I’m not one to leave reviews as places are usually within expectations, but for this place I must make an exception. The good reviews are very surprising. Maybe first-time visitors to Florence are so enraptured by its beauty outside that they fail to notice the inside of this apartment. As frequent visitors to Florence who rented this place for two weeks, we did not miss the inside and found the apartment unacceptable for two main reasons. The first is the sofa, which is worn out and covered with an ill-fitting slipcover and is the only seating in the room. The problem might only be appearance, but my wife was not willing to chance it by sitting on something like that. We are aware that furnishings and especially sofas can be retained well past their prime by owners here, but this one is beyond that. Second is the terrace, which has no shade or umbrella rendering it unusable in Florence’s summer sun until almost sunset. We have previously stayed at over 10 apartments here with terraces, all of which had umbrellas or natural shade. The agent stated it had no umbrella because one blew away in a storm and they would not replace it. Terrace access is also concerning, with about 20 steps up, the last 6 narrow, without handrail and with open drop on one side. I pointed out to the agent that a new sofa and umbrella could be bought and delivered from the local I-kea for under 500 euro, but this was not accepted despite the fact that we would have paid for it and thereby avoided a cancellation fee.
There were other minor problems which I wouldn’t list if the place were otherwise acceptable. Such as no dish towels in the kitchen despite no dishwasher, no wastebasket in bathroom, poor internet coverage, worn out bath mat, no extra linens for a two week stay. These are certainly standard items in our experience, and the agent agreed to provide some of them but never did, probably because we stated our intention to cancel and find another place.
Which we were able to do within a few days and despite knowing we would incur a 50% cancellation fee. Using a local agent unaffiliated with abb, we found another apartment a few blocks away that was much nicer, larger and cheaper with a terrace surrounding all the rooms. This was the first time we used abb instead of known local agencies for a long-term stay in Florence. Why we did so is another story but it won’t happen again as long as some agencies remain in business.
If the enumerated issues don’t concern you and you mainly want a place to sleep, this place does have a comfortable bed in a quiet bedroom, and the latter can be a challenge to find in Florence. And the area has many of Florence’s best restaurants.