Pros:
- the value of the location for the price is outstanding
- bed was comfortable if a bit squeaky
Cons:
- poor check in experience
- stairs up feel a bit unsafe
The only reason I'm giving this place 4 stars is because I felt we had a particularly poor check in experience. We were flying in from Athens, and I had kept in constant contact with Flaminia. She knew when we were to land in Ciampino and when we would be arriving at the apartment. Our flight was delayed about 30 minutes and I updated her on that before we took off.
Upon landing I had a message from her re-confirming the delay, which I confirmed but heard no response. I sent her updates as we made it to the apartment, and still got no response. We're dropped off by the taxi and walk up an alley to get to the entrance to the apartment. The entrance is quite close to the street, and is well lit, so I wouldn't say it's sketchy, but in a new city, at 10:30 at night, standing outside with all our valuables, you can see how we'd feel a bit uneasy. I let her know we've arrived, and I get no response.
It's now 10:45, and we're standing in front of what we believe to be the apartment for over 15 minutes with no response from Flaminia. In fact we haven't heard anything from her since she sent the message while we were flying about the extent of our delay. I try calling her once, no response. Second time no response as well, so I shoot her a text and we start talking about what our options are because we weren't going to wait forever. Soon thereafter, lights turn on behind the door and an older gentleman introduces himself as Flaminias father and invites us inside.
The stairs are not for the faint of heart, it's obvious the building is quite old, and the stairs would look right at home in a medieval fortress. I'd highly recommend taking suitcases one at a time and keeping one hand on the railing (which is just a thin metal pole anchored to the wall). Paolo explained to us basic things in the apartment, the water heater, air conditioning, wifi, etc. We had to piece quite a bit of it together ourselves because he spoke almost no English but could understand a little. Don't get me wrong, he was very kind and willing to help, but after the last half hour we'd had, I would have liked to speak to someone that I could ask more questions of.
Our stay itself was fantastic, the location is absolutely prime, and there was not much to complain about regarding the unit itself. It's quite small, but fit the two of us perfectly. It's my first time in Italy and I'm very confused by a toilet/sink looking apparatus next to the real toilet. It is shaped and positioned like a toilet but had a plunge stopper and a faucet like a sink. I was so confused by it that I just didn't end up using it. The instructions ask us to take the trash out before we leave, but the bin had no bag in it, so I had to take it down to empty it, then bring it back up before checking out.
Overall it was a positive stay, which got off to a rocky start. With a little extra care on communication, the stay would have been perfect, I still would recommend this place just for its location.