Duccio went out of his way to accommodate us, even though he was out of town to take care of his sick father-in-law.

At first, although there was no one at the place to welcome us, he had made arrangements for the keys to be downstairs at a restaurant. And he told us the cleaning lady and been through the apartment that morning. So far, so good.

When we got into the apartment, though, there was a layer of dust on the counters and floor, possibly due to the light construction that has happening two floors down. Also, he told us that the washing machine was also broken, which was going to be a big hassle since we were traveling with kids and needed one. When we explained this to our host, Duccio went out of his way to help us: he brought the cleaning lady back and made the apartment better -- and even folded our clothes and made our beds -- and he offered a discount for lack of a working washing machine. I'm thankful that he went out of his way to help us!

The location is great -- really, just a block from Galleria dell'Accademia, and a couple of blocks from the Duomo. There are great, cheap eats around, and its walking distance from almost everything you'd want to do in Florence.

The apartment itself is also great, especially for the kids. Upstairs, there's a nook-like area for two, separate twin beds -- that's also a loft -- and the kids loved it. And the rest of the place is spacious and the bathroom is modern. We were pleased to find the place like the pictures.

A couple of things to note, however: it's on the fourth floor without an elevator, so expect many flights of stairs. Also, the bedroom facing the street gets a lot of noise at night: The Bench is a popular bar right downstairs, and the noise carries easily. With some earplugs, though, you'll be fine. The rest of the apartment is quiet, so if you have the kids in the loft or folks in the other bedroom, they'll be fine.

All in all, Duccio is a fine host and attentive to our needs. And it's an apartment that was great for our family's needs in a perfect location.