I overall would stay again at this apartment and gladly recommend it to anyone who wants to spend a few days in Bergamo. My feedback more in details follows.
THE HOST. Although we didn’t have the pleasure to meet her in person, Eleonora was very gracious in agreeing to make special arrangements for the check in as well the check out, well beyond the typical expectations. Her flexibility helped us tremendously with our travel plans. We also found a few pleasant personal touches as we entered her apartment that made us feel especially welcome. She was very responsive and proactive in communicating with us throughout our entire sojourn, with a careful attention to details. Directions to practical aspects (such as segregation of waste for recycling) were clear.
THE LOCATION. As a native of Bergamo, where I grew up until adulthood, I knew what to expect by staying in Colognola, the small district where Eleonora’s apartment is, so no surprises here. Therefore, we weren’t bothered by the noise of airplanes taking off from the nearby airport (BGY); however, be advised that the narrow roads around the old "borgo" may have an effect of amplifying sounds of cars driving by or people talking on the street late at night (not a common circumstance, it didn’t affect our sleep). Public transit is conveniently close by, you can get to the center of town in about 15 minutes by the line 6 bus (which typically runs every 15 minutes on average). The neighborhood offers some useful essentials (a bakery, a gas station, a pharmacy, a free parking lot just three minutes away), and a large supermarket (“Famila”) for food shopping is at just a 15-minute walk along streets with very low traffic volume. Also importantly, we felt safe.
THE APARTMENT. Eleonora’s apartment is very spacious, especially the living area, with all the essentials. Because it’s on the ground floor of the renovated historical old borgo, it doesn’t receive much natural light (despite the numerous windows) at any hour of the day, but this didn’t bother us since we weren’t spending much time there during the day. The Wi-Fi was working without issues. The bathroom has two windows, a nice feature. More than enough towels were provided. We were able to easily run small loads of laundry. The kitchen is equipped with all the essentials, every appliance was running smoothly.
THE BEDROOMS. In addition to the queen bed in the main bedroom, two bunk beds are available in an annex room that is separated by a partial wall. Plenty of storage rooms is provided in two armoires and one chest of drawers. The queen bed wasn’t very comfortable, though. I would recommend to get a better quality mattress, and to replace the sheets in synthetic fabric with a set in cotton (we resolved this shortcoming by borrowing a set from a relative). This is the only reason why I resorted to give a 4-star instead of a 5-star overall rating.