At the end of June, we stayed in Andrea’s apartment for a week. After having read many positive reviews upfront and having spend two weeks in other wonderful Italian accommodations, we were left a bit disappointed with this whole experience. It’s OK for what it is, but more care and attention are needed before even considering it a 5-star experience.
The pros:
The location: if you want to be within 15min walking distance of all (major) sights, shops, and restaurants, then this apartment scores high. Florence is easily walkable, so we found it pleasant to return to the apartment at any time of the day we wanted to escape the crowds.
The terrace: quite private and (depending on the season) we especially enjoyed it in the mornings (nicely shaded) and afternoons (when there was sun until about 8pm).
The property itself has character (we loved the decoration of the walls and ceiling; however, the furniture felt cold in comparison).
The cons:
A disappointment upon arrival was the lack of cleanliness. There was dust on the floor, the table and induction hob were a bit greasy, and the cutlery wasn’t clean. It all felt a bit careless. We immediately notified the owner and got a quick response and apologies. We were relieved to find the bathroom was clean.
The kitchen itself was probably the biggest letdown. It hasn’t been updated like most of the apartment. If you plan to do some cooking (like us) then this is not the place to do it. For a start, there are just two induction hobs and the only pan to fry vegetables for instance, doesn’t seem to be made for induction at all. It takes almost 5 min before something starts to slowly cook. What’s more, the sink appears to be more of use for the smaller Italian elderly. If you are above 6 feet (180cm) you will find it impractical to use, especially when doing the dishes since there is no dishwasher. We stayed in an apartment instead of a hotel because one of us is having their teeth fixed and didn’t feel comfortable eating out, so we did home cooking on most nights. That was a bit of a challenge here.
Although it’s on the fourth floor and we didn’t experience any noise from the neighbours, you can clearly hear you are in the middle of Florence. The apartment is located at an intersection of streets where there are almost no shops and restaurants, which reduces the chances of street noise. That said, there are plenty of single glazed windows, including in the bedroom. Even with earplugs (which we always wear at night), we could still hear the occasional noise from the night crowd walking by. We’ve stayed at many other city center places that were properly insulated and thus quiet enough to get some proper shuteye, so it’s not impossible even for an older property.
Essentially being on the top floor, the aircons are much needed to prevent murky warm conditions inside. Even so, the corridor and kitchen will not benefit because insulation is worst there: access to the terrace is via two ‘doors’, the outer wooden (shed) one only blocking the light.
The bedroom would benefit from a proper wardrobe to store clothes. If you plan to stay for just a couple of days, it might not be a big deal, but we had to be creative using doors to hang clothes.
We found the sitting room/dining room a bit grim, dark and sparsely furnished making it a bit harsh. That could be somewhat personal, but in the end, we sat outside whenever possible.
The doors accessing the bathroom are very low - we occasionally banged our heads - even if you are average height, it will be an issue.
Overall, if this apartment had had better insulation and an updated kitchen (it will still be on the small side), that would make a big difference. It’s alright if you are staying only a few nights and plan to eat out a lot, but it wasn’t for us.