak by the toilet in the bathroom, making the floor slippery. Additionally, the bedding needs throwing away and there was no duvet at all. The pillows were so stained that i had to report it to airbnb.
We were also confused by where the keys were left - above the entrance to the door on the main street with no security. Anyone could have taken them. My partner is 5ft4. There was no way he would have been able to reach them!
Overall, we loved the location, but that was about it. It would have been convenient to have lunch in the apartment, but because of the issues we didn’t want to spend any more time in there. I believe the points mentioned could easily have been resolved or prevented by the host, by responding to us and to provide better basic cleanliness & maintenance. There’s better places & hotels to stay for the price charged.
I am disappointed to know there there are airbnb hosts who think renting out their property should be different to how a hotel would run a business. A minimum effort goes a long way and this experience fell very short of that.