Tomaso's apartment made of stay in Florence great in so many ways: First, the Oltrarno apartment is large, bright, very comfortable, well-stocked with the necessities, and just straight-up convenient. And then there are the location and the view of the Arno from the living area windows, both of which cannot be bettered. The view of the Ponte Vecchio and Uffizi is really spectacular.
Communication with Tomaso was perfect - he is very quick and responsive. Our travel was delayed by half a day, which meant an arrival late at night, and Tomas and Sibilla adjusted smoothly, and we were met and in the apartment immediately upon arrival.
The building has a lift, which was convenient for dealing with baggage at move in and move out. Otherwise, we didn't use it, as the apartment is on the second floor.
There is a well-stocked supermarket across the street, so we were able to find necessities and food easily. The neighborhood is lively, lots of restaurants, and a long-time favorite gelateria sits just at the other end of the Ponte Vecchio - nocciolato, yum!
Four of us slept in the three comfortable, well-lit bed rooms. Two bedrooms overlook the street, but traffic and noise were minimal. The other bedroom is internal, and quite small, but our daughter found it charming and cozy and was very happy staying there. The apartment was warm, despite outside temperatures in the 10 C (50's F) range. The two bathrooms are completely functional - shower, sink, toilet, bidet - and we were each provided with a bath towel and a hand towel. The kitchen is well stocked with plates and cookingware, and the stove and large fridge worked well. There is a washer-drier in a closet in the kitchen that we used it quite a bit. WiFi in the apartment mostly works very well, fast, and there is a 5G option; our son found the WiFi a bit spotty in the second street-facing bedroom = farthest from the router.
The living area has a large table that seats six, a couch and two comfy armchairs. The room is well-lit at night, and there are electrical outlets sufficient to needs in each room. When seated at the table, four diners are well placed with respect to the two large windows, and did I mention the view....?
We visited over the 2021 Christmas holiday, and Florence was delightfully decorated and lit up for the festivities. There was a light show projected on the Ponte Vecchio after dark, and some audible, but not obtrusive, holiday music played as well. The Christmas lights in Piazza Santa Trinità in particular were magical, dream-like.
And about that plague that's currently in progress: No need to decamp to the surrounding Apennine hills, a la Boccaccio! The Italians have really taken covid seriously. Masks were worn indoors and out at a rate far higher than in the U.S. Like everyone else, we were asked to show our covid vaccination cards (Italians have a digital GreenPass) upon entry pretty much everywhere, and especially when dining out, traveling on trains, and visiting museums and churches. While many other places in the world were locking down again due to the omicron strain, Florentines and people in the other cities we visited were out and about, cheerfully enjoying the Holiday while taking appropriate precautions. We used the Binax-Abbott tests, with supervision by healthcare providers over the internet the day before our departure for home - we all tested negative after two weeks of fun in public.
The apartment is about a 15 minute walk from the train station, and from Piazzale Michelangelo/San Miniato (be prepared to climb), a 3 minute walk to Palazzo Pitti, 5 minutes from Piazza Signoria and the Uffizi, and about 10 minutes to the Duomo.
In summary, we really enjoyed our stay in Tomaso's lovely, comfortable, well-situated apartment. Highly recommended!
Oh - and that view!