What can I say? I just had the best month of my life living in Florence, and a large part of that is due to this beautiful apartment.
The panoramic views of Sante Croce, San Miniato in the Tucson hills, and the red roofs leading up to the Duomo and bell tower — it doesn’t get better than this!
Apartment:
- Location: For those who don’t know Florence, you are never more than 20 minutes from all major sites, but this apartment is not only centrally located to all major sites, it is is right next to a 1-euro store (dollar store!) and grocery store, should you be staying for an extended period of time.
- Safety: as a female traveling alone, I am always mindful of safety. Because the front door of this apartment is in a lively square, the main streets leading up to the front door are well-lit at night, with restaurants opened until at least midnight, if not later (i.e. you will not be walking in a dark alley, etc.).
- Mosquitos: Italy definitely has mosquito season, and the host can provide plug ins to help, but if this is something that will make you lose sleep overnight, I recommend traveling with a mosquito net. Regardless of where you are sleeping in the apartment, you will be able to tie a mosquito net above your sleeping arrangements. While mosquitos were not a huge issue, I opened up the windows two hours before sunset every night and found the cross breeze to ironically help with the mosquitos tremendously.
- Heat: Italy definitely gets toasty during the summer, and while the AC unit in the apartment isn’t the strongest, it does have an oscillating feature that blows the cool air in different directions in the apartment. With that said, the lofted area does not cool down as fast the rest of the apartment. While other reviews grieve over this, note that the building is over 300 years old and the city has restrictions on how cool you can set AC at. I lived in the apartment during the month of August, where temperatures were in the high 90s for two weeks straight, and the apartment genuinely felt cool when opening up the windows and taking advantage of the brilliant cross-breeze. The host also provides a free-standing fan!
- Steps: yes, there are 88 of them, but having lived in a five-story walk-up in New York, it was completely manageable and 1000% worth it for the view!
- Noise: I stayed during 08/2021 (i.e. during COVID) and didn’t experience loud noises at night that other folks have mentioned…
- Windows: open them! I was initially afraid to because of “wildlife”, but the cross breeze was incredible and cooled down the apartment tremendously (even in 90-degree heat!).
- Amenities: Pretty bare minimum. Truly my only “complaint” was that there was no hand soap upon arrival. I pick some up for 1-euro at the “dollar store” downstairs immediately, but I recommend checking in with the host, as they would be more than happy to supply it!
- WiFi: Incredible! I had to work from home for a week, and the internet was strong enough for work, Zoom, video streaming, etc.
- Responsiveness: Hosts where extremely responsive throughout my stay. I only needed a few things addressed during my time and all were acknowledged immediately.
Long story short, I could not have asked for a better stay. I have only been gone for a week, but I already miss sunsets on the balcony overlooking the Tuscan hills — I cannot wait to stay again!