We stayed 5 nights in mid-June 2014. However, we were very disappointed at the apartment and Stefania.

1. Location & misleading information
Stefania stated that her apartment is well connected by train and bus to the main Florence train station: SMN. The fact is it is totally not practical to take train to SMN. The bus service in Florence, on the other hand, is not reliable. We end up wasted much time in waiting for bus. There were times that we ended up taking taxi as the bus simply didn't show up. This is extremely inconvenient and costly for travelers, especially those on budget travel.

The bus journey alone takes at least 30 min in quiet traffic. It could be easily over of that in normally busy traffic. As a tourist you do not want to spend too much time on “commuting”. You could see that Stefania has skillfully described the location of her apartment as “strategic” and with a public sports centre. But how many of you will go to public swimming pool when traveling?

2. Landlord intruding privacy

There were at least 2 times, as far as we know, out of the 5 nights we stayed, that Stefania got into the apartment during the day without prior notice. One occasion was she bought over a hair dryer as the one she provided did not work properly, but we have explicitly asked her to place it outside of the door only. Another occasion was at the end of that day, she emailed us saying that she had come in to pick up a mail. However, the fact is the mail box is actually located outside the apartment…. We have replied her email stating the privacy issue and requested an explanation yet got no reply from her. Her act of trespass was indeed law-breaking!

3. Last minute plan change

Not until the night before we depart, Stefania messaged us that she had a sudden “plan change”: Her guests would come in early morning so we have to leave by 10am the latest. As such, we were required to get up earlier to pack and leave. This notification from her came in just in a last-minute manner. Of course, we didn’t expect to check out late. But Stefania had offer no alternative to us as well.

4. Malfunctioning facilities
The weak showering water pressure comes with unstable water temperature. Be prepared for some waiting time in adjusting the water temperature when showering.

The toilet bowl is semi-detached from the ground.

Don’t expect the real apartment is a brilliant as what is shown in the photos.

To conclude, the stay in Stefania’s apartment was not a pleasant one. Not only the quality of the apartment but also the landlord’s attitude. The only good thing about it is it is spacious. But the trade off for this good point is big.