My overall experience was very positive. I am impressed with Airbnb’s attention to detail, sending reminders and facilitating communication between host and guest. I would recommend it to friends, and plan to use this service again in the future.
In this instance, I particularly liked having the apartment all to myself. I felt safe and was glad I didn’t have to share bathroom and kitchen facilities with another person. My host’s sister would have been okay, but I would probably not have taken the room if a complete stranger were involved.
The bedroom itself was a good size with lots of closet space, shelves and drawers. There was no extra blanket, however, and no supply of towels.
It was great to have Wi-Fi, and though it didn’t work in all areas of the apartment it was fine in the bedroom.
The apartment was reasonably clean though I detected residual cigarette smoke in the air. I think there was an old ashtray on the balcony, and the living room furniture didn’t smell good.
The ad describing a “private room in a beautiful flat” was accurate. A couple of minor complaints:
1. Noise. There’s a lot of it because of heavy traffic from the highways close by; opening windows at night made it too loud for sleep.
2.The bath/shower facility would have been difficult to share due to its small size. Also, I was provided with two tiny towels only, and no bath mat; the drain was slow and water accumulated in the bottom of the shower which made footing hazardous.
3.It was a little disconcerting that I never met my host.
Check-in and check-out were smooth. It helped that my friend who took me to the flat is Italian, as the host’s father (who met me at the apartment) did not speak English, and I speak only a little Italian.
My host did not communicate during my stay but he did message me on Friday that there would be someone coming in the Saturday afternoon after my departure, and reminded me where to leave the keys.
I was comfortable with the neighborhood. It was a very convenient location for getting into the city and for walking to my friend's house.