Terrible experience. Would not stay here again.
Let's start with the positive.
The space is spacious and looks just like the photos. The location is ok. I did not feel unsafe but I also did not feel 100% comfortable as a visibly queer person. It's not super close to the main attractions but it's close to public transportation. I will say, public transportation in Rome is not very reliable and I ended up walking or taking Ubers mostly. Ubers from this location to the city center are an average of 15-25 euros so factor that into the price.
The whole purpose of my trip was to see an old friend that moved to Rome just before the pandemic. This apartment was somewhat close to hers (or so I thought) so getting together and exploring for the day was supposed to be easy. Despite not being a fan of the overall look of the space I settled on it because of the outstanding reviews this host has. I knew that there might be a language barrier but because all of the reviews were overwhelmingly positive I decided to move forward and boy was I disappointed.
I let him know I had a late arrival 1 month before my trip and at the time he said that was alright. 3 days before my trip he asked for my arrival information again but this time he cited a late check in fee that was supposed to be in the listing. I have been using Airbnb for a long time and I am aware that late check in fees are normal but I was unable to find the policy so I asked him to share it with me. He kept directing me to the listing. I sent him screenshots of each portion of the listing and his bio and the policy was nowhere to be found. Again, all I wanted to know was how much it was since Rome was my first stop on my trip and I wanted to have cash. He brushed me off because there was some sporting event going on and he was out enjoying it, living life and I did not hear from him again.
On the day of my arrival I took 3 flights and traveled for 25 hours without sleep. I reached the Airbnb at 1130 with my friend - she met me at the train station so I would not get lost. Upon arriving to the Airbnb my host became upset as he thought my friend was going to spend the night. I explained she was just dropping me off and my friend explained it in fluent Italian but he was just not listening so my friend left. I apologized for being late and explained I had been traveling for several hours and was tired. We went up to the Airbnb where he decided to touch every single surface to show me it was clean (the floors were dusty thought) and also to mention several rules that were not shared in the listing like when I could and could not use the AC (which by the way did not work), when I could and could not open windows, what I could and could not wash in the washing machine and most importantly that I could not bring any other people inside the apartment. The entire lecture lasted about 40 minutes. He also showed me the amenities in the bathroom which was a graveyard of used products left by other guests. There was no soap and I had to wait till the next morning to shower. Then he asked for my passport information - which was never mentioned anywhere in the listing but is a legal requirement in Italy (I Googled). And finally he showed me a photo on his phone of a computer screen that had his Airbnb profile and the policy I had asked for several days prior. The policy had 3 amounts (15, 20, 30) and was in Italian. I asked if he could send it to me but I don't think he understood me. All I wanted was to translate it to figure out the exact amount. I also showed him that it was not visible on my phone and he checked his host profile on his phone in front of me and was unable to find it either. I suggested that he update the listing for his next guest and he became offended, stood up over me and raised his voice at me saying that I had insulted his character. At that point I was done and I was just waiting for him to get out so I could go to sleep. At this point we'd been at the welcoming ceremony for over an hour and it was close to 1 am. He eventually left after throwing a fit and shouting that I was not allowed to bring anyone to the apartment. To be quite honest I felt very unsafe.
The next day he wrote me like nothing had happened and was super insistent in booking a free wine tasting for me the remaining days so I'm going to assume he gets a kickback from that? I wasn't really interested in engaging after that first night.
The best part was the check out. I was able to leave the keys and go with little to no interaction. I left 20 Euros on the table for the late check in with the soap and detergent I purchased. Hope that was the right amount. I will never know.
Will NEVER book this place or any of his properties ever again. Worst experience ever.