I spent 10 days at Claudio’s apartment and wish I could give the apartment a full five stars :-(
PROS:
•Spacious apartment and a very cool space with high ceilings, exposed stone, large windows.
•Absolutely amazing views from the 2 terraces - you can see all of Florence from the large terrace.
•The bathrooms, floors, kitchen were very clean.
•Hosts were very efficient, responsive, and kind.
•Heat and hot water were good.
•Pillows were comfortable.
•Kitchen was fairly well appointed - could use a few more glasses (although there are plenty of wine glasses).
• Bedrooms are relatively quiet at night - master has sound proof windows, although you do still hear faint noise from the lively bar across the street.
• Elevator goes half way, which is helpful.
• Convenient location, just around the corner from Santa Croce.
• There’s a taxi stand about 1.5 blocks from the apartment, which is handy.
CONS:
• The furnishings in the living room are very worn.
• Sofas are dirty, stained, and the arm of one is broken (literally falls off). I went out and bought sheets to cover them as I could not sit on them otherwise.
• The curtains in the living room are broken, hanging off the rods, some rods are bent. Two sets of curtains did not fully open.
• The umbrella on the terrace was broken. I was asked not to touch it, so it hung, unopened, in the middle of the terrace - an eye sore.
• Master bed sags a bit and is on the hard side.
• Mr Coffee style coffee maker is small, for 1-2 people.
• Note the elevator goes half way, so you’ll have approximately 3 flights of stairs to haul luggage and groceries.
• Buzzer to open the street door from the apartment is broken. For most tourists, that’s not a problem, but if you know people in Florence, who are coming by to visit, you must go down the 6 flights of stairs to open the door.
• Due to the age of the building, my allergies (mold, dust) bothered me. Not much they can do about it, but 2 dehumidifiers would be helpful.
• Shower was fine, not great water pressure, but I’ve stayed in apartments with worse.
I was disappointed in the state of the apartment - the sofas and the state of disrepair of the curtains, umbrella, buzzer, etc made the apartment feel shabby. If they’re able to re-decorate in the near future, I would return, but otherwise, I’m afraid I would not - despite the amazing terraces.
If the state of the furnishings won’t bother you, it’s a great choice.