Nicco was a great host, and we truly enjoyed our time in Florence.
[Location] The apartment was in a very nice area, just 10 mins northwest of the train/bus station (by bus) with easy access to downtown. It has a lovely grocery store across the street (Conad), a laundromat a few doors down, and a lovely pastry shop at the corner nearby. The bus (23) stopped about 5 mins from the apartment and was a great way to get downtown. We didn’t really eat in the area (other than at the awesome pastry shop) so can’t comment on dining options.
[Check In/Out] We had trouble finding the correct bus to the apartment (needing to first purchase tickets, and get a map, etc) so we arrived a bit late for check-in. Though he had to make changes with his work to meet us, he did and gave us a thorough check-in to the apartment. We were waiting for Nicco at 10am (our agreed upon check-out time), but after he didn’t show up we realized he meant that we could just leave the keys and walk out… a communication error.
[Apartment]
The apartment felt like a hotel to us, since it’s not lived in everyday, everything was clean and new. The building felt safe, and the apartment was on the 5th floor (with elevator). We were needing hot mitts to cook with, and Nicco dropped some off (new) the same day. The bed was quite comforable, and the bathroom was very spacious — lots of hot water for showers. Kitchen had cutlery/dishes, but no essentials such as pepper, olive oil, etc. However, there was some coffee and sugar provided. Since we needed to do quite a bit of online work while there, we found the wifi speeds okay but not amazing (15mbps down/2.25mbps up, tested throughout the week with Ookla.com). Le Merange (a great spot downtown for food and working) had fast 45mbps down/9mbps up if you need faster speeds. [Overall] we loved our time in Florence and staying at Nicco’s apartment. We would go back again, as we enjoyed the location, cleanliness of the apartment, and price.