*******CAUTION*********
I wanted to love this Airbnb. I was in Florence for a friend’s three-day wedding, and instead of celebrating, I was stressed trying to help the host do her duty checking basics were in place.
Cons
- NO ELECTRICITY, HOT WATER, WIFI, OR LOGHTS FOR THE DURATION OF MY STAY ( 3 NIGHTS), except for 2 hours
- host said there was a mass power outage, but the lights in the shared hallway worked, as did the lift in the building. Shops and restaurants on street below had power & no issues. I’m no electrician, but common sense leads me to believe the issue was with the flat
- host doesn’t provide her telephone number, and didn’t send anyone to personally resolve above issues
- when I alerted host to above, response was “if you want basics stay at a hotel; if you want a refund stay at couchsurfing” (!)
- there’s a contact phone number in the house manual, however this contact isn’t the host, doesn’t speak English very well or Italian. When I asked for help with electric and hot water was told if I wanted basics to go elsewhere(!) yikes
- host asked me to repeatedly return to the flat to check if the issue had been resolved, which really impacted my ability to be present/participate in the wedding celebrations over the weekend. INSTEAD OF FEELING LIKE A GUEST I FELT LIKE AN EMPLOYEE AND STILL HAD TO PAY THE BILL, EVEN FOR AN ELECTRICIAN TO COME TO THE FLAT PER THE FLAT MANUAL
Pros
- flat is located in city center
- flat has a bed (although extremely hard & not comfy)
- flat has COLD water
- flat has washing machine, pots pans, iron, hairdryer, however unable to use them with no electricity
- host replies to email
Spare yourself the headache, I don’t recommend staying here. While “forces of nature” such as power outages do occur, I’ve lived in a Florence previously to know this is not normal, and furthermore didn’t happen to anyone else on the street. The lack of urgency and attentiveness of the host in remedying the situation left a lot to be desired. Save your money and go elsewhere.