The Place:
A clean and cozy apartment, perfectly located to explore the beautiful city of Florence! The unit has a well-stocked kitchen, large bed, and clean sheets, towels, utensils and appliances - felt very welcoming the moment we stepped in. The bed is a bit soft; other than that, we had no issues at all. It is on the first floor with some steep steps; something to keep in mind if there is a lot of luggage (which we did not have initially, but we left with a lot more due to the shopping!).
The Location
s historic center, with an abundance of eating options within a couple of minutes. Highly recommend *not* eating in the main tourist squares, but instead stray even 100 ft off the piazzas to find street-side cafes and restaurants offering more authentic Florentine cuisine. Bus stops for a couple of different routes are very close to the apartment, but we always found them to be too busy; plus the walk was delightful in the good weather we encountered. Only downside to the apartment was that no taxis are available without having to walk for a while; inconvenient when trying to get to the train station with luggage. However, taking a taxi to the apartment from the train station is not a problem.
The Host
Paola was very responsive during the planning stages, and even though she had to be away from Florence when we arrived, she was able to let us into the apartment remotely. The apartment was immaculately arranged for our arrival; she has a guidebook for local logistics that we found very useful. I wish other hosts did the same too!