Elly was great. We were an hour late and I couldn't let her know as airbnb had blocked my phone/text communication with hosts when I was in Italy (I am still waiting for a response from airbnb to sort out the problem). This caused us all a lot of unnecessary stress but Elly was still waiting for us (thank you so much). Even though we were late she took time to show us the flat and point out areas of interest on a map and responded promptly to any queries throughout the week.

The flat is in a great location just a 10min walk to Santa Novella Maria station and a 15min walk to most of the main attractions. There is a restaurant downstairs where we enjoyed tasty food and friendly service several times and a carrefour supermarket and lots of small shops nearby. I was initially concerned that the noise from the restaurant and bar downstairs would be a problem but it wasn't an issue as the flat has aircon so there was no noise with the windows shut.

The flat is lovely and as advertised and was extremely clean and well equipped with everything you need including a washing machine. The description says no hairdryer or iron but both of these items were thankfully available. The only slight drawback was the building works going on in the flat downstairs which is beyond Elly's control. Not a problem if you are out early each day. Tip: put bread and other baked goods in the fridge.

Definitely try the restaurant downstairs and L'Osteria Di Giovanni on Via del Moro, Signorvino on Via de Bardi (for aperitivo overlooking the Arno) and go to the gardens (Barboli and Bardini) and lookout point on the other side of the river if you have time. The Leonardo di Vinci museum was also fascinating (watch the film). Then of course there are the churches and museums; so much to do!

All in all the flat provided a convenient and very comfortable base for our stay (a week) which felt like home after a long day sightseeing. Elly was a helpful host so couldn't have asked for more. Thank you Elly!