There were many great things about this apartment, but also a few important things that needed improvement.

First, the positives: Barbara is very friendly and helpful. She helped orient us on a map of Florence when we arrived and showed us where we could find nearby markets and good things to see in the city. She also alerted me that I was scheduled to arrive at the wrong train station, way out in the suburbs, which saved me a big travel headache! The apartment is beautifully decorated with some very nice furniture, it looks like it was recently remodeled, and it felt spacious. The location was great--we were able to walk everywhere and plenty of the key tourist attractions were fairly close by; plus it was super close to the train station (but around a few corners, so it was not so close that it felt overly busy or sketchy or anything). The air conditioning worked great and so did the washing machine.

As for the negatives: The mattress was quite uncomfortable--we could felt the individual springs pressing against us so it was difficult to sleep. The pillows were also uncomfortable and flat (although there was one spare pillow that was ok). The wifi was frustrating because it only works in the bedroom and bathroom (not the living room) and was quite slow. This was because the router was actually in the neighboring apartment, so the signal could not reach all of our apartment--I think this place really needs its own router. The shower was generally good but there were moments of cold water here and there as the water heater struggled to keep up with the shower.

Bed and wifi are top priorities for me when I travel, so I couldn't give this place more than 3 stars, but I hope that Barbara will address these issues because if they are fixed this will truly be a 5-star apartment.