My wife and I stayed in My Florence Home from September 24th until October 22nd, 2013. Our desire was to fully experience the Italian lifestyle while exploring the many great sights Florence and the surrounding area of Tuscany has to offer.
The apartment itself was five star. It has been fully remodeled as stated and the pictures are exact in every detail. The apartment has all new furnishings, fixtures etc. and has been very tastefully decorated which adds to the comfort of your stay. The kitchen is adequate and is stocked with all the necessary dishes and utensils needed for cooking. We cooked a great deal being there for a full month. The bedroom and bed is very comfortable as well.
The apartment is very well located near the city center in the Santa Croce/ Santa Ambrosio area. We never once had to take a cab or a bus to anywhere in the city as we were able to access the city on foot to all of the local sights. The Duomo was about a 10 minute walk. Piazza Santa Croce was just 2 blocks away. There was a very good local grocery market as well as the Mercado Santa Ambrosio within a few blocks of the apartment as well making shopping for food very convenient. The Santa Maria Novella train station and bus station was about a 20 minute walk as well.
The hosts Loredana and her husband Stefano Vigna are very gracious and always available by phone, text, email to deal with any issues. They were very attentive to us and wanted to make our stay enjoyable in their Santa Croce Home. They have a very genuine concern and make an effort to fully meet the needs of their guests.
If there was anything negative to report it would have to be the adjustment we had to make in living in an apartment for an extended period of time. We live in a very rural and quiet area of California (with deer in our front yard) and living in a busy city with close proximity to neighbors took some adjusting to on our part. Culturally, the Italian people live like many Americans do in big cities. They dine late at nite and arrive home late so you will hear your neighbors quite a bit at odd hours. That being said, if you are a light sleeper as I am, you may need earplugs to aid you in your sleep. Speaking with many people we met during our stay this was not an issue unique to our apartment but common in many apartments in the Florence city area.
In general, we felt very safe living in the apartment and even walking at night to the local Piazza Santa Croce. My wife and I had a wonderful stay living as " Florentines" in My Florence Home Santa Croce.