This Florence apartment is absolutely gorgeous inside and is supremely decorated. The shower was missing the shelf, but we made due. We chose the apartment for its appeal and it’s geopolitical location for the sites we planned to visit. A few days before our arrival, we received a message from the host asking if we could narrow down a time to check in as they had an unexpected event and would not be available in the evening to greet us. Long story short, there was a small hiccup and apparently she had not conveyed the agreed upon time to her counterpart, Floriano, who was the person meeting us, so there was a scramble to get the apartment ready for us. Not the biggest deal, but the person responsible for appointments was unavailable through the Airbnb app, which left Floriano dependent on communicating through WhatsApp, which seemed suspicious at the time given that we were out of country, and we felt like things got very convoluted. All in all, we found a cafe to duck into as it was pouring down rain/hailing. Floriano met us as soon as he could and helped us get into the apartment. He was very sweet, accommodating, and tried his best to be informative. A few things things potential tenants should note:
-The apartment is not on the second floor. Seven small flights of stairs to be exact and is more like the fourth floor with some very, very steep stairs.
-The group of teens that live next door, held a HUGE rager of a party on one of the two nights we were staying in the apartment. The second night was equally as loud, but only for the first two hours or so and then they went out (thank goodness). Perhaps they are also renting for the week, or weekend, or they live there full time, who knows? Either way, that first night’s party went well into the early morning hours, leaving us sleep deprived and exhausted.
The kitchen had necessary appliances but nothing else. Having rented across EU, we have been accustomed to having some items available, such as salt/pepper/coffee etc.. Of which you will find none. As mentioned above, the apartment is beautiful. If you do not plan to “live” in the apartment, it’s perfect fine. But if you are looking for a true Airbnb, it’s lacking on many essential items and has some young & annoying neighbors to contend with. We truly felt as though we were staying in a nicely decorated, lower-end hotel or hostel. Again, it depends on what you’re looking for.