The Apartment:
We spent the month of May in this spacious, comfortable, clean and beautifully decorated 4th floor apartment. The large windows in each room provide lots of light as well as views over the tiled rooftops of Florence. From the living room you have a nice view of the Duomo. The beds are comfortable and, with the exception of the sofa bed, you can have them configured as two twins or as a single king. There’s plenty of hot water and the showers have good water pressure. There is an air-conditioning unit in each room, allowing everyone to set the temperature to their comfort. The kitchen is equipped with everything you will need—even shot glasses for your vin santo with biscotti! The laundry room with storage shelves and a utility sink is very practical. There is a large flat screen TV in the living room and in one of the other bedrooms.
The Location:
You will be in the center of Florence. Situated just a block from Santa Croce, you can walk to tourist sights (the Duomo, Uffizi, Pitti Palace, etc.) and local markets in 15 minutes or less. We loved shopping for food at the Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio and finding delicious prepared food to take home from places like La Ghiotta on Via Pietrapiana. The Conad supermarket and small Asian Mohoo Mart are a five-minute walk. There are plenty of restaurants nearby.
The disadvantage to being in the center of the city is that there are multiple bars and pizzerias that are open until the early morning hours. Several of our party had a difficult time sleeping due to the noise of people partying until 4:00 am (especially Thursday through Saturday.) Ear plugs helped. We discovered that the quiet fan of the air-conditioning provided enough white noise to mask everything except the loudest singing. The boomers in our group were most disturbed by the noise, the millennials slept without noticing.
The Hostess:
Flavia is a gracious and thoughtful hostess. She responded to questions (via Whatsapp and email) very quickly and was committed to helping us enjoy our stay. There were fresh flowers when we arrived, and she had stocked the kitchen with basics like eggs, milk, cheese, cured meats, bread, cereals, and a bottle of sparkling wine—enough to last a couple of days. This is especially nice for jet-lagged travelers who might want a meal in the middle of the night. She provided us with a list of traditional Tuscan restaurants. She even noticed that one of our group was celebrating a birthday and sent a lovely blueberry tart. Having such a kind host made us feel very welcome.