Our original reservation with Airbnb was cancelled the day before our arrival so Airbnb gave us £50 towards a new booking and I chose this listing as you could book instantly and I was not deterred by the last review. Reservation was confirmed within 5 minutes and contact information provided. We contacted the person meeting us – Mr. Vinod – as requested and he met us at the apartment. He was very welcoming, kind and showed us around.

This was my best Airbnb experience by far – the apartment was very large and interestingly decorated, better than the pictures. It was clean and the kitchen was stocked with food (pasta, tinned tomato, onion, garlic, olive oils, seasonings etc.) and chilled water. The listing doesn’t say ‘essentials’ but in reality there were towels laid out and even shower gel / shampoo sachets, as well as the kitchen products. The washing machine was not very accessible in a cluttered third W.C. and I am not sure it was working – would be worth enquiring if you want to stay longer.

Both bedrooms are effectively en-suite (perfect for two couples, though we were only 2 people) The master bedroom has a large four-poster bed and a number of huge Italian pieces of furniture – very romantic! This room faces the road and is probably louder than the one to the rear but we didn’t mind the noise from the street. All rooms have very efficient air-con machines and the terrace was nice for sitting out for a meal on and though it is overlooked by the surrounding houses, we never saw another person. The owner obviously has very good taste and has a lovely collection of books.

The apartment is on the first floor of the building, the graffiti covered front door and dark hallway should not put people off – once at the apartment there is a heavy duty door and the beautiful and high-tech apartment inside. We never saw other residents in the communal corridor. Trastevere is a very safe young / touristy area – at no point did I feel unsafe. The previous reviewer is completely wrong on the safety point – all the doors have heavy-duty deadlocks (you have to turn the keys multiple times) and there is an second internal door you can lock in for extra security during the night.

On our second day we blew the fuse box (using the kettle) and called Mr. Vinod who directed us to the main fuse box by the front door of the building and immediately everything came back on.

The location is perfect for the busy nightlife district with plenty of bars and restaurants; however, some of the better places we found are actually located in the opposite direction to the town with nice bakeries and patisseries. There is also a supermarket not far from the flat.

Overall if you want to stay in this area, stay here. It is beautiful and cozy and I am already missing it!