Unfortunately, we did not enjoy our stay at this AirBNB and I don't think I would recommend it to other visitors to Florence. The location was good, but we had some other issues with the host and point of contact that made our stay frustrating:
- When we arrived in Florence, we were given instructions to contact a point of contact (not the host) on WhatsApp, who was supposed to meet us at the apartment. Instead of meeting us, he sent us a picture of a lockbox with no further context. When we attempted to get in touch with the point of contact to ask what the lockbox code was, he didn't answer. We got lucky and guessed the lockbox code numbers to obtain the keys to the apartment, but the point of contact also didn't tell us which apartment number was ours. Eventually he answered our calls and helped us get inside, but it was a frustrating experience, especially because we were hot and tired from lugging our backpacks.
- Later we realized only one bed had sheets and towels (there were four of us staying there—two couples). We had to share towels and sleep on blankets the first night. When we let the host know we were missing these basic items, he insisted they would arrive the next morning. The next morning we did not receive those items, but our point of contact did re-enter the AirBNB to take our cleaning fee of 70 euros. We were frustrated by this and reached out to the host, who finally coordinated us getting sheets and bedding.
- The apartment was not very clean, which felt unfair given the cleaning fee we had to provide in cash. There were stains on most of the bedding and fabrics throughout the apartment and one of the bathroom shower curtains was moldy.
- At the time of this review, the photos on the AirBNB listing are not up-to-date. This isn't a huge deal, but it was confusing to realize that the walls had been reconfigured and re-painted at some point and the flooring replaced.
The water in this AirBNB is drinkable (an important thing to plan for in Florence), but it did have an off taste and smell. However, this went away when we let it run for a few seconds.
If these things that were problematic for us were addressed, I think this could be a much better stay for visitors to Florence. The location was great and the decor was nice, but the issues we had overshadowed these pros.