This is a very good flat in an excellent location next to the Ponte Vecchio. It's very spacious, and has a large living room with antique furniture and a fantastic view on to the river. There is also a small but very helpful lift in the building, and a supermarket and a lovely gelateria opposite!
However, the overriding impression is that the place hasn't been cared for in a long while, and needs quite a lot of work from a hosting point of view.
Points that must be improved:
- Cleaning. It's a big flat, but that's no excuse for not cleaning the wooden floor thoroughly after every guest. There was far too much dust and dirt particles on the floor, under the master bed and other beds. White socks became brown after 2 minutes of walking barefoot.
- Furniture. There is a line between antique and old, but most of the furniture needs to be replaced - especially in the bedrooms. Drawers/cupboard doors are difficult to open and close, and there is a lot of clutter inside, leaving little space for guests' belongings.
- Sockets. The vast majority are extremely old and no longer fit standard plugs. These need to be replaced.
- Duvets. These are dirty. Red stains on some, brown stains on others. It's really unpleasant when you see them through the duvet covers as you cannot help but wonder when they were last washed. They must be replaced.
- WiFi. This is incredibly slow and unstable. If more than two devices were connected, it stalled completely. One day we woke up to find it completely down. This was resolved after 48 hours (apparently an issue with the provider) but the speed didn't improve. There are faster speeds available and the owner should invest in a better plan. The monthly cost difference is marginal, but fast and reliable WiFi is a must.
- Waste bags. None provided. This is a must to ensure rubbish can be properly disposed of.
- Detergent. There are a washer and a dryer in the kitchen, and on check-in the hosts pointed to a bottle of detergent in the cupboard. However, we found the bottle to be empty, and there were only 5 individual detergent tablets by its side, probably left over from previous guests. For a week's stay for 5 people this isn't enough, and it turned out to be remarkably difficult to find detergent in the nearby supermarket. Detergent must be provided.
- No kettle. This must be provided for tea.
- Kitchen roll. None provided. This is an essential item that must be provided, just like toilet paper (which thankfully was provided!).
- Towels. When we asked on check-in about extra towels, we were told that these were 'for an extra charge'. One towel per person for a week's stay is simply not enough - especially when there's no detergent for the washing machine. Extra towels are a small but essential cost of doing business for long stays.
- ZTL - the flat is inside the infamous ZTL zone. This means there are strict limitations on driving to and from the flat with your own (or hired) car, with the risk of big fines for any wrong turn. The hosts recommend a valet car parking service which picks up and parks your car overnight in a private garage, and is also supposed to register you with the city's police so you aren't supposed to receive a fine. However, there are several ZTL zones and it is extremely unclear where and when one can and cannot enter, and unfortunately neither the garage nor the hosts were able to clear this up for us, so we were constantly driving in stress. Granted, Florence's ZTL system is extremely complex, but the hosts should study the question in more detail and prepare clear instructions for guests who are driving, with a map.
Finally - although this is not a major point - the flat could benefit from a coat of fresh paint as it looks like it was last painted a while ago, with leaks from neighbours highly visible on the ceiling and walls.
We enjoyed our stay at the property. Stefania, Fiy and Irene were helpful and responsive hosts (thank you!) and we will definitely recommend this property to our friends. It just needs a bit of time and attention from the hosts to become a truly excellent experience: other Airbnb hosts are setting a high standard and here it feels like they have let their guard down while resting on their laurels from previous reviews.
Hopefully the hosts will find our feedback useful and act upon it. We look forward to our next stay!