The highlight of my 2.5 week stay was the view of Mondello Bay. Absolutely stunning!
I was greeted by Roxana at checkin, who showed me around the house despite our inability to communicate because of language barriers. She showed me how to use the washer, nespresso machine, gas stove, etc. Pretty self explanatory but nice to go over the basics. This is my first Airbnb without a typed house manual including all the important information about the house and community.
Frederico had water, beer and a small bottle of champagne in the fridge which was a nice treat. The kitchen was suffice but did not have a microwave, like it said in the listing. There was also no internet provided in the house which came as a shock. Fredrico brought me Roxana’s personal tablet later the first evening to use as a hotspot for data. I just had to make sure to keep the tablet charged but it worked. I did not have any video conferencing during my stay but WiFi calls worked fine, up until the last two days when the plan ran out of data. I had to buy data on my eSIM to get by.
The AC worked great in the bedroom. Just remember you have to empty the bin that catches the water from the unit. The bed was much too firm/old and I could feel every coil spring. I grabbed an extra pillow from the guest room as the two in the primary bed were quite flat. For long stay guests, I recommend getting a mattress topper for comfort. An uncomfortable mattress paired with the loud music from cars and motorcycle engines from the parking lot below, caused sleepless nights. I was lucky to get 4-5 hours of sleep each night.
The TV only worked for a little bit and all channels were in Italian. It’s not a smart tv, so I ended up watching Netflix and Amazon Prime on my phone or laptop using the data from the tablet.
The AC in the living room didn’t have a remote, and wouldn’t turn on by hand pressing the on button so I couldn’t sit in there in the evenings and read because it was too hot. I left the patio doors open as long as I could but I didn’t want mosquitoes to come in at night, so I shut the doors and spent the rest of the evenings in the bedroom in the AC.
The shower is tiny. I finally measured it and it’s 25”x25” on the inside. I barely fit and it was a major frustration of my stay. But I learned that I’ll never rent a place with a tiny corner shower again.
As I mentioned the view from the terrace is stunning! But it comes with the cost of being on top of a large steep hill. I didn’t have a car or scooter so I had to walk up this hill to get home. It was tough and even more difficult with groceries, especially hauling water and wine. I would not go back to town more than twice in a day because getting up the last hill was that challenging. And there’s no Ubers or taxis readily available. I would have easily paid for a short ride home so I could go out more often but it wasn’t available. The listing said there’s a public bus but I could never find out where it stopped nearby. Fredrico didn’t have a map of the route, and neither did the Information Center in the Piazza. That was a shame.
I understand this rental is listed so the host can afford to go on holiday while someone rents out his primary home. The price point in which I paid for this experience was double what it should truly be. I chalk my stay up to a good learning experience, and I am still grateful for the wonderful views of Mondello Bay.