I am a 62 year old woman traveling alone. The studio has a very convenient location — I walked absolutely everywhere — yet is just far enough from the major tourist sites to be quiet and with a very local feel.
I spent a week in Florence and was out all day, every day, often not returning to the studio until between 10pm and 11pm. I never felt unsafe because there were always others out on the streets, walking home from the typical late Italian dinner.
Michele greeted me at check-in and reviewed the clothes washer (which I did not use, but it seemed easy). I did not use the kitchen but it seemed pretty well equipped. Provided are some cooking spices (and perhaps olive oil and balsamic, I forget), also cereal, coffee and teabags.
I learned to shower at night when the water pressure seemed higher. I slept comfortably enough (given what seems to be the typical hard Italian mattress) and appreciated the extra blankets provided in the wardrobe. The studio was very neat, absolutely clean, charming and aesthetic.
Michele provides a notebook full of all of the information one could possibly need and reviews it with you on check-in. I tried 3 of his restaurant recommendations and 2 of his gelateria recommendations and all were great with very nice people.
Michele provides a xeroxed city map with numbers corresponding to some of his recommendations and on the dining table is a large basket of brochures about local attractions (I added a few items to the stack). There’s also a little ‘library’ — one small shelf of books, to which I added two of my own. All nice and welcome touches.
Michele is a great communicator and very responsive. His place was perfect for my needs and definitely a good value. I have no hesitation to recommend it highly and would be happy to stay again if I am lucky enough to visit Florence in the future.