Upon arrival at First of Florence, the place was not lit, and we thought it was an abandoned building and we were at the wrong location. We reluctantly entered and recognized the interior from check-in instructions.
The bathroom had black and white mold and lots of it in the cabinet under the sink. There was water standing in the cabinet from a leak and the leak had been there for sometime given the amount of mold and smell of mildew.
The hair dryer hose had been taped with duct tape. However, it was not sufficient because the dryer hose was torn/cracked in many locations. The dryer wand had a crack. Again, this was something that had been going on for sometime from the extent of the issue and the duct tape repair.
Back to the lobby, there is insufficient natural light to light the stairs and hallways. Upon investigation, we found a switch near the entrance to turn on all lobby and upper-level lights, but they are on a timer that is less than five minutes. It’s a workable situation for arriving. Departing though is another story. Since the switch is downstairs, one must navigate pitch-dark concrete gray stairs. There is a lift, but it was out of order for a couple of days. It was repaired. It is an old style that requires a cage door to be completely closed for it to operate. Guests don’t always get it closed, so you can’t always call it. Again, requiring ingress and egress to be made in darkness. Fortunately, we did have cell phone flashlights.
Back to arrival, the closet shelves were very dusty. I notified Marco of all of the issues we encountered. He said that the hair dryer would be replaced and that someone would clean. Neither happened. He offered a full refund if we wanted to go somewhere else, but the city was full, and I found no other accommodations that met our needs and duration of travel.
The air conditioner in the small bedroom smells of urine. Research indicates that is likely from mold.
Despite reading instructions twice and after multiple attempts, I was never able to dry even a shirt and towel in the dryer. The apartment did include a generously sized drying rack. So, we were able to make do with that.
I asked about where to discard trash. Marco apologized two days later and told us where we could discard the trash.
The kitchen was furnished adequately to make simple meals. There was dishwasher detergent and dish soap. There was ample bedding and towels, and they were clean.
This place has so much potential, but maintenance is seriously lacking to the point of creating health and safety issues for guests. The location is good, but I cannot recommend First of Florence.